Family, philosophy drive Bennett’s service outlook

OLIVER BENNETT has engaged with the community not just as a face of Bank of America but because of a personal commitment he makes to give of himself to better it. / PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
OLIVER BENNETT has engaged with the community not just as a face of Bank of America but because of a personal commitment he makes to give of himself to better it. / PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

“You can either offer work, you can offer wisdom, or you can offer wealth,” said Oliver Bennett, senior vice president at Bank of America Corp. While it could be assumed that Bennett was talking about his industry, of which he’s been a part for nearly three decades, the advice actually hits a little closer to home – both for Bennett, who heard it from his father-in-law, Ron Boss, former chairman and CEO of A.T. Cross Co., and for the many community members Bennett affects through his charitable work.
“Ideally, you’d offer an organization all three,” he continued, “But when you can’t offer wealth, you can certainly offer them work and then eventually you offer then wisdom. So when I was starting out, I certainly had the energy and desire to work to help organizations improve themselves.”
Bennett joined Bank of America (then Fleet Bank) right out of college, setting up shop in the Providence office and settling down with his wife, Martha Boss Bennett. And as long as he’s been committed to community banking in Rhode Island, he’s been committed to his community here in Providence.
“The sign of a healthy and strong community is how we care for the most vulnerable people in our community,” said Bennett, who serves on the board of the Institute for the Study & Practice of Nonviolence, and has held board memberships with the Providence Public Library, the Providence Children’s Museum, the Providence Preservation Society, and Rhode Islanders Sponsoring Education, where he served as a founding board member.
He also has served as a guest auctioneer for the past six years for WaterFire Providence, another iconic local institution, as well as headed fundraisers and galas for Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Island, The Wolf School, Women & Infants Hospital and the Lincoln School, where two of his four children attend (another is a freshman at Dartmouth College, and the couple has a son at Providence Country Day School).
Other than the advice from Boss and other professional and philanthropic mentors (he credits Neil D. Steinberg, president and CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation, with guiding him to support organizations by giving of his time and efforts rather than simply of his wealth), Bennett looks back on his upbringing as an important influence on his community involvement.
“We were a typical middle-class family with fairly humble beginnings,” he said. “I grew up being very aware of all economic realities and of the importance of community and structure. You’d see a lot of people in need of that support,” particularly in some of the larger urban areas where he spent many of his formative years, such as San Francisco and London.
It’s in this context that Bennett comports himself as an example to others in his community and his corporation, making it a point to help newer associates find a place to put their charitable energies, too. For Bennett, and for his colleagues and clients at Bank of America, the importance of a healthy community is top of mind.
“Oliver’s commitment to the Rhode Island community is inspiring,” said William F. Hatfield, Rhode Island market president of Bank of America. “We believe giving back and working to make the community better is part of a banker’s role, and Oliver embodies that ethic.”
In the community, the fruits of Bennett’s labor have been and continue to be celebrated as well, and as he has built up his connections and experience in the Ocean State, he’s come to be known as an invaluable resource with much wisdom to offer. Kristen Haffenreffer Moran, who serves as the director of development at the Institute for the Study & Practice of Nonviolence, has been connected with Bennett since the pair was involved with one of the organizations of which Bennett is most proud, RISE.
RISE’s mission is to provide scholarships and mentoring to children of currently or formerly incarcerated parents in the hopes of combating the higher school dropout rates of the offspring. To date, 58 students from RISE have gone on to graduate from local high schools, and the organization has continued to grow. Bennett says he’s not one to step away from a challenge, and in this sense, feels a strong pull toward smaller organizations that can really benefit from strong, committed shepherds in their early years.
“I began working with Oliver in 1998 when he joined RISE, where I served as the executive director,” said Haffenreffer Moran. “At that time, RISE was a startup and Oliver’s charisma and enthusiasm for the cause was contagious. He brought countless corporate and individual donors to the table. … Oliver is a tremendous asset to every organization he touches.”
The institute’s Executive Director Teny Gross notes that the organization benefits just as much from Bennett’s verve as it does his connections in the community – two resources that, by all accounts, seem to have grown with time, much as Bennett had hoped when he first rolled up his sleeves as a fresh-faced college grad and offered his help. “I have come to rely on his heartfelt advice on many topics and am grateful he serves on our board. Oliver volunteers as auctioneer, introduces people to our mission, and he blends financial realism with a can-do attitude [and is] determined to make our state safer,” said Gross.
For Bennett, it has been and will always be about more than writing checks. Much as Bennett looked to his own family as examples for the kind of community stewardship he’s become synonymous with in Providence, he and his wife have gone on to model that standard for their children, who volunteer regularly in the community “in a variety of ways,” said Bennett.
In that sense, it seems like there’s a fourth offering that Bennett’s father-in-law can now add to his list. When you foster a tradition of giving, you can give not only of your energy, your wisdom, and your wealth, but you can give in spirit through the next generation. •

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