Irvin Westheimer from Cincinnati was for many years credited with creating the Big Brothers Big Sisters concept. On July 4, 1903, Westheimer witnessed a young boy and his dog scavenging through trash cans for food. He introduced himself to the boy and gave him a decent meal. Later he met the boy's impoverished family, and he eventually became a trusted mentor for the boy and a friend to the family.

Westheimer went on to found Big Brothers of Cincinnati in 1910, and was instrumental in founding the first Big Brothers of America movement along with Ernest Coulter in 1917.

Ernest Coulter, a court clerk from New York City, started New York Big Brothers in 1904. Coulter was the founder of what would become Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Coulter was influenced by the work of Judge Julius Mayer of the New York Children's Court, where Coulter worked. Judge Mayer recruited influential men to mentor delinquent boys who came before him.

Locally, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Tri-State was founded in 1974 through the initiative of a small group of local citizens concerned with the plight of children in single parent homes.