Tim Gill

Tim Gill
Born (1953-10-18) October 18, 1953
Hobart, Indiana
Residence Denver, Colorado
Nationality American
Spouse(s) Scott Miller

Tim Gill (born October 18, 1953) is an American computer software programmer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and LGBT rights activist.

He is the founder and co-chair of the Gill Foundation, a private Denver-based philanthropic organization supporting the LGBT community across the country.[1] He is the single largest individual donor to the LGBT rights movement in U.S. history, having personally committed more than $422 million since the early 1990s.[2]

Gill is also the founder of the pioneering page layout software company Quark, Inc.[1] Gill sold his 50 percent stake in the company in 1999 for a reported $500 million.[2]

Gill’s latest venture is JStar LLC, a smart home technology start-up that invented Josh.ai, a voice-controlled home automation system using JStar’s own artificial intelligence technology platform.[3]

Background

Tim Gill was born in Hobart, Indiana. He attended Wheat Ridge High School in Jefferson County, Colorado, eventually studying computer science and applied mathematics at the University of Colorado at Boulder.[1]

Gill first became involved in LGBT activism as a freshman at the University of Colorado at Boulder.[2] He volunteered for the campus gay-liberation group and later supported local AIDS awareness.[2]

Philanthropy and Political Action

Tim Gill is the founder of the Gill Foundation, Gill Action Fund, and OutGiving.[4]

He first became involved in LGBT political action in 1992 in response to the passage of Colorado Amendment 2, which prevented non-discrimination ordinances in the state from protecting people based on sexual orientation.[4][5]

Following the sale of his stake in Quark, Inc., Gill set aside 60 percent of his assets - more than $300 million – to fight for LGBT rights.[2]

He is widely credited as a visionary strategist and mega-donor who has made significant contributions to virtually every major LGBT rights victory in the United States, from from the 2003 Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health decision making Massachusetts the first U.S. state to allow same-sex marriage, to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision legalizing same-sex marriage in all 50 states.[2][4][5][6]

In July 2017, Gill was the subject of a profile by journalist Andy Kroll for Rolling Stone magazine titled “The Quiet Crusader: How Tim Gill turned a $500 million fortune into the nation’s most powerful force for LGBTQ rights.”[2]

Gill Foundation

Tim Gill founded the Gill Foundation in 1994.[7] The national, Denver-based non-profit organization underwrites academic research, polling, litigation, data analytics, and field organizing related to the LGBT rights movement.[2]

The foundation’s early focus was to fund LGBT and other mainstream projects in Colorado.[4] The foundation established the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado in 1996, which provides financial support to non-profit organizations in the state.[2][8]

The foundation primarily focuses on advancing LGBT rights and causes at the state level.[2][4][6]

Quark

After jobs at Hewlett-Packard and a consulting services firm, Gill started the company Quark, Inc. in 1981 with a $2,000 loan from his parents.[9] Quark produced page layout software for the graphics market. With the introduction of Farhad (Fred) Ebrahimi as CEO in 1986 and the success of QuarkXPress "first introduced in 1987,"[10] Gill became a multi-millionaire. Gill announced in 2000 that he had sold his 50% interest in Quark, Inc., citing his growing involvement in philanthropic and activist endeavors.[11]

After Quark sale 

 In 1994, he created the Gill Foundation,[11] based in Denver, Colorado.  One of its projects is the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado.  His political endeavors, which are separate from his charitable foundation, are directed through the Gill Action Fund.[12]

In 2003, Gill created Connexion.org as a vehicle for engaging the LGBT community in political activities. Connexion closed in September, 2011.

In 2015, Gill co-founded the smart home technology start-up JStar LLC. Gill is the Chairman and Chief Technology Officer of the company, which is developing Josh.ai, a voice-controlled home automation system using its own innovative AI technology platform.[13]

In 2015, Gill, Paul Singer and Daniel Loeb, helped fund Freedom For All Americans to promote LGBT issues in states and local communities in the United States.[14]

Personal Life

Gill married his husband Scott Miller in Massachusetts in 2009.[15] They live in Denver, Colorado with their two dogs.[8]

Gill is an avid snowboarder.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Healy, Rita (April 4, 2007). "The Gay Mogul Changing U.S. Politics". Time. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Kroll, Andy (June 23, 2017). "Meet the Megadonor Behind the LGBTQ Rights Movement". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  3. ↑ Chang, Lulu (May 31, 2016). "Have $14,000 to Spend? The Josh.ai Smart Home System May Be for You". Digital Trends. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Green, Joshua (April 24, 2015). "America’s Gay Corporate Warrior Wants to Bring Full Equality to Red States". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  5. 1 2 Green, Joshua (March 1, 2007). "They Won’t Know What Hit Them". The Atlantic. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  6. 1 2 Smith, Ben (December 14, 2010). "Gay rights take center stage in N.Y.". Politico. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  7. ↑ Rothenberg, Matthew (October 25, 2000). "Founder Tim Gill exits Quark". ZDNet. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  8. 1 2 "Tim Gill". Gill Foundation. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  9. ↑ Press, Reference (December 1996). Hoover's guide to computer companies. Hoover's Business Press. pp. 346–. ISBN 9781878753809. Retrieved 2 June 2012. In 1981 Gill, then 27, founded Quark ...
  10. ↑ Anton, Kelly Kordes; Cruise, John (2009-02-13). QuarkXpress 8: Essential Skills for Page Layout and Web Design. Peachpit Press. pp. 209–. ISBN 9780321616913. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  11. 1 2 Rothenberg, Matthew. "Founder Tim Gill exits Quark", ZDNet News, 25 October 2000.
  12. ↑ Roehr, Bob (March 30, 2006). "The Gill Action Fund: Serious LGBT politics". Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  13. ↑ "No One Left Behind: Tim Gill and the New Quest for Full LGBT Equality". Inside Philanthropy. August 25, 2015. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  14. ↑ Polaski, Adam (June 8, 2015). "Freedom For All Americans". Freedom For All Americans. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  15. ↑ Park, Penny (April 13, 2009). "Parker: Tim Gill ties the knot in Massachusetts". Denver Post. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
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