Family Engagement

125th Donor Thank You

Today’s the day many on Hope’s campus hit the refresh button for hope.edu/give2hope with a strong sense of gratitude. Each new commitment to support Hope students represents a unique donor story, while simultaneously launching new Hope stories for students receiving scholarships.

We are excited to introduce you to the 125th Scholarship Day of Giving donor. CJ Ditzenberger’s Hope story began when her daughter, Grace, was looking for a small Christian liberal arts college with a strong exercise science and volleyball program. Grace is now a sophomore that makes the trip each semester from her home in Centennial, Colorado to study on a pre-med track at Hope College. CJ visits as a Hope parent a few times each year and was motivated to be part of a community of donors on this special day.

“Hope College has provided Grace with amazing research opportunities and great professors. It’s been everything we imagined it would be.” -CJ Ditzenberger

Thank you CJ and all who have contributed to the success of this day so far. We are now at 181 gifts (10:57 AM EDT) toward out goal of 1,000 before midnight. We can do it! To encourage us, a group of generous donors has offered a $10,000 challenge that will be unlocked when we reach 250 gifts. Help us reach our goal by making a gift and spreading the word!

#give2hope

Scholarship Day of Giving Details

Scholarship Day of Giving will kick-off at midnight Monday for a 24 hour challenge of 1,000 gifts. Here’s how you can be involved:

Make a gift at hope.edu/give2hope.
Share #give2hope throughout the day on your social media channels.
Change your Facebook cover photo to the Scholarship Day of Giving image. You’ll want to download the image or save it to your desktop. Go to Facebook. Edit your cover photo. Update your cover photo.

4. Change your profile photo to the Give Hope image. You’ll want to download the image or save it to your desktop. Go to your social media channels and update your profile photo. Facebook will allow you to make this a temporary change and you will automatically transition back to your previous profile photo after Scholarship Day of Giving.

5. Create and post a “Why I love Hope” video using Facebook Live. Get creative! We’d love to hear why you love Hope.

6. Watch the progress throughout the day at hope.edu/give2hope.

Thanks in advance for your support! Go Hope!

Scholarship Day of Giving 2017

Join us for the third annual Scholarship Day of Giving on April 18, 2017. The goal is 1,000 gifts to the Hope Fund in 24 hours. Gifts received online and on the phone will be added to our project at hope.edu/give2hope.

Online ambassadors will become part of our team for the day by helping to promote Hope College, the Hope Fund and student scholarships. We need your voice, your networks and your enthusiasm to help us make the day a success. Please consider helping our efforts this year and sign up to be an ambassador.

Follow our progress throughout the day on April 18 at hope.edu/give2hope and use #give2hope on your social media platforms.

Thank you for your thoughtful consideration and active support of our students.

#GivingTuesday

As part of #GivingTuesday, alumni, families and friends gave $68,240 to support Hope College student scholarships.

Thank you for being part of this global event and for helping to make a Hope College education accessible to future students.

For a complete list of donors, check out the donor wall.

Interested in seeing gifts at work through the stories of students, alumni and those that teach them? Check out the Alumni and Family Engagement and Stories of Hope blogs.

#GivingTuesday is a single, global day of giving that brings together individuals from around the world and highlights their capacity to care for and empower others. Today, we are bringing together the Hope College community to support student scholarships through the Hope Fund.

Summer Send Off: Then and Now

Rewind to July of 2014.

As an incoming first-year student at Hope College, I was a ball of nerves and excitement. Being the type of person that needs planning and order, not knowing what was to come when I stepped onto campus in the fall was a rattling concept. Thankfully, Hope College does a picnic called a “Summer Send Off” in four different areas: Naperville, Mid-Michigan, Southeast Michigan, and Southwest Michigan. Since I am from the Lansing area, I went to the picnic held at Patriarche Park in East Lansing in the summer of 2014. About 10 of my high school friends were also coming to Hope, so we all arrived together. Even though I was with the people I felt most comfortable around, I couldn’t help but be nervous. I was moving away from an area that I had lived my entire life, to a town where I had visited only a couple of times. Coming to Hope was more or less a leap of faith for me, as I hadn’t even gone on an official campus visit. From the very beginning of the picnic, I knew that this was where I was supposed to be. The people from Hope College that hosted the picnic were friendly and I didn’t feel completely clueless anymore. I had no idea how to do this whole college thing, considering how I was a first-generation college student, with no real guidance in this adventure. But after the picnic, the countdown was set for August 24, move-in day, and I couldn’t have been more excited.

Fast forward to now: July of 2016.

Packing up the orange and blue Gatorades into the cooler and putting everything into the Hope van, I would soon be on my way to the first Send Off picnic of the summer. Ever since August of 2014 (Yes, two weeks after I stepped onto campus!) I have worked in the Alumni and Family Engagement Office, the very office that hosts the Summer Send Off picnics. I couldn’t help but look back on the time that I was so nervous about a simple picnic. Now, I am greeting the incoming students as they arrive, and making them feel at home before they even come to campus. Hope College has a way of doing that. As I stood under the pavilion, looking at all of the students that were listening to the Orientation Directors, I couldn’t help but look back on the time that I was sitting in their exact place. A feeling of peace and thankfulness washed over me. The leap of faith that I once took in 2014 brought me to a state of joy, contentment and peace in 2016.

If only these freshmen knew what they were in for.

Share Your Hope Experience at Summer Send Offs

Each summer Hope alumni, students and parents meet members of the incoming class and their families at a series of welcome events. You are invited to help welcome the Class of 2020! Connect with Hope alumni, parents and students at a Summer Send Off event near your and share your Hope experience with students just beginning theirs.

Join us for a complimentary dinner hosted by Alumni and Family Engagement. These events happen rain or shine and are complimentary for all. The RSVP deadline is one week prior to each event.

For more information and to RSVP please visit hope.edu/alumni/events or call 616.395.7250.

Become a Hope Fund Champion

On April 19, Scholarship Day of Giving raised awareness for the Hope Fund and over $140,000 for student scholarships. Since then we have received a number of questions about how to get involved with the effort to promote giving at Hope.

As someone closely connected to the college and already supporting the Hope Fund, we wanted to share a new initiative with you. As we near the end of the fiscal year on June 30, we would like to invite you to join us as a Hope Fund Champion.

We are looking for volunteers to connect with potential donors during the month of June. This connection can be by phone, email, social media, in person, or any other method that is convenient for you. This outreach will help engage more people in philanthropy at Hope, will increase our impact this year and will help us to finish strong.

Here’s how it works:

1. Complete this form by Friday, May 20.
2. You will be provided resources the week of May 23, which includes contact lists, talking points and action steps.
3. Use the month of June to make a connection and encourage participation.
4. Record your contacts and share updates with us.

We look forward to many meaningful connections that benefit our students in a direct and important way. Please consider sharing some of your time next month by joining us as a Hope Fund Champion. If you have questions, please contact me at 616.395.7366.

Thank you!

Sabina Otteman
Director of Hope Fund and Annual Giving

Full URL for form: http://goo.gl/forms/Ev6MMQ3eWU

Scholarship Day of Giving 2016

Scholarship Day of Giving is back on April 19, and the planning team needs your help spreading the word. Most of the excitement and buzz will be shared via social media and email — that’s where you come in! Your assistance in 2015 helped bring in more than 600 gifts and $100,000+ to support Hope Fund scholarships.

Please consider sharing a tweet or two and a Facebook or Instagram post leading up to, and throughout, the big day. Included below are graphics you may wish to share in your posts and tweets. Here are the details:

Scholarship Day of Giving is Tuesday, April 19, 2016.

24 hours of giving to the Hope Fund
GOAL: 750 gifts to the Hope Fund
Activity will be tracked LIVE at hope.edu/give2hope
Official hashtag: #give2hope
Giving challenges and incentives will be offered throughout the day

Questions you might have should be forwarded to Sabina Otteman, director of the Hope Fund and Annual Giving.