Good evening, everyone:

When Raj Shah, the president of the Rockefeller Foundation, recently called to ask whether Kresge would be willing to host a conversation with local nonprofit leaders when he was in Detroit to talk about his new book Big Bets: How Large-Scale Change Really Happens,”  there was no question but that we should jump at the chance. Raj – or more properly Dr. Rajiv Shah, a medical doctor – is a native Detroiter and served as a program lead at the Gates Foundation, former head of the Agency for International Development, and a Board member at Rockefeller before succeeding Judith Roden as president. I had read his book, and it was inspiring.

The problem was that I’d be in D.C. for the NEA Arts Summit (see Tuesday’s note). But Wendy sprang into action and worked with Krista L. to schedule a of the Detroit Neighborhood Forum. Coming a day after the heartbreaking Detroit Lions game the day before, it couldn’t have been a more welcome pivot. In a far-reaching conversation with Wendy, Raj reinforced the book’s call-to-action that the social sector generally, and philanthropy specifically, can drive innovation when it builds diverse coalitions to tackle seemingly insurmountable challenges through the lens of ambitious, audacious goals that aim for transformative change, rather than incremental improvement.

Raj shared powerful stories that drew on his extensive experience in global development, including leading the fight against Ebola, mobilizing the Obama Administration’s response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, and overseeing large-scale vaccination campaigns. He made clear in his conversation with Wendy, though, that his passion and path for social change was honed in Detroit and ignited on June 28, 1990 when he watched Nelson Mandela (just four months after being freed from prison in South Africa) make his historic 18-hour visit to Detroit and address a massive crowd of 50,000 at the old Tiger Stadium with a transformative call to service, reminding Detroiters how he “respected, admired, and loved them.”

Raj’s cultivation of what he now describes as the “Big Bet Mindset” was born from a simple question Bill Gates posed to him: “What Does It Cost to Immunize One Child?” The answer led Raj and his colleague on a complex, but ultimately fruitful, search for solutions for vaccinating millions of children in developing nations.

Raj identified four building blocks to successful big bets:

• Identifying game-changers: Recognizing bold ideas and individuals with the potential to create large-scale impact.
• Building alliances: Forging powerful partnerships across sectors to amplify efforts and overcome obstacles.
• Navigating risks: Embracing calculated risks and learning from both successes and failures.
• Measuring progress: Establishing clear metrics to track impact and ensure accountability.

The event was a call to action. Raj challenged everyone present to continue being bold agents of change, building on the many “big bets” Detroit has already made to create a bright future for Detroiters and a national model for transformative change in cities. As he stated in his closing, America is rooting for Detroit to win.

Thank you Wendy – and Krista – for orchestrating such an inspiring event.

Rip

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