The Franklin Initiative's roots go back to 1992 when the Tech Prep Initiative first began facilitating the Educator in the Workplace Program.

In 1995, CALL (Community Alliance for Lifelong Learning) partnered with the Tech Prep Initiative to develop and implement Reality Stores in Monroe County middle schools.

In 1996, the Region 10 School to Work Consortium received a five-year School-to-Work grant. The Consortium partnered with CALL to establish the School-to-Work Program in Monroe County. A Leadership Team was formed to design and oversee the Program. Individuals representing the eight career clusters and the Mayor, Chamber of Commerce President and Superintendent of Schools served as members of this team. They worked with the community to develop a strong School-to- Work Program, and renamed it the Franklin Initiative. It is names after Benjamin Franklin, who pursued several careers throughout his lifetime, and serves as an excellent role model for students.

In 1997, a full time work based learning specialist was hired to recruit community partners and facilitate Franklin Initiative activities. The high school senior Internship Program was later started with 50 students participating. It now serves over 200 students annually.

In June 2000, anticipating the end of the School-to-Work Grant, the Chamber of Commerce Foundation took over the Initiative and a fundraising component was added to the Initiative to help sustain it in the absence of the grant.

From 1997 to the present year, the Franklin Initiative has grown tremendously impacting over 4000 students in one school year. The number of activities has grown from the original three to fourteen. New committees and action teams have been established to help improve and enhance the Initiative and there are currently about 450 business partners involved in the program.