Place-based impact work raises a critical question: what actually produces results, for people and for communities, over time? At a moment when so many places are grappling with real concerns about jobs, opportunity, and what it takes to move forward, that question matters more than usual.

Tulsa offers one striking illustration. Over the past decade, George Kaiser Family Foundation, with the support of Blue Meridian Partners, has built a model of coordinated investment that has made the city one of the country’s strongest economic stories—a case worth lifting up and learning from as we think about what is possible elsewhere.

This NationSwell Signature Dinner brings together leading investors, funders, experts, and practitioners at the forefront of place-based impact. Featuring a candid conversation with Ken Levit, Executive Director of George Kaiser Family Foundation and Jim Shelton, CEO of Blue Meridian Partners on what the Tulsa partnership required, what lessons are transferable to other communities, and how others can find their role in place-based work.

This is a Chatham House Rule conversation—candid, peer-to-peer, and designed for the kind of exchange that only happens when the right people are in the room.

Signature Dinners bring together a small, carefully curated group primarily made of principal-level leaders — typically 15 to 20 people — for candid, off-the-record conversation over dinner. With one seat per organization, the room is built for peer-level dialogue at the highest level. You’re the person who sets the direction for the organization, foundation, or CSR team. Spots are limited, and attendance is by invitation or approval.