Impact of giving

From bursaries, scholarships, and new academic posts to new initiatives, buildings and facilities, philanthropy ensures that we continue to lead and inspire the world in our teaching and research, nurturing exceptional minds and driving the discoveries of the future.

Impact of giving

From bursaries, scholarships, and new academic posts to new initiatives, buildings and facilities, philanthropy ensures that we continue to lead and inspire the world in our teaching and research, nurturing exceptional minds and driving the discoveries of the future.

Philanthropic impact stories

Find out how Cambridge is working to solve the challenges we face in today's world. None of the examples described here would be possible without Cambridge’s philanthropic supporters. Their philanthropy sets the brilliant minds working at Cambridge free to pursue new ideas and change the world.

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Jessica Sainsbury Lectureship in the Anthropology of Amazonia

Another Country: How Dr Natalia Buitron channelled an Amazonian childhood into a lifelong passion and a Cambridge career.
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Close to Home: Making a difference to patients, families, and the field of cancer research

Harding Distinguished Scholar Fadia Bou-Dagher’s interest in easing the experience of cancer goes far beyond the clinical. Here, the Harding Distinguished Scholar reveals why it means so much to her personally and why she takes a holistic view of cancer’s causes and effects. 
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Legacy gift lends a helping hand to Downing medics

Thanks to a generous legacy gift from alumnus, John Frederick Fitz Miller (Downing 1978), over 50 Downing medical students have all been awarded a generous grant from the fund
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"This opportunity is great for people like me.” The new Cambridge Google DeepMind Research Ready scheme providing alternative pathways into AI research

“Spending a summer at the University of Cambridge working as a Google DeepMind intern has been a great opportunity. I missed out on going to a Russell Group university for my bachelor’s degree—but now I’ve done this, I hope I can go on to great places in the future.”
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Year in Review 2023-24

This year, annual income from philanthropic sources surpassed £200 million for the first time. A key enabler of this growth is philanthropy becoming embedded across Cambridge over the past decade.
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Gift announcements

Cambridge owes its world-leading excellence in research and teaching to the generosity of its supporters. Our history is synonymous with a history of far-sighted benefaction, and the same is as true today as it has ever been.

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Transformational gift will establish a Professorship of Young People’s Mental Health at the University of Cambridge

Christina and Peter Dawson have made a pioneering gift to establish a Professorship of Young People’s Mental Health. This builds on their previous giving to student mental health and wellbeing and will provide a unique and transformational addition to mental health research at Cambridge and beyond.
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Downing kicks off Active Students programme

Sport at Downing has received a welcome boost thanks to a generous gift from Downing alumnus, Richard Baker (1981). 
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Computer technology company Arm donates £3.5 million to fund the computer architecture research leaders of tomorrow

Arm donates £3.5 million to enable 15 PhD students over the next five years, to study at CASCADE — a dedicated new Computer Architecture and Semiconductor Design Centre based within the Department of Computer Science and Technology.
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New long-term collaboration with Suzano begins with a £10 million donation to support conservation and sustainability education and research

Suzano, one the world’s largest producers of bio-based raw materials, based in São Paulo, Brazil, establishes a long-term initiative with Jesus College and the University of Cambridge.
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Professor John Cardy funds new bursaries for Downing students

A generous gift from theoretical physicist and alumnus, Professor John Cardy (Downing 1964), has enabled the creation of two new bursaries for Downing students.
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Donor stories

Discover why philanthropy matters and how it makes Cambridge better still. Hear from our donors about their philanthropic motivations and from those who have been supported by such gifts during their time at the University.

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Everyone’s journey is different: The inspirations behind Dr Lewis Owens’s passion for service

To call Dr Lewis Owens (Queens’ 1996) a veteran volunteer is an understatement. Lewis has been weaving together the threads of meaningful service since his Cambridge days.
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‘A Connection to the Real World’: How a passion for problem-solving inspired David Manns’s legacy giving

David Manns (Trinity 1964) believes in the power of philanthropy to address the deepest roots of the problems we face as a species and a society — and he trusts Cambridge to lead the way.
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Mummies, biomedical Egyptology, and preserving eternity: Professor Rosalie David’s vision for her discipline and her legacy

Very few people can boast of having served as director of the International Mummy Database. The remarkable Professor Rosalie David OBE is one of the few.
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Legendary scholarship, ‘tough love’, and cocktails: Joyce Reynolds’s trailblazing life and unique and multifaceted legacy

Formidable, gifted, and just as passionate about her own work as her students’ learning and success, Joyce Reynolds was, and remains, an inspiration. Warm and admiring anecdotes about her abound — and one thing is clear: no one whose life was touched by Joyce will ever forget her. Now, her spirit and commitment will continue to support future generations thanks not only to her own legacy giving, but to the giving she inspired in others.  
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Blending Chemistry, Cooking and Children’s Health: An audience with Bonnie Garmus

In a special event to raise money for the ground-breaking new Cambridge Children's Hospital (CCH), author of global sensation Lessons in Chemistry Bonnie Garmus took to the stage to discuss her bestselling debut novel with the hospital’s campaign board co-chair, Dame Mary Archer.
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