Increasingly concerned for the quality of elementary and secondary public education in America, particularly within large urban school districts, Eli Broad and his family established The Broad Foundation in 1999 to focus on K-12 educational issues. The family's initial funding commitment of $100 million was later increased to over $400 million.

From the beginning, The Broad Foundation sought to be different -- in its philosophical insistence on entrepreneurship and innovation, and in its willingness to take financial and political risks to develop a demonstrable track record of success.

Following an initial series of primarily district-level innovation grants, The Foundation took its first unique steps toward the development of a national program. Several of the nation's top education leaders gathered for two strategic planning retreats to refine the principles and operating objectives that would govern The Foundation's approach to public education philanthropy.

The Foundation launched grantmaking activities in large urban districts across the country. It has invested in nontraditional education initiatives and recruited entrepreneurs to revitalize some of our cities' largest school districts. It has challenged the status quo by awarding grants to innovative leaders offering unconventional solutions to governance, management and labor issues. And it has begun the important job of showcasing success wherever it is found, fostering a network of best practices among urban school districts.

In 2002, The Foundation convened a third strategic planning retreat. A distinguished group of leaders in public education assembled to discuss the launch of several initiatives incubated at previous retreats and The Foundation's increase in assets to $400 million. The Foundation solicited guidance on how best to scale-up current Foundation investments and develop new high-impact policy initiatives.