Donor Advised Fund
Jim and Martie Bultman
Jim and Martie Bultman’s philanthropy is guided by faith and the joy of service to others. To achieve some of their charitable goals, they work with CFHZ to respond to current and future needs for the community they love.
Jim and Martie’s love story began on the campus of Hope College when they were set up on a date to the Homecoming dance. Jim, a native of Fremont, had been persuaded to attend Hope by a couple of his high school teachers who were alumni. Martie’s journey to Hope was less conventional. Living in the Bay Area of San Francisco, she selected the school from a list of the top small, liberal arts colleges and moved to Holland without having ever visited.
Hope, and by extension the Holland/Zeeland area, has been the setting for many of the most important moments in the Bultmans’ lives. After 14 years as the President of Northwestern College, Jim and Martie returned to Holland in 1999 when Jim became the President of his alma mater. He served for 14 years before retiring in 2013. He and Martie remain beloved figures on campus, with a legacy defined by an active engagement in the lives of faculty, staff, and students, and a commitment to seeing Hope flourish.
Jim attributes his work at both Northwestern and Hope as key in the development of his and Martie’s personal philanthropy. “I spent a career sitting across the table from great philanthropists,” he said. “They demonstrated the joy of giving and taught me the importance of giving personally to a project before asking someone else to contribute to it.”
Martie, a special education teacher, incorporated her life’s passion into volunteer work. She began volunteering at Third Reformed Church, teaching religious education lessons for children with disabilities. Together with her dear friend Marcy VanderWel, they wrote The Friendship Series – a religious education program for children and young adults living with disabilities. The Series was published and has since been further developed and distributed internationally.
A passion for seeing their community thrive is the common thread woven throughout the Bultmans’ professional and personal lives. They give to our Community’s Endowment, established a donor advised fund, and have included CFHZ in their estate plan becoming members of the Bridge Builder Society.
Their estate commitment was motivated by Jim’s experience serving as lead volunteer on the Today. Tomorrow. Forever. campaign for our Community’s Endowment. Jim and Martie know the assets they leave to the community will continue to grow, supporting good work for generations to come. “We believe we’ve been blessed to be a blessing. We know CFHZ will be good stewards of this portion of our charitable estate,” said Martie.
“We know the care CFHZ takes in vetting the organizations and causes to which funds are distributed,” Jim said. “We’ve chosen to give to the Community’s Endowment through our estate plan because of the trust we have in CFHZ and its leadership.”