A five-year, $45 million initiative of the Jim Joseph Foundation to boost the number of educators and educational leaders who are prepared to design and implement high-quality Jewish education programs succeeded in improving the capacity of institutions to meet the professional learning needs in the field, an evaluation commissioned by the foundation finds. Conducted by the American Institutes for Research, the evaluation, Independent Evaluation of the Jim Joseph Foundation's Education Initiative: Final Report (73 pages, PDF), found that investments of $15 million each in Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, the Jewish Theological Seminary, and Yeshiva University supported the initiative's goals, which included increasing the number of highly qualified individuals who enroll in Jewish education programs and earn advanced degrees; providing programs that prepare enrollees to teach, inspire, and enrich the education experience; increasing the number of educators placed, retained, and promoted; developing institutional infrastructure to sustain new programs; and identifying areas of collaboration. Over five years, the grantees piloted new master's and doctoral degree programs or concentrations; certificate, leadership, and professional development programs; induction programs; and seminars, all of which contributed to a doubling in enrollment. Recommendations for future initiatives include offering customized learning plans, partnering with employers to maximize educators' professional learning, and collaborating to save on program development and operating costs.