As housing affordability continues to strain workers across income levels, a growing number of employers are being pushed to rethink what meaningful benefits look like. A new funding announcement signals that housing support may be moving from the margins to the center of employee wellness strategies.
According to the press release, Oro, a social fintech company focused on housing and homeownership as employee benefits, has raised $3 million and officially launched its housing wellness platform for employers.
A New Category In Employee Benefits
The funding round was led by Slauson & Co., with participation from Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures and Bronze Valley, the press release confirms. The investment comes as companies face increased pressure around employee retention and engagement, while workers struggle with rising rents, higher interest rates, and elevated home prices, according to the release.
“We believe housing is the next frontier in employee benefits,” said Austin Clements, Partner at Slauson & Co. “Oro is leading a new category by bringing housing support into the workplace at a moment when employers need smarter solutions to attract, retain, and stabilize their workforce. George’s passion for driving access to homeownership and his impressive track record delivering real impact in complex financial, business, and legal environments makes him perfectly positioned to lead the ‘Housing as a Benefit’ movement.”
Oro further noted in its announcement that housing remains the single largest expense for most employees and one of the biggest drivers of financial stress. Yet, it has largely been absent from traditional benefits packages that prioritize healthcare, retirement, and student loan assistance.
How Oro’s Platform Works
Oro’s housing wellness platform allows employers to offer housing support to all employees, whether they are renting, preparing to buy a home, or already homeowners. The press release states that the platform provides concierge-style housing assistance, rent reporting to help improve credit scores, homebuyer education classes, access to down payment assistance programs, and guidance on taxes, insurance, and home maintenance.
It’s designed to integrate seamlessly into existing benefits systems, requiring minimal operational lift for employers while delivering measurable outcomes for employee engagement, retention, and financial well-being, according to the press release.
In addition, Oro shares that it works with employers to design tailored housing support programs that help employees cover down payments, closing costs, interest rate buy-downs, or private mortgage insurance, further embedding housing stability into workforce strategies.
Oro’s Commitment To Housing Equity
Founded by George Clayton Fatheree III, Oro is led by an attorney-turned-entrepreneur whose legal work has intersected with national debates on housing equity and wealth. According to the Los Angeles Business Journal, Fatheree launched Oro Impact in June 2023 after leaving his role as a partner at Sidley Austin, where he represented the Bruce family in the lawsuit that restored ownership of a Manhattan Beach property seized more than a century ago through eminent domain.
That case sharpened his focus on the structural barriers embedded in modern homeownership, particularly the upfront costs that keep many renters from buying.
“One of the first barriers you come across is down-payment affordability,” Fatheree said. “We’ve got millions of Americans who are paying rent, and their monthly cost is enough for them to make a mortgage payment.”
Oro’s platform is designed to translate that insight into practical, employer-backed solutions, a model the company began validating ahead of its public launch.
Early Results Show Demand
Before its official launch, Oro tested its model through a pre-launch pilot. According to the announcement, the pilot helped eight employees become first-time homeowners and has supported more than 1,200 employees through its housing wellness platform.
Those early results point to growing demand for employer-sponsored housing solutions, particularly as homeownership becomes increasingly out of reach for many workers without structural support, the company noted.
Newly raised capital will be used to expand Oro’s housing wellness and homeownership solutions, increase employer adoption, and continue building the technology needed to scale housing benefits across diverse industries and workforce sizes.
