Jeff Bennett is the Chief Innovation Officer for the Central Indiana Community Foundation. In this role, Jeff oversees a forward-thinking team that identifies emerging trends, technologies and best practices within the philanthropic sector, adapting and implementing them for the benefit of CICF, its stakeholders and the Central Indiana region. He builds and nurtures strategic partnerships across government, corporate, nonprofit and philanthropic sectors — fostering collaboration that leverages shared knowledge, resources and expertise to maximize the impact of the foundation’s initiatives.
A Central Indiana native, Jeff has a 25-year career in nonprofit, CDFI and government leadership, most recently serving as Deputy Mayor of Community Development and Senior Advisor to the Mayor of Indianapolis. As Deputy Mayor, Bennett oversaw four City departments focused on neighborhood services — totaling $400 million in annual budgets among them — and led the administration’s broader work on issues related to community economic development, affordable housing and homelessness response. He created the IndyRent program, which provided nearly $200 million in direct assistance to Marion County renters during the COVID-19 pandemic; he guided more than $40 million in new funding to support the Community Plan to End Homelessness; and steered major capital investments into parks, neighborhoods and Downtown Indianapolis.
Jeff holds a degree in History from Indiana University.
