Strategic Growth for a Strong Future
July 1, 2015-June 30, 2018
Sustaining Momentum and Building Strategic Growth
Overview of Western Massachusetts:
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Hampden County ranks 7th out of 14 in the number of non-profits per county in the
Commonwealth.
Hampden County ranks 12th out of 14 in terms of average giving.
Hampden Country ranks 14 out of 14 in per capita income (28% below the Massachusetts
average and 8% below the US average.)
Springfield ranks 350 out of 351 towns in MA in per capita income
Greater Springfield’s graduation rate is 16% below the state average
Overview of Junior Achievement of Western Massachusetts:
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62% of JAWM students are from low-income families
88% of JAWM students are in Hampden County
53% of JAWM students are from Springfield Schools
35% of JAWM students are in high school; 35% elementary school; 30% middle grades
45% of JAWM students are from minorities
10% of JAWM volunteers are from minorities
54% of JAWM revenue comes from grants
38% of JAWM revenue comes from special events
8% of JAWM revenue comes from unrestricted donations
Massachusetts is where the American Industrial Revolution began in the 19th Century. Today in the 21st
Century it is still a leader in this important sector with over 8,000 manufacturing establishments
operating across the state. The industry is expected to fill 100,000 jobs in the next decade and offers
good jobs and careers in a sector with an average annual salary of $75,000. One business owner, Larry
Maier, President of Peerless Precision Inc., Westfield MA, described the skilled worker pipeline as a
‘burning platform’ in an article in Business West Magazine “Western Massachusetts and the nation are
now facing a critical shortage of skilled labor. Concerned groups include the Department of Defense, the
Aerospace Industries Association, the National Defense Industrial Association and the National Tooling
and Machining Association, and they are treating this as one of the most critical threats to our national
security and our way of life.”
In a report produced by the Regional Employment Board of Hampden County on Industry Initiatives in
the Financial and Business Services industry, it is estimated that the field will grow by 20% by 2020,
along with the supporting back office services. However the level of educational attainment is not
keeping up with the number of skilled workers needed. The need for a high school diploma as a
minimum is critical as jobs become more complex in a global economy and traditional jobs requiring less
education are no longer in demand. In 2020, it is estimated that there will be a shortage of 1.5 million
college graduates in the workforce.
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Strategic Growth for a Strong Future
July 1, 2015-June 30, 2018
Purpose: To empower young people to own their economic success.
Vision: Transform JAWM to be recognized by key stakeholders as a leader in relevant 21st century
learning.
Key Performance Indicators as required by JA USA:
Management Practices
 Must be “certified” through participation in the JA USA Certification Process.
Program Quality Practices
 Must adhere to program instructional models and be approved for R&D and program variations.
 Must have a process to assess quality based on feedback from educators and volunteers.
 Must complete a Third Party Student Verification Audit.
Program Impact
 Must implement programs in elementary, middle and high school with goal to achieve balance.
 Must grow in student count or contact hours over the previous year;
Financial Solvency
 Cannot be on C.O.D. or payback plan during previous fiscal year.
 Must end the year with a surplus
 Must meet at least two of the three financial measures ( for 4 Stars; all measures for 5 Stars)
o Debt Ratio- Standard is 4:1 and above.
o Current Ratio - Standard is 2:1 and above
o Cash-on-hand- Six months
Alignment with Brand Standards and Philosophies
 Must adhere to the tangible representation of the JA brand.
 Must be aligned with JA brand standards and philosophies on its website and in its volunteer and
donor collateral.
This three year plan is created with the goal of sustaining the strong momentum that JAWM has
achieved over the last three years in all aspects of operational standards and most importantly, service
to students in our region. At the same time, we recognize that national and local trends impacting our
region, our students and our vision must be identified and addressed with a parallel set of strategic
initiatives in order to achieve growth beyond what we have already accomplished. We have identified 4
Must Win Battles that are essential to achieving our key performance indicators and more importantly,
will allow us to keep our promise to the students of Western Massachusetts for many years to come.
Each Must Win Battle will have measurable goals and will drive critical activities in order to develop
and/or grow the necessary assets and capabilities that align with the vision of JAWM.
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Strategic Growth for a Strong Future
July 1, 2015-June 30, 2018
Must Win Battle Summary
The four must win battles represent three areas of our core foundation and one area necessary for
strategic growth. A summary of noted below with greater detail and an action plan to follow.
Must Win Battle
Increase impact on
Students
Board of Directors
Fundraising
Strategy
Brand Awareness
and Brand Equity
Summary
Grow # of children
reached by 3% annually
and # of programs
completed by 4%
Recruit, develop and
maintain a strong,
engaged and connected
board
Develop strong,
sustainable fundraising
strategy to meet
strategic objectives and
ensure long term
viability
Grow brand awareness
and increase brand
equity to drive growth in
programs, volunteers
and sponsors
Ambition
Metrics
*Drive greater percentage of
Middle School grades
*Develop process to follow same
group of children through their
journey
Focus on smaller number of
highly profitable events
Develop stronger partnerships
*Split of 40%/20%/40% for
Elem/Middle/High
*Focus on Minimum 50% lower income
schools with target of 60%.
Grow greater Spfld districts by 5%
Grow greater Springfield districts by
5%.
*Goal of 20% of board members in the
C-Suite
*Develop 20-30 people in new board
with clear plan
Corporate donors X% of new
Individual donors: $20,000 annually in
pledges
Developing Marketing and PR
Strategy
Develop partnership Strategy
Website hits and click throughs
PR value of $
Increase partnerships by 20%
Develop board members that can
operate in key spheres of
influence
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Strategic Growth for a Strong Future
July 1, 2015-June 30, 2018
Must Win Battle #1 Increase Impact on Students with Focus on Middle Grade Growth
Goal: Grow number of children reached by 3% annually and number of programs completed by 4%
Capabilities (Skills)
Sustainable pool of
trained volunteers
NEED
Create larger pool
with greater
returning
Trained staff to recruit
and support volunteers
and sponsors
Dedicated person on
programs and FT-PT
person for sponsors
Trained staff to work
with schools on their 2
year plan for JA
Train staff in how to
work with schools on
longer term, holistic
thinking. Work with
administration
Strong, engaged and
connected board
Marketing and PR
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Marketing and
PR strategy
Improved
website
Improved
materials
Constant
rotation of good
interns
ACTION
More volunteers for MM
LPV helping with
millennial program
Tie volunteer to more
college curriculum
Assets
Programs are strong and
evolving
ACTIONS
Brand awareness/Brand
equity
Marketing and PR
Consider engaged
volunteers an asset to
farm (define what this
could be)
See capabilities actions
Plan for approaching
administration
School districts that have a
strategy for use and impact
of JA programs.
See MWB #2
Partnerships that help us
grow faster than we can on
our own. Similar
organizations,
“competitive” organizations
Political/government
support
Jennifer to check out
potential hosting sites and
propose how board subcommittee for marketing.
Jennifer to find old
marketing plan.
Vistaprint for collateral
materials.
Board to identify new
partnerships and create
action plan to approach
them
Approach new governor.
How else can we use our
government contacts?
Remind them to vote for
bills relevant to JA. Can
a volunteer board
member actually draft
legislation? (Jennifer
cannot)
Sponsors to fund program
with strong understanding
and buy-in of program
Core group of annual donors
Identify new reps that can
help us?
Identify short list of
organizations that have a
tie-in to our programs
(e.g. Big Y, Marriott)
Increase this list.
How can we use these
annual donors to help us
get more?
Use automatic social
media. “I just donated to”
Patreon –sort of like
crowdfunding
Fund my classroom
project-what is this
website?
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Strategic Growth for a Strong Future
July 1, 2015-June 30, 2018
Must Win Battle #2 Recruit, Develop & Maintain a Strong, Engaged and Connected Board
Develop a board membership that can operate in key spheres of influence in the important areas of:
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Fundraising
Volunteer Recruitment
Event Management and Attendance
Community Engagement
Strategic Growth
Recruit and create a 2016 board of 20-30 people with a clear plan to impact these spheres of influence and a
process for turning over board members who are not participating.
Skills/Capabilities
Need
ACTIONS
Assets
ACTIONS
Commitment to meetings,
programs, events, growth
20 more people
Cut non-participating
board members
Central location of
office
None needed
50% of board at the
C Suite level
Develop target
people list and
action plan
Identify characteristics
needed in new board
members and develop
recruitment plan
Connection to at least one
sphere of influence.
(Fundraising, volunteers,
programs, etc)
More fundraising
expertise
Include in plan for
increasing board
members
Board member
orientation
Clear expectations
Develop
recruitment plan
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Strategic Growth for a Strong Future
July 1, 2015-June 30, 2018
Must Win Battle #3 Develop Strong, Sustainable Fundraising Strategy
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Focus on three highly profitable events rather than a large number of events
Grow corporate donors to X%
o Create a local appeal at the city/town level to fid partnerships and give them exposure utilizing a
micro-marketing mindset.
o Leverage our assets including the Stock Market Challenge concept to raise more money through
licensing, paid training, partnerships at the national level (Bloomberg) and with local business
schools.
Increase individual doors with a goal of $100,000 in annual pledges
o Big Idea: Viral Campaign to find JA alum
jjj
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It started here, Indian Motorcycle, Basketball, Dr. Seuss, JA, Friendly’s, MassMutual, Absorbine, Jr, etc.
Capabilities/Skills
Need/ACTION
Assets
Fundraising comfort level and skill
amongst the board
Change the mix of the
board with fundraising
skills as a priority.
5000 JA alum-how do we find
and use them. Not just Western
Mass alum but those who
moved here
Event planning
Marketing and PR events
Provide existing
members with less
intrusive methods (i.e.,
social media)
Better tied our
marketing and PR
strategy.
ACTION
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2.
3.
Get the list and find
them via LinkedIn and
Social Media
Develop a plan for
reaching out to them
What do we want
them to do?
Online presence tied to online
giving
Identify top five avenues that
we want to pursue
Online tools to find donors
Donorschoose.org
Patron
Assign to Marketing and PR
committee. Research other
non-profits and steal with
pride
Can we license our knowledge
to other JA regions?
Create a campaign here.
Marketing and PR committee
to define in this fiscal year and
put cost estimate
Compelling fundraising message
Stock Market Challenge
Local pride JA started here
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Strategic Growth for a Strong Future
July 1, 2015-June 30, 2018
Must Win Battle #4 Grow Brand Awareness & Brand Equity to Drive Growth
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Develop marketing and PR Strategy
o Local and National
o Traditional and Digital
Partnership Strategy
o Develop partnerships with neighboring JA to increase efficiency of marketing dollars and household
reach
Big Idea: Reach out to companies who h ae blue collar (non college-educated) workforce. Provide a
webinar on financial literacy to their workforce and tie that back to what we do in the schools
(workforce of the future). Drive sponsorship dollars from these organizations.
jjj
Capabilities/Skills
Needs/ACTION
Assets
ACTION
Marketing and PR knowledge
(traditional and digital)
Strategy
Team to define it and
PR/Marketing subteam to execute it.
Basic social media sites in
place
Strategy to use it and
then simple execution
plan to include board
members
Viral campaigns
Phase 2
JA National White Paper
Pick Topic
Partnerships
See partnership notes
above
Financial literacy
knowledge
How do we get this
out?
Work with local blue
collar workforce and
offer free financial
literacy education and
drive sponsorship
dollars. We’ll educate
current workforce if
you sponsor our future
workforce
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