• Across three Big Bets for America convenings since November 2025, more than $450 million mobilized to expand opportunity for American communities and enable a more prosperous future.
  
  
• $350 million committed today from the private, public, and philanthropic sectors during "Big Bets America: Cleveland" event with Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, and NBC TODAY Weather and Feature Anchor Al Roker, amongst others.

CLEVELAND, June 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Rockefeller Foundation today announced that more than $450 million in philanthropic, private, and public sector funding has been committed to expand opportunity for American communities nationwide during its Big Bets for America events over the past seven months. This includes more than $350 million committed in Cleveland alone to help underserved communities and people prosper across the city, state of Ohio, and beyond. Announced during The Rockefeller Foundation's third convening, Big Bets for America: Cleveland—which brought together more than 400 leaders focused on identifying and scaling bold solutions to the country's most pressing challenges, including Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, and NBC Today Weather and Feature Anchor Al Roker—this nearly half-billion commitment reflects a shared conviction that durable progress for people, amid rapid economic and technological disruption, requires partners across all sectors willing to act at scale.

"As America marks 250 years, we have an extraordinary opportunity to reflect on what this country has accomplished when people unite around a shared purpose — and to recommit to doing so again. The challenges facing American workers and communities are great, but so is the will to address them," said Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation. "Big Bets for America is built on the belief that the right people, in the right room, focused on the right problems, can move from conversation to commitment faster than any of us could alone. What we have seen in Oklahoma City, Baltimore, and now Cleveland — the relationships formed, the capital mobilized, the solutions identified and resourced — proves convenings like these can spark action and change lives for those who need it most."

Betting Big on America's Future:

Big Bets for America: Cleveland was the third in the Big Bets for America convening series, launched in November 2025 in Oklahoma City and carried forward in April 2026 in Baltimore, where The Rockefeller Foundation also announced a three-year, $100 million Big Bet on Good Jobs for America. Across all three convenings, The Rockefeller Foundation has:

• Brought together 1,200 leaders spanning policy, philanthropy, the private sector, and nonprofits to surface, accelerate, and scale ambitious solutions to the country's most pressing economic challenges in communities lacking investment.
  
  
• Mobilized more than $450 million to help more people across the United States realize the American Dream for themselves and their families, including more than $350 million, alone, for expanding opportunity in Cleveland and Ohio more broadly.
  
  
• Committed nearly $105 million to: launch a Good Jobs for America strategy, which is helping distressed communities across the country connect more people to good jobs and adapt to rapid economic and technological change; strengthen education and childcare access in Maryland; and help governments build the capacity, confidence, and shared infrastructure they need to use artificial intelligence (AI) responsibly in public service.

What has defined Big Bets for America across all three cities is not just the scale of the commitments made, but the unlikely nature of the coalitions that made them possible. In Cleveland, pro sports franchise owners and workforce development nonprofits, state economic development agencies and AI entrepreneurs, philanthropic leaders and community organizers all came to the same table — because the challenges facing American workers and families are too large and too urgent for any single sector to solve alone. The Rockefeller Foundation organized this gathering on the belief that durable progress requires partners who do not usually share a room, working problems they would not usually tackle together, and trusted to act on what they find.

Bringing Big Bets for America to Cleveland:

Cleveland carries special meaning for The Rockefeller Foundation. John D. Rockefeller launched his first business in Cleveland in 1859 and, a decade later, he co-founded Standard Oil in the city, beginning the journey that would eventually give rise to The Rockefeller Foundation.

More than 150 years later, Cleveland remains a city that rewards ingenuity, conviction, and ambition. Home to world-class institutions, including the Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve University, and the Cleveland Foundation — the first community foundation in the United States — the city has long been a proving ground for ideas that scale. Cleveland has also made clear that it will not wait for opportunity to come to it: the city is actively investing in its neighborhoods, connecting residents to good jobs, and building the coalitions needed to drive inclusive, lasting growth. That spirit made Cleveland the natural home for Big Bets for America.

Major announcements from Big Bets for America: Cleveland include:

• Governor DeWine, Lieutenant Governor Tressel, and JobsOhio Announce $300 Million Experiential Learning Initiative to Address Talent Gaps and Bolster Career Awareness. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Lt. Governor Jim Tressel, and JobsOhio today announced the JobsOhio Experiential Learning Initiative, a $300 million initiative, 10-year effort created by JobsOhio and supported by its Board of Directors to strengthen and expand the state's pipeline of skilled technical professionals. The effort will help Ohio employers of all sizes fill specialized positions in the critical industries of advanced manufacturing, advanced aerospace and defense, automotive, energy and chemicals, financial services, food and agribusiness, healthcare, logistics and distribution, and technology. JobsOhio estimates the state will need an additional 540,000 STEM- and technically skilled individuals over the next 10 years to meet employer demand, with technicians accounting for 43% of that demand. An estimated 25,000 Ohioans are expected to benefit and advance through a technician pathway under the initiative.
  
  
• The Cleveland Foundation Announces $13 Million Commitment from the Wellman Family, KeyBank Foundation, and The Rockefeller Foundation to the Site Readiness for Good Jobs Endowment Fund. The Cleveland Foundation with the Wellman family, KeyBank Foundation, and The Rockefeller Foundation announced significant new investments in the Site Readiness for Good Jobs Endowment Fund, expanding one of Cleveland's most ambitious economic development strategies in recent years and reinforcing its long-term mission to transform vacant industrial land into opportunity. The Wellman family, KeyBank Foundation, and The Rockefeller Foundation committed $10 million, $2 million, and $1 million, respectively, to unlock a critical barrier to employment in distressed communities: the lack of nearby, job-ready sites that can attract employers offering good-paying work. With the Wellman family's contribution, the endowment fund has been named the Samuel T. Wellman Site Readiness Fund. In Cleveland, the Site Readiness for Good Jobs Fund is rebuilding a pipeline from disinvested neighborhoods to new job centers by making formerly idle industrial sites viable for employers that can hire locally.
  
  
• Cleveland Housing Investment Fund Receives a $10 Million Investment: Huntington Bank announced a $10 million investment into the Cleveland Housing Investment Fund (CHIF), which is led by LISC Fund Management, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of national nonprofit Local Initiatives Support Corporation. This investment will expand its capacity to finance affordable housing developments for people with modest incomes. CHIF is working to fill critical gaps in Cleveland's housing landscape, fuel economic activity in under-invested neighborhoods, and has already helped advance more than 200 affordable homes since March 2025. With Huntington's commitment, CHIF has now realized more than half of its $100 million investment goal.
  
  
• MSCHF Announces New Permanent Public Art Installation: In celebration of America's 250th anniversary, MSCHF—an American art collective—announced a major permanent public art installation on Cleveland's waterfront, positioning the city as a national destination for culture, tourism and placemaking. The project, which is slated to start later this summer and is set to be completed in the next 2-3 years, is a collaboration between MSCHF, the City of Cleveland, Destination Cleveland and North Coast Waterfront Development Corporation. Cleveland was chosen for this permanent civic artwork that builds on MSCHF's practice of participatory art interventions and expands this framework to re-envision public space. Funded by participants from around the country, it represents an investment in the tens of millions of dollars.
  
  
• Stemuli Launches Internship Program for Cleveland-Area Students: AI company Stemuli and the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) announced a new partnership that will put Cleveland students in the founder's seat of the AI economy. Beginning this summer, students in CMSD's internship program will build, staff, and launch AI-native businesses inside Founder Tycoon, Stemuli's simulation in which players direct teams of AI agents to run companies and live with the consequences of every decision. The program will also help students build measurable AI literacy, earn portable and internationally recognized credentials, and connect classroom learning to real economic pathways that will inform and facilitate broader workforce and career-readiness goals.
  
  
• Center for Energy Workforce Development Launches Ohio Energy Workforce Consortium: The Center for Energy Workforce Development (CEWD)—a non-profit consortium of energy employers, their associations, labor partners, and others committed to the development of a skilled energy workforce—announced the launch of the Ohio Energy Workforce Consortium (OHEWC), which will work to meet growing state energy hiring demands by developing energy sector talent pipelines. With this announcement OHEWC becomes the latest addition to CEWD's national network of energy industry workforce consortia, which now spans more than 20 states.

What participants at Big Bets for America: Cleveland are saying:

• Governor of Ohio Mike DeWine: "We want Ohioans to have every opportunity to live up to their full potential, and this new $300 million commitment from JobsOhio is part of Ohio's overall strategy to ensure that we have a skilled workforce that is prepared for the opportunities for the future. This program is aimed at getting people prepared for good-paying jobs and helping students combine academic learning with hands-on experience."
   
• First Lady of Ohio Fran DeWine: "Reading is the key to success for our kids because if they can read, they can succeed. As part of Dolly Parton's Imagination Library of Ohio, 64% of all kids in Ohio are receiving free books, and we've mailed 27 million books to Ohio kids since 2019. We're seeing our kindergarten readiness scores go up in Ohio, and our kids are becoming better readers, students, and people."
  
  
• Mayor of Cleveland Justin Bibb: "Cleveland has always been a city that knows how to build, innovate, and reinvent itself. What we saw through Big Bets for America was a powerful vote of confidence in our people, our neighborhoods, and our future. These commitments, from workforce development and housing to site readiness and emerging technologies, are more than just funding for projects but investments in opportunity for Clevelanders. Turning bold ideas into tangible results and ensuring that our city's momentum translates into lasting prosperity is what the Cleveland ERA is all about."
  
  
• J.P. Nauseef, President and CEO of JobsOhio: "This state has an incredible story of resilience, and the new JobsOhio Experiential Learning Initiative helps ensure our workforce is abundant and ready to continue powering not only Ohio's but also the nation's economy. We and our partners continue to build on strong economic momentum, and this commitment creates more opportunities that will provide our children and grandchildren long-term careers here at home while welcoming more people to become Ohioans and contribute to our future success."
  
  
• Jay Turakhia, Regional President at Huntington Bank: "At Huntington, a core part of our mission is to strengthen the communities we serve, and this $10 million investment in the Cleveland Housing Investment Fund reflects that commitment in action. By investing in the Cleveland Housing Investment Fund, we're helping close critical housing gaps, supporting economic growth in under invested neighborhoods, and expanding access to safe, affordable homes that are foundational to opportunity and long-term community vitality."
  
  
• Brad Whitehead, Managing Director of the Site Readiness for Good Jobs Fund: "The Rockefeller Foundation's Big Bets for America demonstrates what is possible when public, private, and philanthropic leaders align around a shared vision for opportunity. The investments announced in Cleveland reflect a commitment to tackling barriers to growth at scale—from workforce development and housing to site readiness and innovation. Together, these efforts will strengthen neighborhoods, connect more people to good jobs, and enhance the long-term competitiveness of Cleveland, Ohio, and the nation."
  
  
• Lillian Kuri, President of the Cleveland Foundation: "There is nothing more important that we can do as a community than help grow the region. We can't help people if we don't have jobs. I'm proud that the Cleveland Foundation is one of the few community foundations that has economic development as one of its top priorities. For us, the Samuel T. Wellman Site Readiness Fund — from Mayor Bibb's initial vision to the incredible leadership and momentum of the team at Site Readiness for Good Jobs – it is the definition of a big bet. We had to prepare, invest, and partner in whole new ways to solve what seemed like an absolutely daunting, impossible task, and what this community has done: it's not a pilot, it's not a project, it is a solution for Cleveland."
  
  
• David Gilbert, President and CEO of Destination Cleveland: "We know that seeing is believing when it comes to changing perceptions of Cleveland. By hosting the Rockefeller Foundation's Big Bets for American convening, we were able to illustrate to out-of-town attendees the vision that is leading to generational change in Cleveland. And, through these newly formed relationships, we can expand and accelerate the growth that our region is poised to experience."
  
  
• Missy Henriksen, Executive Director of the Center for Energy Workforce Development: "More than 6% of Ohio's workforce was employed in the energy sector in 2024, and that number continues to grow as investments across the state support new opportunities. CEWD and its Ohio Energy Workforce Consortium are committed to uniting key stakeholders to improve awareness of and access to energy jobs while strengthening pathways to these high-growth, high-wage careers for more Ohioans."
  
  
• Taylor Shead, CEO of Stimuli: "Today I'm excited to announce that Founder Tycoon will launch in partnership with Cleveland Metropolitan School District this summer. Students in the district won't just be learning about AI, they will be using AI to build real businesses, to solve real world problems, and, for the first time ever, experience what it's like to create something from nothing. What I'm excited about most is that this is launching here in Cleveland, a city that defined the industrial economy now has the opportunity to prepare the next generation for the AI economy. One hundred and fifty years ago, a young man came to Cleveland and helped build the future. Our hope is that in this program, students will have the opportunity to do the exact same thing."

About The Rockefeller Foundation
Investing $30 billion over the last 113 years to promote the well-being of humanity, The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on unlikely partnerships and innovative solutions that deliver measurable results for people in the United States and around the world. We leverage scientific breakthroughs, artificial intelligence, and new technologies to make big bets across energy, food, health, and finance. For more information, sign up for our newsletter at www.rockefellerfoundation.org/subscribe and follow us on  X @RockefellerFdn, Instagram @rockefellerfdn, YouTube @RockefellerFdn, and LinkedIn @the-rockefeller-foundation.

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