After nearly 11 transformative years with Funders Together for Housing Justice (FTHJ), we share with deep gratitude and bittersweet joy that Lauren Bennett, our Chief of External Affairs, will be departing the organization to join the Neighborhood Funders Group (NFG) as their Senior Director of Communications and Membership. 

Since joining in 2015, Lauren has helped to shape and strengthen the organization’s commitment to advancing housing justice nationwide. Under her leadership, our communications and advocacy strategies have reached across the sector and helped move philanthropy toward action. She has worked to mobilize philanthropy around the work of advancing housing justice through intentional membership engagement and guidance, including bringing funders together across the country to engage meaningfully in federal, state, and local policy advocacy. In addition, Lauren has played an active role across all areas of Funders Together’s work with strategic involvement supporting peers in membership recruitment and the design of both in-person and virtual programming. 

As Maegan Scott, Co-Interim CEO, shared: “I’ve had the privilege of knowing Lauren for several years, and what has always struck me is how effortlessly she holds so many things at once — deep kindness, a sharp sense of humor, real wisdom, and a racial equity analysis that consistently pushes us toward better thinking and action. She has made this organization better in ways that will outlast her tenure. Neighborhood Funders Group is gaining an extraordinary partner in this movement, and we celebrate her even as we deeply feel her absence.” 

Lauren's contributions are as diverse as they are impactful. She developed our organization's first comprehensive policy framework, coordinated critical engagement between philanthropy and federal agencies as well as national and local advocacy partners, and has been the author behind many op-eds, policy briefs, and thought leadership pieces that have shaped conversations around philanthropy’s role in housing justice. Her ability to facilitate meaningful connections, whether through funder briefings, coalition building, or grassroots partnerships, has strengthened our membership and the broader movement. 

Lauren attributes much of what has been accomplished during her time at Funders Together to her colleagues, both present and past. She notes that the relationships she has formed with each of them fuels her passion for justice, keeps her grounded in joy, and continues to guide her commitment to housing justice and racial justice. We know that Lauren will bring this same passion, expertise, and collaborative spirit to her new role at Neighborhood Funders Group, and we are excited to see the impact she will continue to make across the philanthropic sector. 

As Jessica Venegas, Co-Interim CEO, shared: “Lauren leads with her heart, and if you are lucky enough to be in her orbit, you will feel the strength of her love and protection. And don’t sleep on her policy analysis. She can quickly synthesize a mountain of information into clear, actionable direction, a gift to our team, our membership, and the broader housing justice movement.” 

While we will deeply miss Lauren's wisdom, creativity, and the joy she brings to everything she touches, we celebrate this next chapter knowing that housing and racial justice are gaining an even stronger advocate in her new position.  

Thank you, Lauren, for 11 years of extraordinary service, for helping us grow as an organization, and for the lasting mark you've left on the housing justice movement. We can't wait to see what you accomplish next! 

Lauren’s last day at Funders Together is Friday, April 17. Please join us in sending her well-wishes!