Arthur and Patricia Hill Foundation

Background

In 2000, Arthur Hill, assistant chief inspector for the New York City Police Department, and his wife Patricia founded Arthur and Patricia Hill Foundation. Funding from the foundation has generally been given in the form of small grants between $1,000 and $2,500. Its earliest grants were to local churches, but it also provided a $1000 grant to the Boule Foundation in its founding year. It has routinely provided similar small grants to Howard University and the Brooklyn Public Library. ²

Grantees

Center for Policing Equity LEAP Program

The Center for Policing Equity works in the field of racial equity in law enforcement. In 2017 the Arthur and Patricia Hill Foundation pledged a grant to fund its Leadership in Empowering Advocates Program (LEAP), which aims to teach students through research and “experiential learning” dealing with racial issues surrounding law enforcement and criminal justice. The Center for Policing Equity is located at Arthur Hill’s alma mater John Jay College, and this grant is provided in the form of five $5,000 scholarships. This institution was the only grant recipient for 2019. ^{3 4}

MindLeaps

Launched in Rwanda in 2010, MindLeaps is a dance therapy/information technology training program aimed at street children. This unusual program combination was later expanded to the nation of Guinea, where literacy skills were added to the curriculum; in 2016 the program added a science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) summer camp. During the COVID-19 pandemic MindLeaps formed a virtual learning platform to continue education for students whose in-person classes were cancelled. ⁵

All Star Code

All Star Code Inc. is a technology nonprofit that teaches low-income “young Black and Brown men” (or any student identifying as male) computer coding as a means of gaining future financial independence. ⁶

New York Opportunity Network

New York Opportunity Network is an education initiative designed to smooth the transition from high school into higher education and career paths. The program, also known as OppNet, offers a six-year fellowship which includes paid summer internships and training programs. The fellowship, which begins junior year of high school and extends into the fourth year of college, culminates in networking opportunities to aid future job acquisition. ⁷

Families and Friends of the Wrongfully Convicted

In 2021 Arthur and Patricia Hill Foundation provided a $2,500 grant for Families and Friends of the Wrongfully Convicted. This organization was founded by Derrick Hamilton, who was convicted of murder in 1991, despite the only eyewitness recanting and four subsequent witness affidavits testifying that he was in Connecticut at the time of the murder. Hamilton was eventually paroled but only after serving 20 years of a life sentence. Hamilton’s work, which included breaking the story of police detective Louis Scarcella and former district attorney Charles Hynes, resulted in legislation requiring video interrogations of serious, non-drug felonies, and an internal NYPD review of over 50 convictions related to Scarcella. ^{8 9}

People

The late Arthur Hill was assistant chief inspector for the New York City Police Department and one of the first African Americans to hold such a leadership position. Hill was founding member of the Mental Alliance Restoring Community Hope (MARCH) Foundation, which provides scholarship and grant money to young African Americans. Hill later worked for United Parcel Service as vice president of public affairs, was a board member of the New York City Municipal Water Finance Authority, and was a founding member of the Apollo Theatre Foundation. He was also a founding member of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement and a Democratic Party activist. ^{10 11 1}

His daughters Victoria and Joanne Hill are the trustees of the Arthur and Patricia Hill Foundation. ^{10 11 1}