Blog: Homelessness Ends Here

With great sadness, we announce the death of Robert (Bob) Hohler, chair of the Funders Together to End Homelessness Board of Directors, and executive director of the Melville Charitable Trust. Bob passed away suddenly on June 2 during a family vacation in England.

A man of profound wisdom and deep compassion, Bob was not content with the status quo. He felt the urgency of social and economic injustice and worked tirelessly to create positive change and help lift people into lives of dignity and self-sufficiency. 

Bob dedicated more than 25 years to socially conscious and responsible philanthropy and, for the past two decades, focused his efforts on ending homelessness. He recognized that it was only with a stable home that people could be truly self-sufficient.

In his words: 

“What unites us all, what powers us all, is the vision of a society where everyone has a place that they can call home—safe, decent, affordable places in healthy, economically sound and supportive communities . . . At the center of everything we do is the idea of individual empowerment, of helping people to help themselves by getting access to the tools and means to achieve.”

This vision led Bob, in 2004, to co-found what became Funders Together to End Homelessness—a national movement whose purpose is to mobilize philanthropic leadership to do what works to end homelessness. Funders Together is a legacy to his determination and commitment to making this a better world for all.

As his friends and colleagues, we unite in remembering, with deepest gratitude and affection, Bob Hohler—a man who lived life to the fullest, often on behalf of others. And we take solace in the fact that he died with people he loved, doing something he loved, and in the midst of a life where he missed very few adventures, possibilities, and opportunities for impact.

We extend our sincere condolences and deepest sympathies to his family, especially his wife, Karen.

 —The Board and Staff of Funders Together to End Homelessness