Cambridge fundraising campaign reaches £1bn halfway mark
Melanie May | 12 December 2017 | News
The campaign for the University of Cambridge and Colleges that launched in 2015 to raise £2bn has now just topped the halfway mark at £1.08bn.
The Dear World… Yours, Cambridge campaign aims to raise £2bn to enable the university and its colleges to attract the brightest minds regardless of background or means, to create the resources and environment for world-class research and enable it to respond to challenges facing the UK and the rest of the world.
So far, more than 47,000 donors have contributed to the campaign. The University surpassed the £1 billion milestone thanks to an £85 million donation from the estate of Ray Dolby, founder of Dolby Laboratories, to support the development of the Cavendish Laboratory, a leading centre for physics research where Dolby received his PhD in 1961. The gift was announced in San Francisco on 5 December, and according to the university, represents the largest philanthropic gift ever made to UK science.
According to the University, the funds raised are supporting Cambridge’s laboratories, lecture theatres and libraries to ensure the best environment for world-class teaching and research and providing new student accommodation and facilities across its 31 Colleges. Studentships and bursaries are also supporting the most financially disadvantaged undergraduate students to meet the cost of their studies.
Since the campaign was launched in 2015, 81 postdoctoral fellowships and 134 postgraduate studentships have been funded through philanthropy.
Sir Harvey McGrath, co-chair of the campaign, said:
“As a result of the support shown by so many alumni, we are able to attract, inspire and support the brightest in the world, irrespective of their background or financial capacity. We must continue to do so, and I am delighted to be working as co-chair to ensure that students who would not otherwise be able to come to Cambridge have the financial support they need, now and in years to come.”
Main picture: image of new Cavendish Laboratory
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.