Big Bets for America was created to catalyze meaningful progress on urgent national challenges by convening leaders across sectors — philanthropy, government, business, and community — to identify and advance bold, actionable solutions.
At a time of increasing fragmentation, the initiative bridges silos by bringing together decision-makers with the influence, resources, and expertise to drive change. Through place-based convenings — including flagship gatherings in Oklahoma City, Baltimore, and Cleveland — the initiative grounds national conversations in local context while accelerating ideas with the potential to scale nationally.
The core objective is to move beyond dialogue toward action. By connecting stakeholders who can shape investment, policy, and implementation, the initiative elevates high-potential ideas and creates pathways for follow-through — measured not by conversation alone, but by capital mobilized, partnerships formed, and commitments sustained.
Big Bets for America is designed as a convening platform that transforms dialogue into action by intentionally structuring how leaders collaborate and advance ideas.
The initiative uses a place-based approach, hosting convenings in strategically selected cities to connect national priorities with local realities. Each convening drew both its city's mayor and its state's governor — a signal of the political capital and public-sector investment the platform commands: Oklahoma City (Mayor David Holt, Gov. Kevin Stitt), Baltimore (Mayor Brandon Scott, Gov. Wes Moore), and Cleveland (Mayor Justin Bibb, Gov. Mike DeWine).
Each city carried its own throughline rather than a repeated national template: Oklahoma City centered on Heartland investment readiness and entrepreneurship, in partnership with Heartland Forward; Baltimore focused on economic mobility, workforce development, and neighborhood revitalization, alongside Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore Development Corporation, and the Greater Baltimore Committee; and Cleveland tackled workforce, advanced manufacturing, and place-based growth, with the Cleveland Foundation, Destination Cleveland, and KeyBank.
A key execution challenge was ensuring each convening felt locally grounded rather than a scaled repetition of the last. The team addressed this by tailoring programming, partners, and framing to each city's specific economic and civic context — and as the series progressed, momentum compounded: Cleveland's convening built directly on relationships and credibility established in Oklahoma City and Baltimore, becoming the platform's largest single convening by commitments mobilized.
This cross-city model differentiates BB4A from one-off convenings. Of the 587 organizations engaged across the series, 32 have participated in more than one convening — and 7 have attended all three — reflecting a growing, connected network rather than three standalone events.
Commitments aren't left informal: partnering organizations sign MOUs pledging visibility and participation across the three-city series, and specific capital commitments are announced by name, dollar amount, and institution live on stage — creating a public, trackable record rather than a private pledge. In Cleveland, for example, Ohio's $300 million JobsOhio Experiential Learning Initiative, a $13 million site-readiness fund, and Huntington Bank's $10 million housing investment were all announced on stage during the convening itself.
The series also puts community voices directly into the program, not just decision-makers. In Cleveland, a dedicated session gave the stage to young local creators and writers to document the convening from the inside; in Baltimore, community developers building neighborhood wealth sat on panels alongside sports executives and philanthropic leaders. Uniquely at Cleveland, the afternoon moved participants out of the ballroom entirely — touring the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Detention Center with Campaign Zero and the Cleveland Clinic's new performance center — turning morning announcements into something attendees could see on the ground. Attendees later cited these site visits, not the panels, as the most memorable part of the day.
Since November 2025, Big Bets for America has convened more than 1,200 attendees from 587 organizations across three cities — Oklahoma City, Baltimore, and Cleveland — mobilizing more than $450 million in commitments, including the $100 million RF Good Jobs for America strategy. Cleveland alone accounted for more than $350 million of that total, making it the platform's largest single convening by commitments mobilized to date — clear evidence that momentum has compounded as the series has scaled.
The platform is building lasting relationships, not just one-time attendance: 32 organizations have participated in more than one convening. C-suite or equivalent leaders (Chief Officers, Presidents/CEOs, Executive Directors, Founders) made up a consistent 39-42% of attendees city to city.
Attendee response has been strong throughout: an average likelihood-to-recommend score of 8.3 out of 10 platform-wide, with 92% saying their time was worth it — holding steady even as the series scaled, from Baltimore's 8.9/10 (100% worth it) to Cleveland's 8.5/10 (97% worth it).
Communications performance matched the platform's growth: 100+ media outlets amplified the convenings nationally, with Cleveland's announcement hosted on-stage with NBC TODAY's Al Roker.
Together, these results show a platform that succeeds not only at convening senior, influential leaders — but at building durable, compounding cross-sector relationships with each stop on the series
