At St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, we specialize in hope. For families facing childhood cancer, hope isn’t just a feeling, it’s what helps them through their darkest hours.
So we know how important hope can be in facing a life-threatening illness. But hope is vital in times ordinary and extraordinary alike, which is why we wanted to know: What does hope look like for people across America?
In partnership with The Harris Poll, we conducted The St. Jude Hope Imperative, an annual study to better understand how hope shows up in our daily lives and how we can all build more of it.
Hope highlights
Hope is deeply important to Americans, shaping everyday life and positive emotions, even as many feel hopeful personally but pessimistic about broader society.
Nearly 9 in 10 find hope important and can’t imagine a world without it. But when people lose hope in the world around them, they retreat inward. That uncertainty has consequences for how they plan, focus and engage with society.
When they need hope, Americans are looking to things they can control — things that may seem small to someone on the outside but help keep their hope cup filled.
Hope doesn’t have to be aspirational. It lives in small, daily moments that drive meaning, momentum and faith in the future.
Hope isn’t something Americans wait for. It’s something they actively build through small wins, meaningful action and shared connection with others.
From time with loved ones to supporting favorite causes, hope sparks habitual, meaningful action. Giving back is one of those practices: contributing in steady and small ways is one of the most powerful expressions of hope for Americans.
St. Jude stands as one of the strongest symbols of hope in America.
The unmatched association of St. Jude with hope, medical advancements, a clear mission and success stories inspire confidence that contributions of all sizes drive real impact for childhood cancer patients.
Inside today's hope mindset
Hope in one's personal future is far more common than hope in the world or society.
How hopeful are we? Hope today shows up in small, controllable sources like connection, stability and visible progress. People tend to be hopeful about their own lives, but less so the more they zoom out from their sphere of personal influence.
Hope is strongest closest to home
68% feel hopeful about their own future and the futures of friends and family.
Hope declines beyond personal circles
52% feel hopeful about their community’s future.
Global outlook is far less optimistic
Just 41% feel hopeful about the world’s future and 40% about society overall.
That's nearly a 30-point gap between how hopeful people feel about their own lives versus the broader world.
The takeaway: Americans aren’t lacking hope altogether, they just feel it much more strongly in the spaces they can see, touch and influence directly. The broader the view, the less likely they are to be hopeful.
Hope in personal futures provides more control, positivity and progress
When we asked people what inspires hope in their personal lives, the top three reasons all shared a theme of tangibility. In their day-to-day lives, people feel like they have some level of control. They can choose how to spend their time and what goals to set. And they can have positive life experiences even when the news is bleak. People also indicated they see progress in their own lives in ways they can't for society at large.
60%
I feel like I have more control over my own life.
57%
Even when there is negative news about society, I can still have positive life experiences.
43%
I see results/progress more quickly in my own life than I do in society.
Underlying all of that, 92% of Americans agree we need hope now more than ever.
Hope is very important because for me, it's what drives me to get up and keep going every day … so it's pretty much the reason to not only just go about my day, but to continue to dream and continue to push through those hard challenges.
Hope Imperative poll respondent
Art by sibling of St. Jude patient Natalie
What factors reduce hope?
When it comes to a lack of hope, loss of a loved one, political division and rising costs are key issues.
- 80% - losing a loved one
- 79% - political division
- 75% - inability to afford basic needs
A lack of hope has real consequences to one’s physical, emotional and mental health.
- 73% say hopelessness negatively impacts their ability to plan for the future.
- 71% say it hurts their ability to concentrate and stay focused.
- 70% say it undermines their sense of purpose and their ability to make decisions.
More than simply making people "feel bad", hopelessness can make it more difficult for people to function.
Everyday hope
Everyday hope is essential for perseverance, positive outlooks and belief in a better world.
82% of Americans agree that "Without hope, I struggle to find meaning in my day-to-day." To dig deeper, we asked respondents for their top reasons why hope is important to daily life:
- 63% say hope helps them believe things will be better.
- 62% say it keeps them going when times are hard.
- 57% say it improves their outlook on the future.
Collectively, these answers reveal themes of resilience and progress. Hope can act as fuel to help get people through difficult times. It can shield people from adversity and act as a lens to help reframe how they see what's ahead.
When Americans need hope, they focus on small controllable actions that keep them going.
Hope lives in the small actions, daily habits, rituals and little wins that shape people’s everyday lives. It helps them through their day-to-day and allows them to believe things will get better.
We asked what makes people most hopeful:
- 58% - acts of kindness
- 55% - daily moments of joy
- 48% - personal goals and achievements
Notably, these things are relatively small. That suggests people aren't relying solely on big systemic changes or breakthroughs to find hope. They're finding it in everyday actions and interactions.
Hope as a practice
Hope isn’t something Americans wait for.
80% agree hope is something they actively do, not just something they feel.
Helping others is a powerful expression of hope
91% say even small acts of helping others strengthen their sense of hope.
Everyday successes reinforce optimism
90% say small, daily accomplishments help them feel hopeful about the future.
Hope drives action, not just emotion
87% say they use moments of hope as opportunities to take positive action.
Small actions matter more than big end goals
86% say incremental steps feel more meaningful than focusing on large, distant outcomes.
The pattern is consistent: hope is built through doing. And, importantly, the actions don't have to be large ones. Small wins and incremental progress sustain hopefulness.
Art by St. Jude patient Ty
You take one step at a time. One change at a time. Encountering small successes makes me feel as if someone is making an effort.
Hope Imperative poll respondent
Hope inspires meaningful action that strengthens both the self and community.
96% of Americans have taken at least one deliberate action in the past year to cultivate hope.
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- 56% have spent meaningful time with family and friends.
- 49% have focused on improving their physical health.
- 49% have engaged in hobbies that bring them joy.
- 42% spent more time in nature or outdoors.
- 34% took steps to improve their mental well-being.
- 34% celebrated milestones or special moments.
- 33% supported causes they care about.
- 32% traveled or explored new places.
- 28% volunteered or performed acts of service.
- 28% engaged in creative activities.
These actions show that the steps people are taking to cultivate hope strengthen both their personal hopefulness and their connection to others. And between supporting important causes and volunteering, a significant share of Americans see charitable action as part of how they sustain their own sense of hope.
What role does charity play in building hope?
85% of Americans agree, “We need to ritualize and celebrate victories more to build hope in our communities.”
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Among Americans who already support causes, the top charitable actions that drive hope are:
- 39% - donating goods or supplies
- 34% - donating money to charity
- 28% - volunteering
- 15% - engaging online
- 13% - spreading awareness
And 72% of Americans agree, “Making donations on a more frequent basis makes me feel like I'm doing more for the causes I believe in.” Recurring giving isn’t just better for nonprofits, it’s better for the donor’s sense of impact and hope.
The takeaway: Charity is already a hope practice for many Americans, and there’s an appetite to make it more regular and more celebrated.
In summary, hope is personal, tangible and controllable. It's a practice that's actively pursued. And giving back is one of the most powerful hope-building behaviors.
Art by St. Jude patient Victoria