Australian Communities Foundation was saddened to hear of the recent death of Jim Hart.

Jim was one of the founding members of our giving community, having established the Hart Line Fund in 1998 to support the arts, community and economic development, employment pathways, social inclusion and justice.

Many members of our giving community will remember Jim’s deep humility and disarming wit. Australian Communities Foundation co-founder and Patron, Marion Webster AM and her partner Michael Webster, were long-time friends, with the latter’s friendship with Jim spanning more than 50 years.

“Jim was a delightful man. Smart as all get out, modest to a fault, funny as anyone you’d know and serious when and where it mattered,” Michael says.

“Our careers tracked together, as did our love of reading, rowing and the arts. When Jim became a partner in the early days of Lonely Planet, his technical skills allowed the company to publish a broad range of titles that otherwise wouldn’t have seen the light of day.”

When Jim decided to sell his Lonely Planet shares, he told Michael he wanted to ‘do something of lasting benefit’ with the money.

“Marion and I encouraged him to start the Hart Line Fund, which over 20 years has distributed more than $1 million to causes close to his interests,” Michael says.

“I’ve lost a dear friend and ACF has lost a keen advocate for everything ACF stands for.”

Annabel Hart says her father’s generosity was driven by a sense of personal responsibility and a commitment to helping others.

“He cared about fairness and the importance of a fair society,” she says.

“He was bothered by any account of young people missing the opportunity to learn or being deprived of adequate schooling, and he cared about longer-term change, which led him to often support causes that were meaningful but less ‘catchy’.”

Jim’s generosity included support for the 50 Story Building, Indigenous literacy, the Smith Family, Melbourne Writers Festival, the Diplomacy Training Program and more.

One of his favourite parts of giving, Annabel says, was hearing the stories of success or progress that his contributions had helped achieve.

“He certainly was not motivated by accolades and never felt comfortable receiving attention for his giving. He was not a donor who wanted his name on a building, but he highly valued the personal relationships he developed within the ACF community and particularly with grantees,” she says.

An active, albeit low-key member of the giving community, Jim will be dearly missed.

“Jim was a regular at all our events, he rarely missed one” remembers Raz Babic, Australian Communities Foundation’s Senior Donor Services Coordinator.

“He and I always had a little laugh when he turned up at the registration desk because he never registered for the events, but I always had a name tag ready for him because I knew he would be coming!”

The Hart Line Fund, to be led by Jim’s children, Annabel and Christopher, will continue its support for things that mattered most to Jim in his memory.

Read more about Jim’s support of the Diplomacy Training Program here.