Long before Lennar became one of the nation’s largest builders, the company was laying the foundation for something far deeper than constructing physical houses.
It all started in 1954 when Gene Fisher and Arnold Rosen formed F&R Builders in Miami. Two years later, Leonard Miller became co-owner of F&R and partners with Rosen, and, in 1971, Miller and Rosen combined their first names to rename the company Lennar.
“The leaders of the company today have made a very active choice, starting years and years ago, to comfortably and affectionately stand on the shoulders of those that came before,” says Stuart Miller, executive chairman and co-CEO at Lennar.
While the builder has delivered over a million homes and continues to build on the successes of its founders, its true legacy lies in strengthening communities by uplifting those in need.
“We're building homes to build strength of community, to build families, and that home is where families are raised and community is built,” continues Miller. “The essence of the founders was to complement their business endeavor and their success with turning back around and finding ways to support that community.”
Officially established in 1989, the Lennar Foundation was created to ensure the company’s giving spirit had a permanent place in its blueprint. For more than 35 years, it has served as a powerful extension of Lennar’s values—focused on many causes including helping veterans transition to civilian life, offering job training to formerly incarcerated individuals in need of a second chance, funding life-saving medical research, and so much more.
Today, that commitment is stronger than ever—with every home Lennar delivers translating directly into support for the Lennar Foundation’s work. In 2024 alone, that meant more than $80 million dedicated to helping individuals, families, and neighborhoods thrive.
“Our foundation is a flagship for many different strands of engagements and energized programming that brings people together to not only raise money and awareness, but to also attract others to come join us, to participate, to do what we do, because it's all about community,” states Miller. “There's a wholesomeness and a realness about what we do, because we're not checking a box, we're not trying to look for credit, and we're not looking to advance the business. We're trying to make the world a better place.”
For its dedication to giving back, the company’s foundation has been presented with the 2025 Hearthstone BUILDER Humanitarian Award, an industry honor that recognizes a builder’s lifetime commitment to public service.
“There's something very special when you know you're connected with something that is bigger than yourself and you are helping others in a very meaningful way, and part of an organization where everyone is leaning into that,” says Jon Jaffe, co-CEO and president at Lennar. “One of our key constituents is our community, and that's all about our foundation and giving back to the community. We place a high priority on that.”
Over the years, the financial commitment to the foundation has evolved. Inspired by its continuous belief in giving back to the community, Lennar’s leadership and board of directors increased the company’s contributions from a percentage of net income to basing it on new-home deliveries each year. Since doing so, the foundation has received a contribution of $1,000 per home delivered by Lennar.
“What's terrific is, as the company grows, so too does the contribution to the foundation,” says Diane Bessette, chief financial officer at Lennar. “There's just a mantra here of doing good while we do well.”
When it comes time to deciding where to allocate its time and money, the company looks to each of its divisions throughout the country. Each December, the divisions replace corporate holiday parties with Focused Acts of Caring, where the divisions engage with an adopted charity of their choice. Their efforts go beyond financial support to dedicating time and energy to help both national and local nonprofits achieve their goals.
Marshall Ames, chairman of the Lennar Foundation, helps champion the efforts and says the foundation partners with organizations to assist the less fortunate across three pillars of focus: promoting self-sufficiency, building communities, and advancing health initiatives.
“We focus on those less fortunate than we are and narrowed it into three pillars for the foundation, the underserved community, those less fortunate; improving community, including crisis and disaster relief; and health and medicine,” says Ames.
Under the self-sufficiency pillar, one of Lennar’s key areas of focus has been construction career skills training programs. These skilled training programs have assisted underserved individuals with learning a skill or trade in an effort to better their lives and empower them to be self-sufficient through training and job placements.
“These efforts have been supported by our educational partners, as well as the Building Talent Foundation,” states Ames. “We believe that through these partnerships, we can assist in combating the abundant need for skilled trade workers in the construction industry.”
Under building communities, the foundation has focused on fostering relationships to assist or enhance the lives of others including: the Lennar Scholarship program, homeless rehabilitation, returning military and veterans, and post-disaster aid. Following the devastating damage caused by hurricanes Helene and Milton, the Lennar Foundation donated $6 million to Florida and North Carolina for the rehabilitation and recovery efforts of affected individuals.
Under health advancements, the company has focused on medical and cancer research, health equity programs, and elderly care. The Lennar Foundation has donated $50 million to establish the Lennar Foundation Cancer Center at City of Hope Orange County in Irvine, California. Another $50 million has been donated to the University of Miami to build the Lennar Foundation Medical Center. Plus, the company supports the Dolphins Cancer Challenge and its active role in the fight against cancer.
“The Lennar Foundation is committed to giving back, and we are humbled to provide these resources to members of our community in need,” concludes Ames. “We look forward to all the ways we can continue this mission in the future.”
The award will be presented at this year’s Builder 100 Leadership Summit from May 5 to 7 in Dana Point, California.
