Hope College’s “A Greater Hope” comprehensive campaign has successfully concluded having raised more than $203 million.
The largest single fund-raising effort in the college’s history, “A Greater Hope” has significantly enhanced the campus and increased the college’s endowment by more than $80 million, support that includes 182 new scholarships.
Developed as a $175 million effort and announced in October 2011, “A Greater Hope” raised $203,598,621 in gifts and pledges from 21,352 donors from its initiation in 2007 through June 30 of this year. The largest previous campaign at Hope, “Legacies: a Vision of Hope,” which concluded in January 2005, had raised $137,512,478.
“As we celebrate our sesquicentennial year, the remarkable success of the ‘Greater Hope’ campaign is a reminder that for generations Hope College friends and alumni have been loyal to this institution and have continued to invest in the education of our students,” said Hope College President John C. Knapp. “As president, it gives me great joy to share with families that thousands of people are investing in their student’s education. Through the generosity of our supporters, we are able to live out our promise of being a great value, providing an exceptional education at the most affordable cost possible.”
“At this pinnacle moment in the history of our college, the ‘Greater Hope’ campaign has laid the foundation for the next 150 years,” he said. “We will stay true to our mission of preparing students for lives of leadership and service in a global society in the context of the historic Christian faith.”
Facilities added through the campaign include the Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts and Kruizenga Art Museum, both of which opened this fall; the Haworth Engineering Center (2013), Tom and Ryan Cook Village (2013), Etheridge Tennis Complex and VandePoel-Heeringa Stadium Courts (2012), Van Andel Soccer Stadium (2009), and Boeve and Wolters baseball and softball fields (2008). Hope also purchased Holland Municipal Stadium, which it renamed Ray and Sue Smith Stadium and renovated in 2012. In addition, Hope broke ground in August for the Jim and Martie Bultman Student Center, scheduled for completion in 2017.
The 182 endowed scholarships established through “A Greater Hope” have already benefitted 525 students. They have helped raise the total number of scholarships at the college to 700.
Endowment support for faculty has included funding for scholarly activity as well as a total of 10 endowed positions, raising the total of such faculty and staff positions at the college to 28.
Ongoing programmatic support includes the creation of funds for collaborative faculty-student research, which takes place at the college during both the summer and the school year. Approximately 170 students, across all four of the college’s academic divisions (arts, humanities, natural and applied sciences, and social sciences) conduct research full-time with faculty mentors each summer, typically for eight to 10 weeks. Hope has received national recognition multiple times for its emphasis on providing meaningful learning through undergraduate research and creative work by students; most recently, and for the past several years, the college has been among the handful of institutions (49 this year) singled out for the practice in “U.S. News and World Report’s” “Best Colleges” guide.
In addition to support for facilities and endowment, the campaign total also includes the nearly $24 million raised for the college’s annual “Hope Fund” across the duration of the campaign. Based on gifts to the college each year, the Hope Fund provides critical support for on-going operations of the college, ranging from maintaining the campus and providing supplies for classrooms and laboratories, to helping fund scholarships.