Juma Ventures: Youth Context & Need

“Frankly, what impresses me the most about Juma Ventures is the willingness to jump in and begin applying concepts of performance management with an absolute understanding that 1) things will necessarily need to evolve over time but more importantly 2) our services to kids are too critical to go unmeasured in the interim. It is clear to me that just receiving contracts and 'doing good work' is not enough for this organization.”

Steve Butz
President of Social Solutions




“Frankly, what impresses me the most about Juma Ventures is the willingness to jump in and begin applying concepts of performance management with an absolute understanding that 1) things will necessarily need to evolve over time but more importantly 2) our services to kids are too critical to go unmeasured in the interim. It is clear to me that just receiving contracts and 'doing good work' is not enough for this organization.” Steve Butz President of Social Solutions	Youth Context & Need Young people living in low-income households or growing up in foster care face significant barriers to successfully transitioning to productive adult livelihoods. When children grow up in poverty, they are more likely as adults to have low earnings, which in turn reflect low productivity in the workforce, which translates into an economic cost to society. Moreover, there is a central unfairness to child poverty. It runs counter to this nation's shared belief in equal opportunity for all. Low-income youth are less likely to enter or complete post-secondary education than their more affluent peers, and more likely to become involved in the juvenile justice system or struggle with violence and substance abuse. This significantly increases the likelihood that they will remain poor and in turn, raise their own children in similar circumstances. Higher education is a proven path out of poverty, and yet only 52% of low-income youth (families in the bottom income quartile) who graduate from high school enter a university or college (compared to 85% in the top income quartile), and only 20% complete their degree (source: Pathways to College Network, www.pathwaystocollege.net). Factors that contribute to this outcome include: Lack of sufficient income or assets to finance higher education Poor high-school academic outcomes resulting from the challenges facing public schools in low-income communities Comparatively weaker supports for navigating the college application process Lack of role models for higher education attainment Absence of perceived expectations of post-secondary degree attainment (source: The Achievement Gap from a Capabilities and Asset Perspective, Elliot, William III and Margaret Sherraden, Center for Social Development, 2007) Juma provides youth with the tools and resources that allow them to overcome these barriers and transition into higher education prepared to persevere and complete their degree. Juma’s program offerings are unique in combining the social supports of a robust youth development model with direct support for accessing higher education, as well as the opportunity to accumulate financial resources through employment at social enterprises and a highly leveraged asset building program.