Gem Spotlight - Sharon Hillman, Beyond Blue
Sharon Hillman FFIA has received the prestigious Arthur Venn Lifetime Achievement Award for her outstanding contributions to fundraising. With over 30 years’ of experience, she has been a leader, innovator, and advocate for best practices.
A dedicated member of FIA, Sharon has served as Past President of FIA Victoria, a Board Member, and a volunteer on key committees, helping to shape the future of fundraising in Australia.
Let’s see what Sharon has to say when we caught up with her.
Sharon Hilman at the Sydney FIA Conference GALA when she received her Arthur Venn Lifetime Achievement Award.
Congratulations on your recent achievement! Can you share what receiving the Arthur Venn Lifetime Achievement Award means to you?
Thank you so much! Receiving the Arthur Venn Lifetime Achievement Award is incredibly humbling. It’s a recognition not only of my individual contributions but also of the collective efforts of the many incredible colleagues and mentors I’ve had the privilege of working alongside throughout my career. To me, this award represents the shared commitment to excellence in fundraising and the impact we can all have when we work together to advance the sector. It’s a true honour to be recognised in this way by FIA, and it reaffirms my passion for the profession and for supporting the next generation of fundraisers.
Early in my career, I also had the absolute privilege of being mentored by Arthur Venn, and his guidance has been instrumental in shaping my fundraising journey. His influence continues to inspire me.
What are you passionate about outside of your professional work? How do you bring those passions to life?
It might be cliched, but outside of work, family and friends really are my passions. I think it is that sense of belonging, giving back and being involved in the lives of those who I love most of all. That is always most important to me. If you have the right people around you in life you can achieve anything!
If you are asking about the sorts of passions / hobbies I enjoy, it is music. I have been known to belt out a few tunes in my time having spent many years singing in a band. I met my partner (sorry – fiancé) through our mutual love of music, playing music in our friends’ shed. Music has a way of bringing people together, and is also a way of expressing yourself. I do love music, and while I’m not singing in bands at the moment, there is always some sort of music in our home. Whether I am feeling great or a bit down, music has a way of lifting me or grounding me.
Where is the one place in the world you'd love to visit, and why does it hold that special place in your heart?
Orkney Islands
I was lucky enough to take this trip last year – it is the Orkney Islands. This is a little group of Islands right off the north of Scotland. You go as far as you can on land and then jump on a boat. It is so beautiful. There is a mix of gentle and rugged Coastline areas, and obviously the sea is never far away. The weather can be wild and windy, yet at times the calm sky and sunsets are a sight to behold. Orkney is a rugged place, but filled with quaint villages and a farming lifestyle. There is a very rich neolithic history, and it was a key point for protecting attacks on the UK during wars. It is special to me because it is where my mother was born and grew up. I lived there for a year as a child and have only been back a few times since. The attraction is both about the landscape and the people.
What’s one book, TV show, or movie that has shaped you or left a lasting impression on you?
Ok – so I am going to reveal my soppy sentimental side, but the movie is Beaches (I can feel the eyes rolling that I did not say something like Shawshank Redemption or The Colour Purple). I chose this because it was a personal story of friendship, strength and support for others. It resonates with me to this day. I know that so many people have been the ‘strength’ behind me when I have stood out front, and I just hope that I have also been there for others when they have needed it most. True friendship, support and love knows no bounds. It is also often from the unsung heroes, which is true both in my personal and professional life. So that is it … a soppy tale from Sharon 😊
What’s the best thing about your current role, and what gets you excited about your work each day?
Early morning selfie - Sharon Hillman in Beyond Blue gear with Michelle Varcoe at CoastTrek, Mornington Peninsula 30km walk.
This is an easy question – it is the incredible team that I work with! I am in such a privileged position to have great people – personally and professionally – who I work with every day. We work hard. They are smart, enthusiastic and also a lot of fun to be around. My team truly care for each other. This means we can face anything professional that is thrown at us. We celebrate together when things work, and we roll up our sleeves when times are tough. I don’t think you can ask for more than that.
What was your main motivator for pursuing a career in the “for purpose” sector, and what keeps you committed to it?
I was lucky enough to have found the “for purpose” sector very early in my working life, and I do not envisage myself ever working outside this space. Before I decided to study business and marketing, I had a vision of maybe working in social work or psychology. I worried that I would not be able to distance myself enough from the people I was supporting, so went down the business path instead. Finding a career in Fundraising and Philanthropy enabled me to utilise my professional business, communication and marketing skills, but apply them to causes that are making a contribution to the lives of individuals and / or the community. It is all about relationships and story telling and this feels like the perfect sweet spot for me.
There continues to be so much more to learn, grow and contribute, and so many varied issues that need addressing within the community. I cannot imagine finding any daily motivation in creating or marketing consumable products. Fundraising and Philanthropy gives me the personal drive and motivation to succeed and tackle operational challenges, which keeps me personally inspired. This is so important to have deep belief in what you do for your work in order to love it as a career.
What has been your proudest career accomplishment, and why is it meaningful to you?
There are so many – big and small – on reflection I have been very lucky through my career. But I think the moment I often reflect on is the opening of the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre (ONJ Centre). There is in fact one specific ‘moment’ in that journey where I stopped and took it all in, that stays with me to this day.
I worked at Austin Health of over 12 years, in the role of Director of Fundraising for most of that time. The main project I worked on was raising funds for the ONJ Centre, working closely with Olivia Newton-John. During the process, we established both a traditional capital appeal alongside a Total Development Program to fund the ongoing operations of the centre once built. It was a long and interesting process that had its share of both challenges and triumphs.
I oversaw the journey from ideation; the planning of the infrastructure; sharing the vision with donors; the turning of the first sod; and of course, I was then in charge of the opening event celebrations. At an exclusive ‘opening cocktail event’, I recall standing in a room filled with Olivia and her family, the various major donors, key medical staff (past and present), and I was right beside Peter Dalton – the Fundraiser who started the whole appeal and got the idea off the ground. It was so important to me that those who had been involved on the whole journey were acknowledged, because I was just the custodian on the program for a period. It was a moment in time that made me realise that vision, passion and philanthropy can make anything happen. I was able to reflect on the small part I’d played in this moment, and the difference it would make to so many hundreds of thousands of patients in the future.
This remains meaningful to me to this day because it is my local hospital, and both fortunately and unfortunately I have had friends utilise the incredible facility and I know the amazing care they have received. The impact of philanthropy lives on.
What’s the best piece of career advice you've received, and how do you apply it in your own life?
Oh – so many. I think it is to employ people smarter than you and then empower them to succeed. I definitely try to do that. I apply that to my personal life too by trying to understand my own strengths and weaknesses; and not kid myself that I am great at everything. Surround yourself with good people and then support them to be their absolute best in life.
If you could work in a completely different profession for a day, what would it be? And what would be the most exciting part of that role?
What a great question. It would probably be something like landscape design or even basic gardening. I absolutely love being in my garden. It is my happy place. I do not mind putting in some hard work and getting my hands dirty. The exciting part would be the chance to work on a big garden landscape and see something really special created. Such a sense of accomplishment! Being outdoors all day would be fabulous and the fact that (like fundraising) landscapes continue to grow and evolve, I’d love the long-term satisfaction of being able to visit in years to come and see what has developed and grown from my initial creation.
Thank you, Sharon, for sharing your remarkable journey and achievements with us. Your dedication and leadership serve as an inspiration to the fundraising community, and your impact will continue to influence the sector for years to come.