Atlantic City Weekly

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When ancient Greeks coined the root for the word “philanthropy,” the term connoted a fascination with human potential. Later, filtered through the Roman concept of “humanitas,” philanthropy came to mean love of humanity. Today, we associate the term with those who do public good through private means. Gary Hill is known for various philanthropic efforts in the Atlantic City area — where he has lived for more than 22 years, and currently lends assistance to charitable, arts and historic preservation efforts.

Do you wake up one day and say, I want to be a philanthropist?

Not at all. In terms of a conventional career, I was a teacher for 11 years, then moved into public relations, marketing, community relations, here in Atlantic City. But early on, in high school and college, I was involved in efforts like Walk for Life and collecting funds for muscular dystrophy. Initially, that was in a very minor volunteer capacity, but it grew. People would ask me to be on a committee, then to serve as chair, then to help raise money. That’s when the real work begins. Involvement with philanthropy is a growing process, and it depends upon one’s means, available time and energy.

You devote the better part of your day to it now.

I serve on about 10 non-profit boards here in the area. There’s just that need, or desire, to give back to our community and other people. I think it’s important that people who are either successful, or fortunate enough to have a good networking connection with people, or financial ability, give back. It’s just an essential, humanitarian thing we should do.

You’re also executive director of the Metropolitan Business & Citizens Association.

MBCA is a business civic organization, somewhat like a chamber of commerce, but different in the sense that our members include businesses and non-profits, as well as residents, and we have a charitable arm. We’ll sponsor or donate to various charities and civic endeavors, and we have a scholarship foundation. It also proves to be a great networking tool for members — we have about five or six events a year.

How do you decide what causes to support?

You can get overwhelmed, whether you’re an individual or an organization. In my own individual giving and commitments, I constantly must evaluate how a new commitment will affect others. Where it’s an organizational decision, as with the MBCA, first you make sure that what you’re considering is a legitimate 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, then you might look at whether they support MBCA. But principally, you look to their goals and their vision, and ask whether they fit our own general goal to better the living environment of our area.

Raising money and giving must be challenging in the present economy.

You have to be a little smarter —more creative, in your efforts. But, remember, you can also do things philanthropically that don’t involve big money, such as volunteering, or connecting people with other people. You can participate in a walk with Gilda’s Club or the Shirley Mae race, make phone calls, anything — just reach out and volunteer.

You also have your own foundation, housed in one of the city’s intriguing old buildings.

The Schultz-Hill Foundation was established a number of years ago as a non-profit, founded by myself and my partner, John Schulz. We wanted to help promote and support artists, history programs, historical venues and education. We have a scholarship program, and we’re major sponsors of efforts like the Bay-Atlantic Symphony and the Atlantic City Art Center. We’re housed on the sixth floor of the Professional Arts Building at 1616 Pacific Avenue, a historic site built in 1928. We’ve tried to maintain the integrity of the original architectural design. We all need to think more about preserving our older buildings — there aren’t many left! I’m hoping that when the old Post Office comes down in the next month or two, they preserve the inside murals.