Junior Achievement (JA) is the nation’s largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their futures, and make smart academic and economic choices. This is done through the core content areas of work readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy. Junior Achievement of the Michigan Great Lakes (JAMGL) is one of over 100 local JA areas across the nation.

In 2017, Kennari joined JAMGL on the “Building Futures…Inspiring Dreams” campaign, providing campaign consulting and project management services throughout the duration of the campaign. A $12.9 million campaign goal was set – to build the Huizenga Family Junior Achievement Free Enterprise Center in Grand Rapids, MI. This was eventually raised to $14 million to account for inflation, mitigating factors related to the global pandemic, and advancing technology. When the campaign was completed, JAMGL exceeded the extended goal, raising over $15 million. After completing the campaign, JAMGL continued to partner with Kennari, shifting to an Annual Giving focus to meet other needs.

The Huizenga Family Junior Achievement Free Enterprise Center opened to students in the spring of 2022. The center includes three experiential learning labs: Tom Fox Family JA BizTown, Karl & Susan Hascall JA Finance Park, and Haworth JA Entrepreneurship Incubator. These three labs provide 5th – 12th graders with unique, hands-on experiences to connect what they learn in the classroom with real life scenarios, explore career interests, and learn the components of running a business. 

“Kennari has been Junior Achievement’s consulting partner of choice for several years and we, together, have raised millions of dollars. They provided counsel for our Capital Campaign which was extremely successful, and we turned to them for assistance in planning and implementing our expansion of programs and services in the State of Michigan. They have been and continue to be very effective consultants and partners in our work to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy.”   – Jay Ediger, Senior Vice President of Development, Junior Achievement of the Michigan Great Lakes