Even before the concept of the “American dream” was popularized, The Rockefeller Foundation has sought to promote well-being in the United States. Since 1913, we have worked with partners across political, sector, and state and community lines to ensure everyone in the United States has the opportunity for a good job, good health, good food, and good community.
Over that history, the Foundation has made several big bets in the United States. In our earliest days, we helped curtail hookworm, which was making life worse across the American South. We helped protect American soldiers and half a billion others from yellow fever. We helped power the scientists and science that fueled the Manhattan Project and decades of advances in nuclear medicine and more. We invested in the ideas and thinkers that helped shape Social Security. We helped get Americans — particularly students — out of Covid-19 lockdowns. And much more.
Why it Matters
- 0%%
of American households are struggling to afford a quality of life that includes not just food and shelter, but also education, healthcare, and hope for upward mobility
- 0%%
of Americans believe the American Dream is out of reach
- $0BillionBillion
was the cost of weather disasters in the United States in 2024 alone
Today, the Foundation is focused on a few core pillars of work in the United States:
- Our partners are making a big bet on Food is Medicine to help provide high-need patients, including American veterans, with produce prescriptions, medically tailored meals, and healthy grocery programs that have been shown to improve health outcomes for those with hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
- We are helping create collaborations to enable tax policies that work better for American workers and their families. Our goal is to advance solutions that will help at least 25 million American workers achieve economic stability.
- We are a founding member of the Economic Opportunity Coalition (EOC), a historic effort to catalyze and align public and private investments to accelerate inclusive economic growth, particularly for underserved communities.
- And we also are supporting big bettors in the United States who want to expand economic opportunity. The Big Bets Fellowship is a 4-month leadership program that brings together an interdisciplinary cohort of emerging leaders to work together to solve some of America’s toughest challenges.
Meet the 2025 U.S. Big Bets Fellows
Discover 12 changemakers building stronger communities through bold, impactful solutions across the country.
meet the fellows
Our Committed Grants
Discover how our funding is driving impact across communities nationwide — supporting initiatives.
