Eli and Edythe L. Broad Foundation

The Eli and Edythe L. Broad Foundation, commonly referred to as The Broad Foundation, is a 501(c)(3) established by entrepreneur and philanthropist Eli Broad and Edyth Broad. Its stated mission is to "to advance entrepreneurship for the public good in education, science and the arts." The Broad Foundations reported assets totalling at nearly $3.03 billion in 2015.

The Broad Foundation issues grants to charter school initiatives. It's founder, Eli Broad, is considered a polarizing figure. He identifies as a "liberal democrat" but has been an "ally to Republican and conservative folks through his work on charters." In his own words Broad claims to be "big believer in high-quality public schools and strong accountability for all public schools — traditional and charter." He has also been in feuds with teacher unions over charters.

One of the recipients of Broad Foundation grants is the Broad Center, which states its goal as to "develop transformational leaders in urban public education."

Eli Broad is the 78th wealthiest person in the world, with a $6.8 billion net worth The foundation's namesakes of the organization live in Los Angeles.

News and Controversy

Relationship with EdPost

A 2017 Huffington Post article states "it seems that Los Angeles billionaire Eli Broad has played a notably dominant role in EdPost." Education Post (aka EdPost) uses "Results in Education Foundation" (RIEF) as its official nonprofit name. RIEF has two affiliates of the Broad Foundation. Peter Cunningham, the executive director of EdPost, told a reporter in 2015 that "[EdPost] wasn’t my idea; I was initially approached by Broad—it was specifically because a lot of reform leaders felt like they were being piled on and that no one would come to their defense."

The same article goes on to say, "Cunningham and his EdPost belong to RIEF donors. However, with its particularly declared presence, of two board members, it seems that Broad has gone above and beyond in assuring its influence over EdPost. Broad seems to really want to dominate the EdPost “conversation.”

Eli Broad Steps Down

In October of 2017, Mr. Broad announced that it was “time to move on" from public life. According to The New York Times "the practical ramifications of Mr. Broad’s decision may be limited" as he had already appointed people to leadership roles within the Broad Foundation.

Feud with Betsy Devos

Despite both being billionaire education activists supporting charter schools, Eli Broad and Betsy Devos had a public disagreement. When Devos was seeking confirmation as the United States Secretary of Education, Broad sent a letter to Senate leaders stating "serious concerns about her support for unregulated charter schools and vouchers as well as the potential conflicts of interest she might bring to the job."

The Washington Post reported that the disagreement between the two "reveals a deep split in the movement to improve public education with corporate-style changes that seek to run schools like businesses and want to greatly expand alternatives to traditional public schools."

Gerun Riley Named President

After joining the Broad Foundation in 2003 as a receptionist, Gerun Riley was named the president of the organization in 2016.

"Uncertainty" with Traditional School Systems

In 2015, the Los Angeles Times reported that Eli Broad was "no longer certain that he wants to reward traditional school districts at all." That came in conjunction with reports that the Foundation had "suspended a coveted, $1-million prize to honor the best urban school systems out of concern that they are failing to improve quickly enough." That award went to traditional schools. Charter school awards, however, such as the $500,000 award established in 2015, were reported to be continuing. According to the Los Angeles Times, "Broad also has bypassed districts by promoting and funding charter schools, which have siphoned students from traditional schools."

Named one of the "Big Three" in "market-based" "overhauling public education"

A 2011 article in Dissent Magazine closely examined the state of educational philanthropy in the U.S. and said the Broad Foundation is one of the Big Three foundations that are pouring money into influencing educational systems throughout the U.S. The "Big Three" includes the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (Microsoft), the Walton Family Foundation (Wal-mart), and the Broad Foundation. The Broad's philanthropy, the article says, promotes market-based goals for overhauling public education, by emphasizing choice, competition, deregulation, accountability, and data-based decision-making. They vehicles they fund to achieve their goals are: charter schools, high-stakes standardized testing for students, merit pay for teachers whose students improve their test scores, firing teachers and closing schools when scores don’t rise adequately, and longitudinal data collection on the performance of every student and teacher. "The education reform movement’s success so far has depended on the size and clout of the Gates-Broad-Walton triumvirate," the Dissent article states.

History

Eli Broad made his fortune through the creation of KB Home (a homebuilding company) and SunAmerica, Inc., a financial company. He and his wife, Edythe, both attended Detroit Public Schools, and then he attended Michigan State University. Eli graduated with a degree in accounting and become the youngest Certified Public Accountant in Michigan history. After working as an accountant for two years, Eli Broad noticed that his homebuilding clients were making far more than he was, and he and Edythe’s cousin’s husband decided they could build houses, too. Eli Broad and Donald Kaufman together founded Kaufman and Broad with the idea that if they built houses without basements (since by then, the widespread use of gas heating rendered basements to store coal unnecessary), they could offer homes with mortgage payments lower than the rent for a two-bedroom apartment. The first weekend in 1956, they priced their houses at $13,740. They sold out that same weekend and that was the start of a successful business. In 1971, Kaufman and Broad acquired a small life insurance company for $65 million that they eventually turned into a retirement savings empire. In 1999, SunAmerica merged into AIG, which purchased the business for $18 billion, and Eli Broad stepped down as CEO and became a full-time philanthropist.

The Broad Academy

The Broad Academy is part of the Broad Center. The Academy states that it "is an advanced development program for leaders who have established careers -- most from public education -- and are ready to serve large urban school districts, state departments of education and public charter school networks."

Graduates of the 2015-2016 cohort are:

• Scott Given
• Donald Fennoy
• Derwin Sisnett
• Elliot Smalley
• Diane Tavenner
• Tom Torkelson
• Paymon Rouhanifard
• Penny Schwinn
• Kriste Dragon
• Aurora Lora
• Bill Kurtz
• Jason Kamras
• Gregory White
• Heather Young Anichini
• Jeremy Chiappetta
• Mary Elizabeth Davis
• Ana Ponce

Core Financials

According to 990 tax forms:

2016

• Total Revenue: $150,227,391
• Total Expenses: $151,816,830
• Total Assests: $1,756,218,993

2015

• Total Revenue: $99,327,995
• Total Expenses: $103,986,182
• Total Assests: $1,842,260,094

2014

• Total Revenue: $131,074,631
• Total Expenses: $166,784,746
• Total Assests: $1,941,410,735

Grants Distributed

Currents grantees of the Broad Foundation as of Oct. 2018 are:

• BioLA
• The Broad Center
• Building Excellent Schools
• Charter School Growth Fund
• Discovery Cube Los Angeles
• Fund for Equity and Excellence
• Educators 4 Excellence
• EnCorps STEM Teachers Program
• Great Public Schools Now
• Green Dot Public Schools
• InnerCity Struggle
• KIPP Schools
• L.A. Promise Fund
• National Alliance for Public Charter School
• Partnership for Los Angeles Schools
• Ramon C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts
• Scholarship America
• The 74 Million
• Silicon Schools Fund
• UCLA Foundation
• United Way of Greater Los Angeles

A full list of grantees can be found on ther "Grants and Contributions Paid During the Year or Approved for Future Payment" on the foundations 990-PF tax documents. 2016, the most recent publicly avaliable document, can be found here

Board of Governors (2015)

According to the Broad Foundation, the 11-member board of governors "advises Eli and Edythe Broad in their philanthropic initiatives." Current Members:

• Eli Broad
• Edythe L. Broad
• David Baltimore
• Robert Andrews Millikan
• Henry Cisneros
• Robert Day
• Paul N. Frimmer
• Jana W. Greer
• Bruce Karatz
• Kent Kresa
• Barry Munitz
• Suzanne Nora Johnson
• Roderick Paige
• Richard J. Riordan
• Andrew L. Stern
• Lawrence H. Summers
• Jay S. Wintrob
• Cindy S. Quane

Former Members:

• Morton O. Schapiro

Sourcewatch resources

• Russlynn Ali