We know you've all been working hard in your teams and have decided to extend the Fixed Cost payment and Business Plan by one week. We encourage you to complete these two tasks ASAP so that you can focus on launching your company but you will now have until Friday, February 19th to submit.

Business Plan and Fixed Costs #1 ($75) Now Due: February 19, 2021

Please note that this is a hard deadline. No exceptions will be made beyond this date.

Other Department Resources can be found under Phase 3, Week 5 on the JA Canada Resource Portal here. This includes templates for Marketing Plan, Sales Training, etc.

This is a reminder that we are waiving the requirement to pay wages/salaries this year for all teams. You can still opt to pay them as a team but it is not required under JA regulations.

LEAD ADVISORS/PRESIDENTS/VP OF PRODUCTION: If your product has been approved and you requested Shopify, you should have access to your site already. If you do not, please let me know. Please read the note below for important updates.

Each year between February and March, we schedule Company Program visits with each of our after-school Company Programs. The visit is an opportunity for JA staff to meet the students, provide some JA updates including upcoming events and CP awards and answer any questions your team may have.

Your team can choose to prepare a short presentation of their company - it is not mandatory but highly encouraged as it is a great opportunity for your team to practice your pitch!

Visits will last between 20 to 30 minutes.

LEAD ADVISORS & PRESIDENTS: I will be in touch over the next 2 weeks to schedule your visit between February 16 to March 12.

This year, in place of the JA Trade Show, we are hosting the Youth Entrepreneurs Showcase (YES) which provides an opportunity for you to network with peers, showcase your companies and compete for the best sales pitch!

When using the JA Central Ontario Logo on your website, packaging, etc., please use the logos provided below.

ACHIEVERS: As JA Central Ontario Company Program students, you may be eligible to apply for the following national scholarships offered by JA Canada:

Value: $2,000

Value: $1,000

Value: $3,000

You can learn more about the application requirements here.

Deadline to Apply: Friday, March 19, 2021

Note: Where it says letter from JA Charter, you can request a letter directly from your JA Advisors since they have worked with you directly and can speak to your skills and talents.

We would like to collect some photos and updates from teams to share on our social media.

This can include photos/screenshots of any of the following:

Please upload your photo and also include a short description (1-2 sentences is fine) on what the photo is about here. Please ensure you include your program name in the file name.

Each photo submission will be awarded a bonus 10 team challenge points. Maximum 3 submissions per team can be awarded.

For more information on the Team Challenge, including to download the tracker, please see here.

DEADLINE: To collect these bonus points, please submit your photos by Friday, February 5th.

LEAD ADVISORS & VP OF HR: Please upload a copy of your most updated student attendance list here. Please ensure you indicate any students who are no longer part of the program.

Please upload your business plan here.

Please follow instructions to submit your fixed costs here.

"For entrepreneurs, resilience is about rethinking the way you see setbacks, and viewing them as catalysts of growth and progress rather than threats to be avoided. Because the truth is, the times you grow—as a person, as an entrepreneur—are the times when you’re faced with extremely difficult problems and decisions." (foundr.com)

We have been so impressed with all of you so far this year - your commitment to the program and the resilience you have all demonstrated. We challenged you to come up with products/services that you could deliver virtually and you have all done a tremendous job at finding innovative ideas and solutions. Well done!

While there may be continued challenges and setbacks along the way, we wanted to remind you to "trust the process". Whether your ideas comes together the way you imagined or not, whether you are able to make a profit or not, please remember that it will be this experience, the learnings and the connections you make that will be the most valuable to you in the long run.

We've added a section to the JA Central Ontario resource page where you will be able to find some external student opportunities offered by our partners and sponsors.

Head on over to learn more about some current opportunities offered by CPA Ontario!

Here is a list of the awards that will be offered this year. We will be sharing more details about these awards in the coming weeks. Application forms will be shared in March.

• President of the Year

• Leadership in Finance

• Leadership in Marketing

• Leadership in Sales

• Leadership in Production & Technology

• Leadership in Human Resources

• JA Journey Award

• Changemaker Award

• Jane Eisbrenner Scholarship

*All individual awards must be nominated by the Advising Team. One nomination per category per team is allowed. For the departmental awards, it does not have to be the VP who is nominated.

• Company of the Year (3 categories: Retail, Technology, Social Enterprise)

• Gary and Joanne Reamey Family Award (CSR Award)

• Best Brand Award

• Team Challenge Award

*Teams can nominate themselves (with Advisor reference) to any or all of the awards.

Step 1: Advisor will nominate the students. Students will complete the application forms and submit.

Step 2: Applications are reviewed by preliminary judges. Finalists are selected.

Step 3: Finalists will attend Virtual Student Interview Night

Step 4. Winners will be announced at ventureON.

To learn more about banking, please review the banking FAQ here.

Once your team is ready to move forward with opening a bank account, please email companyprogram@jacentralontario.org with the following information:

Where possible, we would encourage two Advisors to have signing authority, however, for this virtual year, we are making an exception and allowing for one Advisor to set up the bank account if two Advisors are not able to coordinate to open the bank account.

For your internal process, regardless of how many Advisors are on the bank account, please ensure that you have two Advisors (including the signatory) and your VP of Finance or member of Finance Department responsible for reviewing/signing along with the Advisors. This will provide the students an opportunity to learn about accountability and financial controls within a business.

To view the full CP Calendar including upcoming deadlines, click here.

Mid-Year Attendance List Due

Business Plan & Fixed Cost #1 ($75) Due

Young Entrepreneurs Showcase (YES)

Should you have questions or concerns regarding any of the above information, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at companyprogram@jacentralontario.org

Thank you!

Lucia & Lesley

The Company Program Team