Neil and Norma’s Story
Long term clients of Arrowstone, Neil and Norma Hill, turned personal experience and business success into a lasting legacy for medical discovery. Motivated by Neil’s own battle with cancer in his mid-50’s and a long-time curiosity about practical, grassroots approaches to health, they created the Hill Foundation to seed early-stage medical research and back promising researchers who otherwise struggle to get started.
A personal spark turned philanthropic mission
Neil’s recovery after adopting an unorthodox, self-directed treatment plan for his cancer made him question accepted approaches and search for better, more effective ways of treating common and complex conditions. That same relentless problem‑solving that drove his business success shaped his philanthropy: aiming for practical, high‑impact research; avoid waste; and get results that can be tracked and scaled.
With no children to inherit their wealth, Neil and Norma chose to channel the proceeds of their business success into pragmatic, outcome focused giving which has supported a wide spectrum of research into disease and medical conditions that impact and burden the community.
The Foundation’s purpose and approach
- Primary aim: Seed grassroots, translational medical research that can attract follow on funding from institutions and government.
- Philosophy: Fund practical studies and early career researchers; back proof of concept work that can be amplified by larger grants and build capacity for future breakthroughs.
- Structure: Set up as a perpetual funding vehicle to create long‑term impact and a pipeline of researchers and projects with targeted funding every year
Since 2008 Hill Foundation has funded more than $12mil of research into the following medical areas (primarily to Sydney University and Westmead Institute for Medical Research)
Cancer – Skin Cancer, Cell architecture and Cancer Cell replication, Prostate Cancer, Cancer and Sleep, Multiple Myeloma, Breast cancer, Sleep Apnoea and cancer.
Eyes – Degenerative Eye, Macular Degeneration, Genetic Eye Disease, Bionic vision, Ocular Gene therapy, Glaucoma.
Auto-immune – Crohn’s Disease, Autism, Psoriasis and inflammatory skin diseases, Anti-inflammatory – immune research.
Neurological/Central Nervous System – Multiple Sclerosis, Motor Neurone Disease, Alzheimer’s/Dementia, Chronic Nerve Pain, Gene therapy of Rett Syndrome, Parkinsons disease.
Genetic – Telomere, Stem Cell Research.
Respiratory – Chronic Respiratory Conditions, Asthma, Sleep Apnoea.
Heart – Cardiovascular research – Using Gene Therapies to Create a Biological Pacemaker and prevent Sudden Cardiac Death.
Viral – Shingles, Hepatitis, HIV, Epstein Barr Virus.
Other – Diabetes and Wound healing, Nuclear Dynamics Research, Chronic pain.
Impact and legacy
Whilst it has been nearly 10 years since Neil’s passing, the Hill Foundation’s annual grants continue under the ongoing stewardship from Neil’s nephew John Sheather and his lawyer James Grellman as well as Arrowstone’s investment management, to help researchers move from initial ideas to demonstrable results that attract larger institutional or government funding. The Rett Syndrome project has recently received a government grant of $1.7mil over 4 years, another real success for this seed funding model. By prioritising early career support and pilot grants, Neil and Norma have created a multiplier effect: small, well‑targeted funding support that can grow into sustained research programs. This year funding support continues with across 18 research projects with a total of $1.47 mil.
Why their story matters
Their philanthropy is a reminder that effective giving can support a system that does not tend to fund early discovery and young researchers, believing that practical experiments and pilot data are the stepping stones to larger breakthroughs. The Hill Foundation stands as a model of how personal experience, careful management and a focus on leverage can turn private resources into public good that lasts beyond a single lifetime.