WASHINGTON – Howard University announced a $2 million grant from The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation to support the Graduation Retention Access to Continued Excellence (GRACE) Grant for students facing financial barriers. The grant will specifically support GRACE Grant students from the Los Angeles metropolitan area.

“I am incredibly grateful to The Broad Foundation for its generous support of the GRACE Grant program,” said Howard University President Wayne A. I. Frederick. “I’m humbled that my vision for the GRACE Grant has been rewarded with such broad philanthropic support. The grant benefits the neediest of our undergraduate students, allowing them to complete their matriculation and fulfill their biggest dreams. With contributions like this gift from The Broad Foundation, we can continue providing this resource to students who need it most.” 

The GRACE Grant program is Howard University’s signature graduation retention program. Created in 2014 by President Frederick to help remove financial barriers and encourage on-time graduation, the needs-based program provides a 100 percent match for students who receive the maximum federal Pell Grant and provides additional funding to students with an expected family contribution of zero (EFC $0). The average four-year graduation rate for EFC $0 GRACE recipients is 79 percent, which is 33 points higher than those in the same category who did not receive GRACE funds.

The $2 million investment from The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation will be used to award GRACE Grants for up to four years to Pell-eligible students from the Los Angeles metropolitan area, with a preference for students from the Los Angeles County and especially students with expressed interest in pursuing a STEM major. The grant will fund approximately 25 GRACE Grant awards per year over four years.

“STEM touches nearly every aspect of our lives – from biomedical research to renewable energy innovations, big data analyses and algorithm design – and we recognize the critical role HBCUs play in creating pathways for BIPOC students to participate in STEM studies and careers,” said Gerun Riley, president of The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation. “Our support for Howard University’s GRACE Grant program will open doors for more Los Angeles students from historically marginalized communities so they can actively participate in designing our future."

The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation stewards its groundbreaking institutions in education, science and the arts, while elevating organizations, initiatives and leaders that boldly address the challenges of our time and expand opportunity for Los Angeles’ historically marginalized communities.

Eli Broad was a renowned business leader and the only person to build two Fortune 500 companies in two different industries from the ground up. Over his six-decade career, he founded and grew both SunAmerica Inc. and KB Home. After leaving the business world, Broad and his wife Edythe devoted themselves to philanthropy as founders of The Broad Foundations, which they established to advance entrepreneurship for the public good in K-12 education, scientific and medical research, and the visual and performing arts. Through The Broad Foundation, the Broads have donated over $4 billion with the simple belief that they have a moral obligation to give back and help make the world a better place.

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About Howard University

Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 14 schools and colleges. Students pursue more than 140 programs of study leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced one Schwarzman Scholar, three Marshall Scholars, four Rhodes Scholars, 12 Truman Scholars, 25 Pickering Fellows and more than 165 Fulbright recipients. Howard also produces more on-campus African American Ph.D. recipients than any other university in the United States. For more information on Howard University, visit www.howard.edu.

About The Broad Foundation

The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation envisions a world where everyone can shape and participate in a sustainable, equitable economy that serves the public good and builds a brighter future. We see our community as a place of opportunity where all Angelenos, inclusive of their backgrounds, have pathways and tools to grow and thrive. For more information about The Broad Foundation, visit https://broadfoundation.org/.