BY DEBBIE NAZARIAN, LEMONADE DAY NATIONAL DIRECTOR

“Lemonade Day works! There is no need to test it.” Jim Clifton, CEO of Gallup

I’m so pleased to report that Lemonade Day has updated its 2017 Impact Study with equally impressive results. Once again, we teamed up with the venerable Gallup organization to develop the Lemonade Day 2020 Impact Study on entrepreneurial aspirations of today’s youth.

Back in 2017, Lemonade Day engaged Joe Daly, a senior partner with Gallup and a member of the Lemonade Day National board of directors, and Gallup consultant Valerie Calderon, Ph.D. to design a study to measure:

1. The program’s yearly success through participants’ and mentors’ self-reported data.
2. How the Lemonade Day lessons learned compare with the four key questions from Gallup’s Student Poll that measure the general population of U.S. students who do not participate in a similar program or other youth entrepreneurship experience.

In 2020, we committed to updating the Impact Study with data collected from the Lemonade Day 2018 and 2019 participant and mentor surveys as well as the 2018 and 2019 Gallup Student Poll. To date, Gallup’s research on entrepreneurial aspiration is not encouraging. With diminishing ambition, out of approximately four million high school graduates in the U.S. every year, less than 0.25 percent would be considered “builders” – those contributing to the economic vitality of their local community.

Lemonade Day’s 2020 Impact Study findings, consistent with our 2017 Impact Study, showed that the program participants repeatedly rate their experiences high on all measures of entrepreneurial attitudes and behaviors. For instance, nearly 75% of Lemonade Day respondents reported planning to start their own business. In contrast, 40% of students surveyed in the Gallup Student Poll felt the same way.

Overall, the study illustrated that Lemonade Day is a successful youth entrepreneurship education program that could benefit K-12 students in the following areas:

• Motivation and inspiration
• Growth in social skills and positive values
• Commitment to starting and completing a project
• Positive self-image

Lemonade Day National Board Chair Charlie Hamilton sums up the value of Lemonade Day’s experiential lessons. He says, “Teaching young people about entrepreneurship is one aspect of a long-term, meaningful solution that builds critical-thinking, problem-solving skills, resourcefulness, resiliency and many other life skills that are valuable regardless of a child’s future career path. The result is that the Lemonade Day program will contribute to the development of business and community leaders who are well-equipped to address economic, societal and cultural issues. Lemonade Day is empowering the youth of today to be the leaders of tomorrow.” 

To download and read the entire Lemonade Day 2020 Impact Study, click here.

We are beginning our Lemonade Day 2021 season soon! Now is a great time to learn more about the program for your kids or as a mentor or sponsor in a Lemonade Day city near you.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to me at debbie@lemonadeday.org. Please share this blog with others whether it is parents, teachers, youth organization leaders, and businesses.