Junior Achievement Central Ontario is a 3-star charity with a Fair demonstrated impact. The charity has a B+ Results Reporting grade, which is above average. Its overhead spending is 72%, outside of Ci’s reasonable range, and its reserve funds can cover just over 2 years and 1 month. This is within Ci’s reasonable range. 

Founded in 2003, Junior Achievement Central Ontario (JACO) is a branch of Junior Achievement Canada. JACO is a result of merging Junior Achievement Toronto and York Region (founded in 1968) and Junior Achievement of Peel (founded in 1981). The charity works with students in Toronto, York Region, Peel, and Simcoe. JACO partners with businesses and educators across Central Ontario to teach economic principles to prepare young people to succeed in business. In F2024, JACO ran programs for 66,070 students from grade three to grade twelve in 519 schools. The charity does not provide a breakdown or program spending.   

Junior Achievement Central Ontario runs four programs for students in grades three to eight: More Than Money, Our Business World, Dollars with Sense, and Economics for Success. More Than Money teaches students about earning, saving, tracking, and spending money. Our Business World allows students to explore how businesses run. Dollars with Sense and Economics for Success both teach the fundamentals of money management.   

JACO also runs five programs for students in grades nine to twelve: Pitch Your Vision, Personal Finance, Investment Strategies Program, Job Shadow: Steps to Getting Hired, and Career Accelerator. Pitch Your Vision is a six-week program that teaches students how to build new businesses, with an opportunity to pitch their ideas at the end of the program. Personal Finance is a 75-minute program that teaches students how to save money and make smart financial decisions. Investment Strategies introduces students to the stock market and allows them to build a mock portfolio over five weeks. Career Accelerator is a two-year program where students can network, shadow professionals, and build soft skills. Job Shadow is a 75-minute program where students develop job-hunting skills and learn about different career opportunities.   

JACO’s Company Program is a four-month project where students launch and run small companies with the aid of mentors from local businesses. In F2024, more than 490 high school students participated in creating 30 companies.   

Junior Achievement Central Ontario’s audited financial statements appear to follow activity-based costing, which aligns with best practices. However, its audited financial statements do not appear to reconcile with its T3010 CRA filing so it is not clear how the charity is allocating its costs between program, administrative, and fundraising expenses.   

In F2024, JACO recorded Canadian donations and special events fundraising of $2.4m.  The charity reported $8k in government funding and $122k in investment income in F2024. The charity reports $7k in goods in kind on its T3010 but Ci could find no mention of this on the F2024 audited financial statements.  

In F2024, JACO spent $1.0m on its program, which is 42% of its revenue less investment income, and gave out $22k in grants. The charity spent $1.0m on administration, which is 43% of revenue. The charity spent $687k on fundraising, which is 29% of donations. This means that the total overhead costs are 72%. For every dollar donated, 28 cents are available to go to the cause. This is outside Charity Intelligence’s reasonable range for overhead, which is between 65 and 95 cents. The charity recorded a deficit of $237k and has net funding reserves of $2.6m in F2024. The reserves can cover 210% or just over 2 years and 1 month. This is within Charity Intelligence’s reasonable limit of 300%.   

Profile updated by Leah Holmes on June 10, 2025. This charity report is an update that has been sent to the charity for review. Comments and corrections may be forthcoming.