orporate Partnerships are an essential component of the JAG Model. Corporations provide JAG and its State Organizations and Local Affiliates with access to expertise and resources that are critical to preparing JAG youth for successful careers. JAG Corporate Partners include:

HOW CORPORATE PARTNERS SUPPORT JAG

Serve on the National JAG Board of Directors

JAG appreciates its National Board Members who provide access to expertise and resources from their respective companies.

Serve on a Statewide Oversight Board

JAG State Organizations benefit greatly from corporate partners that serve on their oversight boards. Corporate leaders who are interested in serving on statewide boards should contact the State Director and express interest in becoming a Corporate Partner.

Access contact names and information:

• State Directors
• JAG Directory

Serve on Local Business Councils

Local JAG programs establish a Business Council to provide guidance and, in some cases, oversee the operations of the program to help JAG Specialists achieve program goals. Employers who serve on a business council provide valuable guidance to JAG Specialists on local labor demands, employer interests, and employer relations.

Business councils also provide access to employer contacts for classroom training, student leadership conference activities, job placements, and community recognition activities.

Access contact names and information:

• State Directors
• JAG Directory

Provide Financial Assistance

JAG and its affiliates depend upon the generous financial support of Corporate Partners to achieve program goals. To supplement limited public resources, affiliates must rely upon the private sector for approximately 20 percent of their total operation costs.

Provide In-Kind Services and Resources

One of the most significant ways a company can support JAG is through in-kind contributions, including time commitments of executives and employees. Examples of in-kind contributions from Corporate Partners include sponsoring student conferences, printing certificates, and paying travel costs for students to attend JAG's Annual National Leadership Award event or the annual National Student Leadership Conference.

In addition, local affiliates rely upon Corporate Partners to serve as mentors, to conduct training workshops on employability skills, to serve as judges at student conferences, and to provide career exploratory opportunities such as job shadowing and site tours.

Provide Access to Quality Jobs

Corporate Partners help local affiliates achieve their program goals by providing JAG graduates with access to quality jobs, either directly or through contacts with other employers.

CORPORATE PARTNER BENEFITS

Recognition and Visibility

As an active Corporate Partner, you can take credit for state and local increases in graduation rates, improvements in employment rates for some of America's most at-risk youth, and reductions in dropout and juvenile delinquency rates.

Employee Satisfaction

Employees of Corporate Partners who actively support JAG programs receive a high degree of personal satisfaction from helping young people successfully transition from school to the workforce, especially when those young people were never expected to complete their high school education. Moreover, experience shows that active involvement in Corporate Partnerships positively influence the morale and productivity of a Corporate Partner's employees.

Access to Qualified Entry-Level Workers

As a Corporate Partner, your company will have access to a pool of motivated, job-ready employees. Prior to referring graduates to a company, JAG Specialists prescreen students to ensure they have basic academic and employability skills required for entry-level jobs, saving costs associated with interviewing applicants.

Each graduate receives sustained support from a JAG Specialist for a one-year period after the graduation. In coordination with employers, Specialists ensure that students receive additional employability skills training, counseling, tutoring, and other support when necessary to overcome any deficiencies on the job.

How To Become a Corporate Partner

If you are interested in learning more about how to become a Corporate Partner, please contact Jobs for America's Graduates or call 972.691.4486.