Introducing Jim Stigman

Jim Stigman is joining Hope Academy as our new Head of Institutional Advancement

Dear Hope Academy Supporters,

I am pleased to share that in mid-November, Jim Stigman accepted the call to join the Leadership Team of Hope Academy as our Head of Institutional Advancement, with Dan Olson’s calling to another Kingdom assignment. Jim has been transitioning into his position at Hope Academy for the last six weeks, and will start full-time in January.

Looking back it feels like the Lord had been planning this since last Spring, when Jeff Bird and I first started talking with Jim about joining Dan Olson on the Advancement team.

Jim brings a passion for the Lord and the youth of the city and is a highly articulate and passionate communicator. He has a well-rounded background in development, vision-casting, constituent relations, and financial services, as well as having many existing relationships within our donor community.

Jim may be familiar to many of you. Perhaps you’ve seen a tall guy with a bunch of kid’s coming to a Partner Day, playing on the playground, or sidling up next to a kindergartener in the lunch room. Jim has been a supporter of Hope Academy since 2007. At that time, Jim was raising support for Katie’s Club Fund, a fund which his family had established in memory of Jim’s previous wife, Katrina, who had died in 2005 of breast cancer.

Dan Olson learned about Jim’s efforts from a Hope supporter and reached out to Jim to see if there might be a connection with the mission and ministry of Hope Academy. Jim had started Katie’s Club Fund to help girls and women with a financial need receive social, educational, and life-changing opportunities in a Christian environment. Jim immediately saw the impact of Hope Academy and, within the year, Jim began supporting a kindergartner at Hope.

In 2008, God saw fit to bless him with another beautiful wife and he was remarried in 2008. Jim and Stacy immediately started home-schooling their blended family, primarily because they knew it would be the fastest way to strengthen their new family unit. The Stigmans have been blessed with eight children: Phoebe, Maddie, Dezi, Ethan, Simon, Bella, Olivia, and Opal. Partner day trips to Hope Academy have become a high-anticipation event and they have enjoyed their interaction with the Hope Academy family, primarily the students.

Please pray for Jim in the weeks and months to come as he works to familiarize himself with the school, the development cycle, our constituents, and the nuances of a new position. Join me in welcoming Jim into our collective mission to bring the hope of Christ to families of the city. I know Jim is excited to meet you.

Warmly,

Russ Gregg, Head of School

P.S. – In late September, Dan Olson let us know that the Lord had called him to serve The Gospel Coalition as their Director of Advancement, a position he is beginning in January. We are so grateful to God for Dan’s work these last nine years for the children of the city. Dan will be based out of Minneapolis in this new position, and he and his family will continue to be involved at Hope Academy as parents and Partners.