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The Purple Challenge
Welcome to the Purple Challenge 2026!
Every October, in recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM), HopeWorks launches The Purple Challenge. This month-long virtual campaign mobilizes our community to raise awareness, engage others, and fundraise for survivors of intimate partner violence in Howard County.
DVAM unites individuals, organizations, and communities to shine a light on intimate partner violence and uplift survivors. HopeWorks calls on everyone – advocates, families, neighbors, and supporters – to stand together and take action. Together, we can end domestic violence and build a safer, more peaceful community. Change starts now; be part of it!
About The Purple Challenge
The Purple Challenge is a virtual, peer-to-peer fundraising campaign that begins on October 1 and lasts the entire month of October. Individuals and teams create personal fundraising pages to collect donations from their friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors. 100% of the funds raised through the Purple Challenge support HopeWorks and our work in Howard County. These flexible dollars help sustain our comprehensive survivor services, prevention and community education, and the essential infrastructure that makes those services possible. Unlike many restricted grants, Purple Challenge contributions give HopeWorks the flexibility to respond to emerging needs and invest resources where they can have the greatest impact.
Why Your Support Matters Right Now
HopeWorks is navigating a challenging funding environment at a time when the number of people we are serving has increased significantly. In FY25, HopeWorks provided services to 2,782 people. In FY26, that number grew to 4,466, a 61% increase in just one year.
At the same time, many of the grants that fund our work are restricted to specific programs, expenses, or time periods and do not cover the full cost of keeping comprehensive services available every day.
That is why unrestricted community support is so important.
When someone calls our 24-hour helpline, needs a safe place to stay, seeks support after a sexual assault, needs help navigating the legal system, or is ready to begin counseling and healing, HopeWorks must be ready to respond. Flexible funding helps us meet those needs while also supporting the people, technology, facilities, transportation, training, and other infrastructure that make direct services possible.
Serving 4,466 people means thousands of individual moments when HopeWorks needed to be ready to respond. A survivor’s need does not begin and end with a grant cycle. Unrestricted gifts give HopeWorks the ability to direct resources where they are needed most and respond as needs change.
Your Purple Challenge gift helps HopeWorks:
- Keep our 24-hour crisis response available to survivors and community members.
- Provide Safe House, advocacy, counseling, legal services, hospital accompaniment, case management, and other survivor-centered support.
- Respond to immediate needs that may not be covered by restricted grants.
- Maintain the staff and infrastructure necessary to provide confidential, trauma-informed services.
- Continue prevention, education, outreach, and community health efforts that help prevent violence before it occurs.
- Strengthen HopeWorks’ long-term financial stability so these services remain available for our community.
Every unrestricted dollar gives HopeWorks greater flexibility to respond to what survivors and families need most, today and in the future.
How to Get Involved
Create a fundraising page as an individual or a team. Just fill out your information and you’re ready to go! Click here to set up your page.
Donate to the Purple Challenge campaign. Click here to donate.
Attend a HopeWorks event this month. Click here to view our October events calendar.
Donate to our Emergency Pantry. Click here to view our current needs list.
Use the Purple Challenge Toolkit or share our posts on Facebook and Instagram to spread awareness of intimate partner violence and encourage your network to support HopeWorks.
