Donors to Hope College Day of Giving Fundraiser Show Strong Support
Hope College鈥檚 12th annual Day of Giving took place Feb. 19 and 20 during a fundraising frenzy, just shy of their goal of 2,000 participating donors.
After the 36-hour effort, $864,544 was raised from 1,700 alumni, Hope students and parents, faculty, staff and many other contributors who showed their support by donating to general and specific student or academic programs. As part of the annual event marketing and education, Hope鈥檚 Philanthropy and Engagement team offered up 50 student videos, highlighting how their first-hand Hope experiences are shaping their personal and academic success.
In 2025, 2,262 total donors participated in the Day of Giving campaign, totaling $1.03M. This year, donors could choose from 15 different categories and a total of 1,400 different funds to allocate their gifts to a general fund or a specific area of interest.
鈥淥ver the years, donors have shown us what they love at Hope by making a direct impact on our more than 3,400 students,鈥� said Michael Niederer, director of annual philanthropy at Hope. 鈥淭he excitement on campus and across our volunteers has been very high. The team has done a great job of offering donors a variety of areas to support in a personal way 鈥� whether it鈥檚 a special program or academic area, to honor a beloved professor or to support innovative tuition solutions.鈥�
This year鈥檚 fundraiser included a lineup of several matching gifts offered by generous alumni, families and friends of Hope to encourage giving. A total of 35 different matches and challenges made a significant impact on the total dollars raised from Day of Giving, Niederer said. Creative offers such as multipliers ranging from one-to-one matches and challenges for recurring gifts were made 鈥� unlocking the potential for another $650,000 towards the campaign.
Challenges were featured throughout the day, with friendly competitions between Greek Life organizations, faculty and staff, and Hope Athletics fans, as well as challenges for specific initiatives such as the Hope-Western Prison Education Program and the Green Revolving Fund.
All online gifts and progress for the various matches and challenges can be viewed on the Day of Giving Leaderboard page. Donations, and challenges and matches, will still be active at throughout the weekend.