Causes:
Children & Youth,
Job Training,
Youth Development - Business
Mission: To break the cycle of poverty by ensuring that young people complete a four-year college education.
Results: • For the third year in a row, more than 90% of Juma's graduating high school seniors in the Bay Area transitioned to college (compared to the prevailing college-going rate of 52% for low-income high school graduates)
• 94% of Juma's 2009 Bay Area high school seniors graduated from high school (compared to Oakland's graduation rate of 46% and San Francisco's rate of 73%)
• Juma has created more than 1,200 jobs and has served more than 2,500 youth since 1993.
• Juma pioneered and currently operates one of the leading youth Individual Development Account (IDA) programs in the U.S., supporting 543 IDA accounts statewide in 2009.
• To date, youth have saved more than $783,000 in Individual Development Accounts (IDA) and earned nearly $960,000 in matching funds, since the program was started in 1999.
• 97% of Juma participants are either still working and/or enrolled in academic or vocational training programs two years after transitioning out of Juma (source: 2006 Social Impact Report).
Target demographics: Juma Ventures serves disadvantaged young people between the ages of 15 and 19, the vast majority of whom live in Bayview/Hunter’s Point, Visitacion Valley, Western Addition and the Mission. All participants are “low- income” according to the Housing and Urban Development’s Area Median Income table, and three-quarters live in households earning less than 200% of the Federal Poverty Guideline. Our participant population is ethnically diverse, with close to 90% being youth of color.
Direct beneficiaries per year: Juma serves more than 700 youth between the ages of 15 - 19 years.
Geographic areas served: San Francisco, Oakland, San Diego
Programs: Business employment: job skills training and part-time employment at juma's social enterprise concessions businesses at local sports stadiums provide youth with a first employment opportunity. Students earn money, develop work skills, set goals, and increase leadership capacity. Juma youth work up to 15 hours per week. For high performing youth, juma administers a youth management training program that positions youth for shift supervisory roles paying higher wages. Last year, juma employed 694 students in san francisco, oakland, san diego, santa clara, new orleans, and seattle. Youth earned almost $1 million in wages with net revenue of $3. 2 million across all sites.
workforce resources: juma owns and operates small businesses that provide meaningful employment and development opportunities to low-income youth. Youth receive job experience complemented by programs that focus on college completion. These programs include after-school programming and college preparation. Youth have access to opportunities for leadership development and financial capability training, including access to matched savings accounts, which multiply and leverage student savings from job earnings. Juma offers three core program components that, together with one-on-one case management, give youth a unique set of comprehensive services: job skills training and part-time employment are offered at juma's social enterprise concessions businesses at major sports stadiums. Employment opportunities are offered year-round and provide training and hands-on skill building in customer service, cash transactions, work readiness, personal responsibility, sales, and supervision. Education services and academic supports encourage college matriculation and graduation among all youth. Juma participants develop an education plan with the support of their ydc. Youth determine individual goals for higher education and plan the steps to reach those goals in partnership with their ydc. In 2014, 98% of juma's high school seniors graduated from high school and 92% continued on to college. Youth participate in college and career tours with major employers that aid youth in understanding the relevance of college. Juma specifically provides assistance with college and financial aid applications, as well as standardized testing preparation, after school tutoring, and career workshops with panelists from various industries that encourage college completion. Financial capability training and asset-building services teach youth how to manage their money through budgeting, debt and credit management, banking services, and learning to save. New youth complete a financial assessment and develop a financial plan. Through individual development accounts, matching every dollar that students save two-to-one or one-to-one, youth are incentivized to save and to focus on college. In 2014, juma youth saved $89,300 towards college expenses.
replication: juma's replication efforts comprise the establishment of new enterprise and programmatic operations in new and existing markets. Key replication activities include staff travel, infrastructure development, and start-up of new social enterprise operations at major sports and entertainment venues. Juma's leadership team travels to prospective markets for purposes of fund development and oversight of social enterprise start-up and operations. Direct staff travels to the san francisco headquarters for orientation and training as part of juma's new site development process. In 2012, juma opened a new office in new orleans to operate at the mercedes-benz superdome and new orleans arena. In 2013, juma opened a new office in seattle to operate at centurylink field, safeco field, and key arena. In 2014, juma opened its newest social enterprise at levi's stadium in santa clara. The launch of the santa clara site represents another step in realizing a strategic effort to align corporate social responsibility strategies of major sports franchises, national vending and concessions companies, financial institutions, and other corporate partners toward a common vision: to create jobs for low-income young people throughout the country.
