About Us
The Bennett Family Foundation, also known as the Eleanore Bennett Charitable Trusts, was established in 2004 by the bequest of Mabel Eleanore Newbold Bennett.
Eleanore and her brother were partners in Continental Felt, the family business headquartered in Manhattan. She married Thomas Bennett, the widower next door. He was the son of Scottish immigrants and another life-long New Yorker, who rose from middle-school dropout to a successful career in the city.
Tom Bennett died in the 1970s. Eleanore continued working in the city until retiring late in life to Millbrook, New York. In funding the Trusts, Eleanore left it up to the Trustees to chart specific direction. Those Trustees, members of her extended family, honor her in spirit for the many ways she taught the importance of family.
The Bennett Family Foundation is a private family foundation run solely by the Trustees, with no full-time staff at present.