Junior Achievement USA (JA) has announced a $38.8 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott to increase organizational capacity of the national organization and support JA operations in 26 communities across the country.

The largest gift from a single donor in the organization’s 103-year history will enable JA to build network capacity and create learning channels to benefit the 102 JA operations across the country. In addition, the gift includes funds that Scott will direct to the JA groups she selected.

JA works to provide relevant, hands-on experiences that give K-12 students knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship. According to the organization, it reaches more than 2.5 million students in the United States per year.

“We greatly appreciate the incredible generosity of MacKenzie Scott for this amazing gift to our organization,” said JA president and CEO Jack E. Kosakowski. “This investment will increase access to our learning experiences in underserved communities, as well as help us pay for things that are not usually top priorities for funders, such as updating our IT infrastructure. Increasing efficiencies in our day-to-day business operations will allow us to make better use of other donor contributions in terms of delivering learning experiences to the young people we serve.”

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