The Achievement Foundation

What The Achievement Foundation does

The Achievement Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established circa 1948 and headquartered in DeWitt, Iowa. Its mission is to provide financial aid to groups and clubs of boys and girls for the purpose of encouraging productive enterprises and advancing education about the free enterprise system. The foundation operates three core programs: a Scholarship Program that awards scholarships to students on the top three winning teams of the Junior Achievement (JA) Company of the Year competition held annually in Washington, DC; a Loans Program that provides capital resources to local Junior Achievement area leadership when immediate funding is unavailable; and a Grants Program that awards funds to deserving nonprofit organizations advancing free-enterprise education for youth.

The foundation has maintained a long-standing, though non-exclusive, relationship with Junior Achievement USA as its primary distribution partner and programmatic context. It is exempt from federal and state income tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and contributions to it are deductible as charitable contributions. It is staffed by a small team (1–10 employees), operates from a single domestic office, and is led by a Chairman of the Board (Kurt W. Snyder). Its marketing and outreach are conducted through a basic informational website, direct phone, and email contact.

As a grant-making entity rather than a commercial enterprise, the foundation's revenue model consists of receiving grants, gifts, and bequests and disbursing them across its three programs. No pricing structure, commercial revenue, or fee-for-service activity applies. No technology products, APIs, software platforms, or AI/ML capabilities are associated with the organization; its operations are administrative and relationship-based. No recent funding rounds, acquisitions, executive hires beyond the named Chairman, or expansion into new geographies or verticals are documented in the available data.

Name

The Achievement Foundation

Legal name

Achievement Foundation, Inc.

Website

https://achievementfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1948

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Achievement Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, founded circa 1948 in DeWitt, Iowa, that provides scholarships, loans, and grants to support youth education in the free enterprise system, primarily through a long-standing relationship with Junior Achievement USA.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Education Foundation

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

College Access, Scholarships & Student Success Nonprofits (BPAGADAE), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

Keywords

• Scholarship programs
• Educational grants
• Student loans
• Youth education foundation
• Nonprofit foundation

Headquarters

HQ city

Middletown

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Achievement Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation that awards scholarships to individual students, educational loans to Junior Achievement areas, and program grants to eligible nonprofit organizations in support of youth education. The foundation was established in 1948 and operates in coordination with Junior Achievement USA, channeling private donations and endowment returns into its three program areas.

Product overview

The Achievement Foundation offers three core financial programs designed to support youth education in the free enterprise system: a Scholarship Program for JA Company of the Year competition winners, a Loans Program providing capital assistance to Junior Achievement areas, and a Grants Program awarding funds to nonprofit organizations advancing free enterprise education for youth.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Student Scholarship Program Scholarships awarded by The Achievement Foundation to individual students to support their educational pursuits; recipients typically apply directly and may be referred through the Junior Achievement USA network.
• Junior Achievement Educational Loan Program Educational loans extended by The Achievement Foundation to Junior Achievement area organizations to support their operational and programmatic needs in delivering youth education.
• Nonprofit Program Grant Program Program grants awarded by The Achievement Foundation to eligible nonprofit organizations to fund specific youth education initiatives.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Junior Achievement USAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Achievement Foundation has a long-standing (albeit non-exclusive) relationship with Junior Achievement USA through grants and providing loans to local JA areas in need of financial assistance. The foundation also provides scholarships to students participating in the JA Company of the Year competition.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves3 records

Direct peers

• Foundation for Free Enterprise Education: A nonprofit foundation focused on advancing free-enterprise education for young people through teacher training, curriculum, and youth programs. Directly comparable mission and beneficiary population to The Achievement Foundation, with a similarly small operational footprint.
• Acton Foundation for Entrepreneurial Excellence: A foundation dedicated to cultivating principled and entrepreneurial character in youth. Closely mirrors the Achievement Foundation's mission of supporting productive youth enterprises through free-enterprise-aligned education.

Broad incumbents

• Jack Kent Cooke Foundation: A large education-focused foundation awarding scholarships and grants to high-achieving students with financial need. Operates in a much broader scope but shares the foundation's scholarship-program mechanic and education-mission framing.
• Coca-Cola Scholars Program: A large corporate-affiliated scholarship program providing awards to high-achieving high school students. Comparable in scholarship distribution mechanics, though much larger in scale and donor base.
• Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation: A large, well-resourced foundation focused on entrepreneurship education and research. Significantly broader in scope and budget, but overlaps directly with the foundation's free-enterprise and youth-entrepreneurship focus.

Others

• Junior Achievement USA: The national youth entrepreneurship and financial literacy organization that is the foundation's core strategic partner and program beneficiary. While not a direct competitor, JA defines the ecosystem in which the foundation operates and is the closest functional adjacency.

Emerging players

• Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE): A youth-focused organization that builds entrepreneurship skills in students from under-resourced communities. Comparable end beneficiary population (youth entrepreneurs) and adjacent free-enterprise curriculum positioning.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-achievement-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Achievement Foundation