For Scott Bennett, philanthropy is more than just an act of giving — it’s been his mission for decades.
As board chairman of the nonprofit Wilton Manors-based The Our Fund Foundation, Bennett works to raise money and create a future for younger generations in South Florida’s LGBTQ+ community. He also supports seniors in the space as a board member of SAGE, a national advocacy and services organization.
Originally from New York City, Bennett found a home in Wilton Manors — a place where he says he genuinely feels he belongs. His career as a lawyer for The McGraw-Hill Cos. provided him with the skills to run foundations and the means to give back.
Today, he channels that success into his philanthropy work, helping to create housing for LGBTQ+ youth and connect older gay men — many without family support — with vital resources during difficult times.
We spoke with Bennett about this mission and his successes — and why he feels the Jewish and gay communities must work together. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Q: Tell me more about your beginnings.
A: I was raised in New York City in a Jewish family. My parents lived in the Upper West Side in Manhattan but moved to Riverdale in the Bronx when I was 10. My parents were some of the founders of the Riverdale Temple, which is a Reform synagogue.
I was a terrible athlete and I needed to strive somewhere, so I did it through academics and that arena. When I was 10, I watched a program called “Perry Mason,” which is about a lawyer who wins all his cases. I thought, “This is fabulous. I’ll be a lawyer.” After college, I worked for a Wall Street law firm for five years and then went to work for McGraw-Hill Cos., where I stayed for 37 years.
Q: Why did you choose Wilton Manors to settle down?
A: I had been coming to Florida for 15 or 20 years. When I came down full time, I moved into a place on the beach on Oakland Park Boulevard and A1A. I lived there and then 10 years later, right before I retired, I bought my dream apartment in that building. I had to move out because of renovations, so I rented a place in Wilton Manors. As soon as I was there, I said, “Why do I want that place on the beach? I want to be in my community in Wilton Manors.”
It is fabulous to basically live in the center of the gay community. I don’t go to the bars anymore at this time of my life, but just to be able to walk out on my terrace and see Wilton Drive, it reminded me of my life in New York City. Just like in the Jewish community, where people like to live with other Jewish people — you like to live with your own kind.
Q: How did your sexuality affect your career?
A: I knew I was gay even when I was very, very young. I didn’t know what it meant, but I knew I was attracted to men at 5 and 6 years old. [With my career], I had a choice between a chemical company and an information media company, McGraw-Hill. I just thought that so much of my life was dependent upon where I was going to be comfortable as an out gay man. And I definitely knew that the media was going to be more open to gay people than a chemical company. I worked my way up in that corporation to where I was the first and highest paid openly gay person.
Q: You were the founder and longtime president of the LGBTQ+ employee affinity group at the McGraw-Hill Co. What did starting this group look like?
A: I was in the company for a number of years and my reputation as a smart person and a good performer was already there. The company was starting all these employee resource groups and I said, “Hey, we need to have a gay organization, and I will run it.” I had no pushback. We developed a plan where you can leave your pensions to your partners — this was before gay marriage was legal. Years later, we added health benefits for the trans community.
Q: You are technically retired, but you still work hard for various foundations. Why is philanthropy and donating your time such a big part of your life?
A: I love feeling that I can have an impact down here. I walk around and people thank me and it’s like: Don’t thank me, I get back far more than I’m giving. My life has meaning. How lucky am I to be the person besides the executive director of Our Fund to be doing all this good work? One lesson in life I’ve learned is not to look for affirmations from others, but to give them to yourself. What a waste of time waiting for someone else to approve of you. Why put your happiness in the control of others?
Q: Tell me more about The Our Fund Foundation.
A: The Our Fund Foundation gives money to the LGBTQ+ community through organizations that are focused on our needs. This could be an LGBTQ+ foundation or nonprofit, but could also be a straight organization that has specific programs that support the community.
We have access to $25 million and, in 10 years, we’ll have $250 million. We get our money because we ask people to put us in their will. Why leave all your money to your nephew you haven’t spoken to in 15 years when you can leave some to your community? People in the program will die and leave money to Our Fund.
Right now, crystal meth is a problem for younger gay men. We are looking for a way to deal with this problem. Homeless youth is a problem, particularly homeless gay youth. We got donors together and we now have a house run by Sunshine Cathedral and SunServe that houses 12 gay men. We try to work together with the trans community, since they are under attack. We also act like a clearing house and provide advice to other nonprofits in our space.
Q: You are also a board member of SAGE. Tell me more about that.
A: I’m on the executive committee, and I’m also head of the nominating and governance committee. It’s a nationwide organization headquartered in New York and we have local organizations here [in South Florida]. We run a program called the Friendly Visitor Program where if you’re homebound, we send people to visit you. We also started a program where people can put SAGE as their contact for emergencies since so many gay people have no one to put as next of kin to contact if there is a problem. And we created training programs for senior facilities. People were going back in the closet because staff were abusing patients, so we do training in local nursing homes to teach the staff how to deal with gay people.
Q: How do you feel Jews and LGBTQ+ groups can learn from each other, especially in times of divisiveness?
A: I’m very happy when the Jewish community supports the gay community. To me, we have the same battle. I don’t understand antisemitism but it exists and, because of that, we have to hold ourselves to a higher standard. We need to join together and work together to support basic equality for all. That’s what we need — the right to lead your life and have your own sense of happiness not dependent on your religion, race or sexual orientation. What’s in your heart, that’s what matters.