Junior Achievement of South Florida

What Junior Achievement of South Florida does

Junior Achievement of South Florida is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and local chapter of Junior Achievement USA, headquartered at the JA World Huizenga Center at the Lillian S. Wells Pavilion—a 60,000+ square-foot facility on the Broward College North Campus in Coconut Creek, Florida, described as the largest JA facility in the world. The organization delivers volunteer-led, K-12 experiential learning programs focused on financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship to roughly 69,000–80,000 students annually across Broward and south Palm Beach counties, supported by more than 7,000 trained volunteers.

The core technology is a pair of tablet-driven simulation environments: JA BizTown, a simulated city for 5th graders where students role-play as employees, consumers, and citizens across corporate-sponsored storefronts; and JA Career Discovery Park, a simulated city for 8th graders where each student operates from a fictional adult profile and makes budgeting and career decisions. These flagship facilities are complemented by a portfolio of classroom-delivered programs (3DE Schools, JA Fellows high-school entrepreneurship incubator, Career Bound, Stock Market Challenge, Pre-Apprenticeship, YouthBuild, Youth Employment, and Summer Camps). A new media platform, Bold Xchange—a monthly podcast and invite-only event series—was launched in March 2026.

Revenue is generated through four primary streams: tiered individual monthly giving via the ONE Future program ($10/$20/$50 per month); corporate sponsorships, including storefront partnerships and matching-gift campaigns (CITY Furniture committed up to $100,000 in matching funds); event revenue from signature fundraisers (JA World Uncorked, Ultimate Night Out, Rosé Soirée, Spark Tank Finale); and membership programs (The League at $1,000/year, Circle of Wise Women at $2,500 lifetime). The organization reports that 86 cents of every donated dollar reaches programs, and is led by President & CEO Laurie Sallarulo with governance from a board chaired by Andrew Koenig of CITY Furniture.

Name

Junior Achievement of South Florida

Legal name

Junior Achievement of South Florida

Website

https://jasouthflorida.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1961

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Junior Achievement of South Florida is a nonprofit educational organization that delivers volunteer-led K-12 financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship programs to roughly 69,000–80,000 students annually in Broward and south Palm Beach counties through its 60,000+ square-foot JA World simulation facility and school partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Youth Education and Financial Literacy

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (61)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth-to-Adult Transition & Life Skills (Independent Living, Soft Skills) (EDAAAFAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

K–12 Core Curriculum Small-Group Tutoring Centers (Math/ELA/Science/Social Studies) (EDANAHAA)

Keywords

• Youth financial literacy
• K-12 experiential learning
• Workforce readiness education
• Entrepreneurship education programs
• Career discovery programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Coconut Creek

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Individual donors contribute through monthly giving programs (ONE Future) and one-time gifts. The ONE Future monthly program offers tiered membership at $10, $20, and $50 per month with various benefits including event access and merchandise.
2. Corporate Sponsorships: Corporate partners sponsor events, programs, storefronts at JA World, and provide matching gift programs. Major sponsors include CITY Furniture, various banks, healthcare organizations, and technology companies.
3. Event Revenue: Revenue generated from signature events including JA World Uncorked, Ultimate Night Out, Rosé Soirée, and Spark Tank Finale. Events offer tickets, sponsorships, and auction items.
4. Membership Programs: The League membership at $1,000 annual provides networking events and volunteer opportunities for male community leaders. Circle of Wise Women offers lifetime membership at $2,500 for women philanthropists.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Junior Achievement of South Florida delivers volunteer-led K-12 educational programs in financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship for students in Broward and south Palm Beach counties. Its core offerings are immersive simulation experiences at JA BizTown (for 5th graders) and JA Career Discovery Park (for 8th graders), complemented by classroom curricula, JA Fellows, Career Bound, 3DE Schools, Pre-Apprenticeship, Stock Market Challenge, Summer Camps, Youth Employment, and YouthBuild programs.

Product overview

Junior Achievement of South Florida operates a portfolio of experiential learning programs centered around two flagship simulation facilities: JA BizTown (for 5th graders) and JA Career Discovery Park (for 8th graders). These are complemented by classroom-based K-12 programs, the JA Fellows high school entrepreneurship incubator, Career Bound career readiness, Pre-Apprenticeship Programs, Stock Market Challenge, Summer Camps, Youth Employment, and YouthBuild. The organization also runs a monthly giving program (ONE Future), hosts events at its JA World Huizenga Center facility, and operates a multimedia platform called Bold Xchange. Programs are delivered by trained volunteers and serve students in Broward and south Palm Beach counties.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• JA BizTown: A life-like, simulated city where students role-play as employees, consumers and citizens. Students earn a paycheck, open a bank account and learn about the business economy.
• JA Career Discovery Park
• Bold Xchange

Products and services

• JA BizTown An immersive, simulated city where 5th grade students role-play as employees, consumers, and citizens. Students earn paychecks, open bank accounts, and learn about the business economy through hands-on participation in storefronts sponsored by local businesses.
• JA Career Discovery Park A simulated city for 8th grade students providing a full-day experience learning about personal finances and career pathways. Each student is given an adult profile to live out, with 16 storefronts representing budget line items and potential career opportunities.
• Classroom Programs Volunteer-delivered K-12 programs that foster work readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy skills through experiential learning aligned with academic standards.
• JA Fellows An 8-month high school entrepreneurship program where student teams conceptualize, capitalize, and manage their own small businesses with mentor guidance, culminating in the Spark Tank Finale competition.
• Career Bound A career readiness program where students build work-ready skills, gain industry knowledge, and engage with local businesses through mentoring and internship opportunities.
• 3DE Schools by Junior Achievement An education model that re-engineers the high school experience through case-based learning connected to real-world business applications across all subjects.
• Pre-Apprenticeship Programs Skills training programs providing industry certifications, employment preparation, and pathways to careers in fields like maritime and water management.
• Stock Market Challenge A competitive investment simulation where high school students trade stocks in a fast-paced environment, learning about financial markets and investment strategies.
• Summer Camps Youth employment and summer programs connecting teens with internship opportunities at local businesses to gain real-world work experience.
• Youth Employment A workforce development initiative providing paid internship placements for JA-trained teens (ages 16-18) at local businesses at zero cost to employers.
• YouthBuild A workforce development program combining academic training with hands-on skills development for young people seeking career pathways in construction and other trades.
• ONE Future Monthly Giving Program A monthly giving program offering tiered membership at $10, $20, and $50 per month. Donors receive benefits including event access, merchandise, volunteer opportunities, and impact updates while supporting JA programs.
• JA World Huizenga Center Facility Rentals A 60,000+ square foot facility on Broward College North Campus housing JA BizTown and JA Career Discovery Park, featuring rentable meeting rooms and a catering kitchen available for event rentals.
• Bold Xchange Podcast and Event Series A multimedia platform featuring a monthly podcast series with South Florida business leaders and an invite-only event series for high-level networking and live panel discussions on entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and AI.

Quantifiable outcome

• 69,000+ students served annually
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CITY FurniturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor corporate partner and matching donor. CITY Furniture matches monthly donations up to $100,000 through December 31st for the ONE Future program. Serves as Ultimate Host Sponsor for Ultimate Night Out event. Active supporter of JA's mission to empower youth through financial literacy and career readiness.
• Broward CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost institution for JA World Huizenga Center at the Lillian S. Wells Pavilion on Broward College North Campus. Provides facility space and educational partnership opportunities.
• Broward County Public SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary educational partner. Every 5th grader in Broward County Public Schools participates in JA BizTown program. The school district aligns with JA's vision for student development.
• United Way of Broward CountyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner and storefront sponsor. United Way creates and funds vital programs and services in the Broward County community.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Year Up: National workforce development nonprofit serving opportunity youth with job-readiness training, corporate internships, and career placement — overlapping with JA's Career Bound, Youth Employment, and Pre-Apprenticeship programs in target demographic and corporate-partnership model.
• EverFi: Edtech/educational services provider delivering digital K-12 financial literacy, career readiness, and SEL curricula via school district subscriptions. Partial overlap with JA's classroom curriculum in financial literacy and serves same K-12 school district buyers — emerging digital competitor for schools' instructional time and budgets.

Direct peers

• Junior Achievement of Central Florida: Sister local chapter of Junior Achievement USA serving K-12 students in Central Florida. Operates a comparable JA BizTown-style simulation facility and identical programmatic suite (financial literacy, work readiness, entrepreneurship), differing primarily by geography (Orlando area vs. South Florida).
• Junior Achievement of New York: One of the largest JA local chapters in the U.S., serving NYC and Long Island students through financial literacy and work readiness programming, including simulation facilities. Direct comparable in programmatic offering and nonprofit model, differing in urban geography.
• Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE): National nonprofit delivering entrepreneurship education to youth, particularly in underserved communities, through classroom programming. Most directly comparable to JA's JA Fellows entrepreneurship curriculum and Spark Tank competition on the youth entrepreneurship dimension.
• Junior Achievement of Georgia: Large JA local area chapter operating JA BizTown and JA Finance Park facilities in the Atlanta metro. Direct peer in operating model (volunteer-delivered K-12 programs + simulation facility + corporate sponsorship storefront model) and similar scale (tens of thousands of students annually).
• Junior Achievement of Chicago: Major JA local area chapter serving the Chicago metro with JA BizTown, classroom programs, and corporate volunteer-driven K-12 experiential learning. Direct peer with comparable scale, program suite, and fundraising model anchored on a major corporate ecosystem.

Regional players

• Junior Achievement of North Florida: JA local chapter serving Northeast Florida (Jacksonville area). Comparable programmatic offering to JA South Florida but smaller in scale and without a mega-facility equivalent of JA World — useful peer for benchmarking smaller-JA-area operating economics.

Broad incumbents

• Junior Achievement USA: National umbrella organization for all U.S. Junior Achievement chapters including JA of South Florida. Directly comparable as the parent network delivering the same K-12 financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship programming through local chapters across the country.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of America: National nonprofit delivering youth development programming including financial literacy, career exploration, and workforce readiness to similar K-12 demographics. Comparable in volunteer-driven delivery, corporate partnerships, and regional-club affiliate structure (though broader in scope including after-school programming).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@JASouthFlorida
• Facebookfacebook.com/115839011799617
• Instagraminstagram.com/jasouthflorida
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/junior-achievement-of-south-florida

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

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 Junior Achievement of South Florida