Thank you for your feedback. Your brief reminded me the international charity sign. (
http://www.whatshappening.sg/events/) I triple checked the web and I was very surprised to see that the charity sign has never been used with a combination of a heart. Thought it would represent very well your organization.
About the color choice, in your brief you emphasized about hope. In fact, the best color option would be orange symbolizing optimism. But, since you do not prefer it, a dark red would be the next best and serious choice.