For Francie Hiltz, philanthropy is a career, a personal calling and, perhaps above all else, a civic duty.
“It’s just something that you’re drawn to,” said Hiltz. “When you’re thinking about the arts in a community, and what they do for the community, it’s so important that you support the arts, because without them, your community would be rather bland. They really enhance the whole community. There’s something for everyone.”
Hiltz’s first foray into philanthropy began by volunteering with friends at the St. Joseph Orphanage for Children, serving children born with serious birth defects. She read to them, bringing some of the outside world in. Shortly thereafter, she was invited to join the board – her first.
“I was very, very honored,” said Hiltz. “I was never one to sit home all day. Tom was a young attorney, and he worked morning, noon and night. I had to find something to do that was worthwhile. I didn’t want to just sit there and put stamps on an envelope. Not my style.”
One glance at Hiltz’s impressive resume full of volunteerism and board service could tell you that. She’s the kind of fundraiser and leader nonprofits dream about: willing to work hands-on and willing to call on connections to secure more donations.
“As I got into doing volunteer work, I saw a real need for leadership,” said Hiltz. “I slowly got into things, and people would come to me and they would say, ‘Would you help with this? They’re going to have a campaign that’s interesting.’ I asked a little bit about the campaign, and I said, ‘Oh, yeah, let’s do this.’ And little by little, I began to understand the optics of what philanthropy was all about. You wanted to do good, you wanted to see change, you wanted to raise money so that the opportunities would continue for the organizations. But there wasn’t a formula for it.”
Hiltz began her philanthropic career at a time when the nonprofit sector was undergoing a transformation. The faces that populated boards, staff and audiences alike were diversifying, as were expectations.
“I could see that philanthropy was changing, and there was a definite need,” said Hiltz. “It was not a nicety – it was a need.”
Hiltz was asked to join boards left and right. She wasn’t asked to chair them yet, not in the beginning. But she spent her time honing her skills and observing.
Take the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, for example. Not long after Hiltz joined the CSO board, the musicians rallied to stop wearing white tie attire. They were overheating. The Pops’ red jackets were even worse. But what would the audience say? Hiltz advocated for leadership to listen to the musicians; that the audience wouldn’t care. She was right.
The 2010s ushered in a period when Hiltz, having refined her unique brand of philanthropy (steadfast, direct, present) over several years, through deep, lasting and meaningful connections within the Cincinnati nonprofit sector, was finally called upon to her biggest leadership roles yet. She became chair of several of the city’s largest and most prominent nonprofits; Four years at the Cincinnati Museum Center, followed by at the CSO and then a turn at the Cincinnati Zoo.
Being the board chair of an influential nonprofit organization requires an immense amount of skill, emotional intelligence, drive, connectivity and patience. Hiltz demonstrated all these traits: taking hundreds of calls from other board members, executives and stakeholders; convening meetings, strategy sessions and difficult to navigate governance challenges; and all the while expanding the networks of the organizations she served.
She oversaw successful transitions (CSO to the Taft and back to Music Hall), groundbreakings (the Brady Center), restorations (Music Hall and Union Terminal). She even privately called Governor DeWine in 2020 to ask him to reopen the Cincinnati Zoo during the COVID19 shutdown. The Zoo was an essential in a time of uncertainty, she told him. It should not surprise you that he agreed.
Hiltz and her husband, Tom, raised a family of three children and philanthropy became a family business — the couple and two of their kids are involved with the Harold C. Schott Foundation, founded by her uncle. Other notable board service for Hiltz includes board chair for the National Conference for Community and Justice and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. She has received many honors and awards, among the the Enquirer’s Women of the Year in 2000. She and Tom received the America Jewish Committee’s National Human Relations Award in 2017.
Through it all, Hiltz advocates for embracing good, dedicated leadership as the key to philanthropic success. It starts from the top down.
“All it takes is a little vision,” said Hiltz. “Roll up your sleeves and sell that vision to other people and say, ‘Join me. Think what we can do here.’”
