The Future of Hope College comes down to support from the local community.
For the past three months, Hope College has been busy presenting the concepts of a Drumheller based, health care oriented college to potential private supporters and government representatives. Through this process one thing has become very clear:
If Hope College is going to become a reality it is going to because local residents of Drumheller and the surrounding region believe it to be important and are excited to champion on its behalf.
People outside of Drumheller are truly impressed that in a recent fundraising proposal connected to an application for grant funding, residents of this community pledged nearly $400,000 toward a possible launch of Hope College.
“Several “major players” in the Calgary oil and gas industry have said that this is a remarkable statement of community support that gives monumental credibility to the project.
"We concur and believe that it underscores the value, opportunity and need to ensure that the Hope College project is understood and truly valued in the community and region,” said Jon Ohlhauser, Project Leader, Hope College.
“In this time of global, economic challenge, people do not have as many resources to invest in projects as they had 4 or 5 years ago. The idea of Hope College has impressed many non-local philanthropists, but the truth of the matter is that most of these individuals have a reduced amount of money available to support projects like Hope, and the projects they do now support are most often within their own local communities,” said Ohlhauser.
The original business model for Hope College envisioned the need for $1.6 million to cover the start-up costs for the project.
In the process of applying for an Alberta Government funded grant, local residents pledged nearly $400,000 in support for Hope College. If the potential local support for the launch of a locally based college is in the range of $800,000, can the business model for Hope College be readjusted for a successful launch?
This is the question currently being considered by the Board of Hope College.
“The Board of Hope College believes that there is still an opportunity to develop and launch a college in Drumheller with the support of local residents, I imagine a future meeting – or meetings – with residents would be in order to identify some of the possibilities,” Ohlhauser.
