Development and Alumni Relations
Year in Review 2020 -2021
From the Executive Director
In support of our academic mission
It's my pleasure to introduce our 20/21 Year in Review.
Despite the ongoing effects of the pandemic, campaign momentum remains strong and Collegiate Cambridge is well on its way to surpassing the Dear World... Yours, Cambridge campaign goal. At the close of the financial year, Collegiate Cambridge had raised £209.4m, bringing the total raised for the campaign to £1.96 billion – only £40m away from the £2 billion target.
And it's been another year of record alumni engagement for Cambridge, with alumni taking part in online events like the Cambridge Conversations and the Gates 20th anniversary celebrations, as well as joining the alumni book club and taking advantage of the armchair travel series.
With the forthcoming close of the campaign and the end of the Vice-Chancellor's tenure, 21/22 promises to be an eventful year.
Philanthropy and alumni engagement remain integral to achieving the University's mission and we're grateful to all of our partners across Cambridge for enabling the achievements of the past year.
With best wishes for the year ahead.
Yours,
Alison
Campaign momentum
Campaign momentum remains on an upward trajectory and the £2 billion goal will be reached in 21/22.
At the close of the financial year, Collegiate Cambridge had raised £209.4m, bringing the total raised for the campaign to £1.96 billion.
Expanding support for students in need
To date, £258m has been raised for the Student Support Initiative. Significant gifts towards it in 20/21 include £5m from Christina and Peter Dawson to support the Foundation Year programme, the expansion of the Cambridge Bursary Scheme (enabled through the Harding Challenge as part of David and Claudia Harding’s gift), a gift from Prakash and Anjali Melwani to support student mental health and wellbeing at Sidney Sussex and the University, and new widening participation Master’s scholarships. The Cambridge Opportunity Master’s scholarships were made possible from a legacy gift from the late Rosalie Crawford, benefitting both the University and Girton.
“The launch of the Cambridge Foundation Year will open up Cambridge to a new field of candidates and transform lives. We are hugely grateful that the generosity of the Foundation Year programme’s founding benefactors, Christina and Peter Dawson, has provided the means so that students can take up this opportunity regardless of their financial situation."
Cambridge Zero's Blueprint for a Green Future report was published in November 2020
Cambridge Zero's Blueprint for a Green Future report was published in November 2020
Fundraising momentum is gathering behind Cambridge Zero, with philanthropy supporting new posts and research activities in 20/21, including Cambridge Zero’s COP26 coordinator. Major gift fundraising and wider communications strategies continue to be developed in partnership with Cambridge Zero leadership and Office of External Affairs & Communications.
Cambridge Zero featured prominently in events programming in 20/21, with Emily Shuckburgh speaking to a number of donor and alumni audiences.
The Cambridge Children’s Hospital campaign launched internally in March 2021. The campaign board continues to attract new members and the first seven-figure gift has been secured.
Academic leads Professors David Rowitch and Tamsin Ford have played an active role in fundraising and have attended a number of meetings with prospect both internationally and in the UK. They also delivered a Cambridge Conversations event focusing on the Children's Hospital in April 2021.
Volunteer engagement
Cambridge's fundraising volunteers play a vital role in raising the profile of philanthropy and acting as ambassadors for and advisors to the campaign.
Driven by campaign volunteers, regional engagement events play an important role in the cultivation of high-level prospective donors in key markets through engaging academic content. These aid in the discovery of new prospective donors and build the pipeline. Development and Alumni Relations expects to continue to see demonstrable impact on engagement as a result of these engagement series.
The London Engagement Series (LES), European Engagement Series (EES) and Hong Kong Engagement Series (HKES) all went online from November 2020 and proved successful in this format. Four LES events, three EES and two HKES events were held, featuring seven academic speakers from across the University.
A new Cambridge Insight Series designed to connect key volunteers to priority areas at Cambridge was trialled in 20/21, with the aim of building a future volunteer pipeline. Two events were held in 20/21, featuring Ken Smith on Covid and Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease (CITIID), and Emily Shuckburgh on Cambridge Zero. Analysis of these events will inform future volunteer engagement strategy and event planning.
A strong year of fundraising
The University achieved its fundraising target of £100m in 20/21, with a total raised of £100.8m. Sixteen gifts over £1m were received in 20/21, two of which were eight-figure gifts. Closing these two eight-figure gifts has been crucial to 20/21 performance, accounting for 41% of total funds raised. Fourteen seven-figure gifts made up another 27% of the total funds raised. Only 8% of funds raised came from gifts of less than £100k.
Non-alumni individual donors gave the most in 20/21, closely followed by individual alumni donors. The greatest amounts were raised for Technology and Physical Sciences.
Four new Professorships were also secured across Physics, Criminology and Psychiatry.
20/21 was the first year all fundraiser metrics were achieved: funds raised, number of contacts, asks, value of asks and solicitations funded. These are the key performance indicators of fundraising activity. Performance management of fundraising roles was strengthened this year with clear policy as well as increased data transparency and procedural consistency.
Virtual engagement remains key
While fundraisers were unable to return to face-to-face donor interactions as hoped at the end of 19/20, increased engagement of overall prospects was still achieved building on innovations brought about through lockdown. Virtual meetings increased nearly fivefold in the past year, rising from 232 virtual meetings between fundraisers and prospects in 19/20 to 1,126 in 20/21.
Working in partnership
Continued success in fundraising and alumni engagement is driven by collaboration across the Collegiate University. Academics reach alumni and donor audiences through speaking at our events and engage with prospective donors to advance fundraising conversations.
A gift to Chemistry (details below) was the culmination of a decades-long relationship between the donor, academics in the department, and senior fundraisers, as well as the Vice-Chancellor.
An inspiring gift from an alumnus to Geography and the University's Conservation Research Institute (UCCRI) will fund six full studentships for the MPhil in Conservation Leadership and also provide a generous research fund to enable them to undertake collaborative projects within UCCRI.
The gift was made possible by academics across multiple programmes working together with fundraising colleagues.
Smaller gifts can still make a significant impact; an alumni donor couple chose to support Cambridge Zero's COP 26 coordinator, a vital role for the University’s presence at COP26.
A philanthropist from Asia was interested in physics and supporting academics at Cambridge and meeting pressing needs. Through collaboration with the School of Physical Sciences, a two-year pledge was made to directly support Professor Didier Queloz’s administrative and research needs.
The impact of philanthropy
Explore some of the commitments made to Cambridge and their impact
The Endangered Landscapes Programme is building a future in which landscapes are enriched with biodiversity, establishing resilient, more self-sustaining ecosystems that benefit both nature and people
The Endangered Landscapes Programme is building a future in which landscapes are enriched with biodiversity, establishing resilient, more self-sustaining ecosystems that benefit both nature and people
Following a generous benefaction from alumnus Dr Yusuf Hamied (Christ’s 1954), the Department will be named the Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry until 2050. His transformational gift ensures that chemistry at Cambridge will continue to be world-leading in both teaching and research. Dr Hamied’s leadership gift endows a fund to both attract and support the world’s brightest academic talent in chemistry, including exceptional early career researchers in disciplines such as synthetic organic chemistry, and outstanding doctoral students from the UK and around the world through the new Hamied Scholars Programme.
Following a generous benefaction from alumnus Dr Yusuf Hamied (Christ’s 1954), the Department will be named the Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry until 2050. His transformational gift ensures that chemistry at Cambridge will continue to be world-leading in both teaching and research. Dr Hamied’s leadership gift endows a fund to both attract and support the world’s brightest academic talent in chemistry, including exceptional early career researchers in disciplines such as synthetic organic chemistry, and outstanding doctoral students from the UK and around the world through the new Hamied Scholars Programme.
HSBC UK pledges £2m to support 30 new Stormzy Scholars at the University of Cambridge over next 3 years. A further 30 Black students are to receive a £20,000 per year scholarship to study at the University of Cambridge following a new philanthropic partnership between HSBC UK and the #Merky Foundation, the UK charity founded by British musician, Stormzy.
HSBC UK pledges £2m to support 30 new Stormzy Scholars at the University of Cambridge over next 3 years. A further 30 Black students are to receive a £20,000 per year scholarship to study at the University of Cambridge following a new philanthropic partnership between HSBC UK and the #Merky Foundation, the UK charity founded by British musician, Stormzy.
Stephen Hawking Archive saved for the nation. Around 10,000 pages of Hawking’s scientific and other papers remain in Cambridge, housed at the University Library.
Stephen Hawking Archive saved for the nation. Around 10,000 pages of Hawking’s scientific and other papers remain in Cambridge, housed at the University Library.
Another record year of alumni engagement
27,019 of Cambridge’s global community of over 305,000 alumni were engaged – a 33.4% increase from 19/20.
This growth was driven by record participation in the Alumni Festival, significant interest in Gates Cambridge 20th anniversary events, introduction of an Armchair Travel Series, and continuing engagement in Cambridge Conversations events. 15,744 alumni registered for digital events.
The 10-day online Alumni Festival in September garnered 7,632 registrations from alumni in 127 countries around the world. 102 sessions were delivered by 184 speakers (academic staff, alumni and students), including 102 academics from all six Schools and Institutions.
The Cambridge Conversations digital event series highlighted seven priorities from the Dear World… Yours, Cambridge campaign including the Student Support Initiative, Cavendish III, Global Food Security, Cancer Hospital, Children’s Hospital, Global Humanities, and the Bennett Institute. Each event featured a panel discussion and lively Q&A, with 18 academics taking part. 6,310 alumni registered across the series.
There was strong take-up of alumni benefits including the virtual book club, and 7,223 using the eDatabase/Journal service.
The University’s Alumni Advisory Board and working groups continued to play a key role in acting as a sounding board and source of advice for new initiatives including the digital speakers’ bureau, Global Humanities, the conditional content campaign, and the virtual book club.
The transition to a new email platform in December 2020 allowed for more targeted research and departmental content to reach alumni, for a more personalised experience. Customised content related to alumni interests has been trialled in the monthly alumni e-news bulletin alongside College-specific content to alumni and donors in the Impact of Giving e-newsletter. Two issues were sent in 20/21 to approximately 125,000 alumni and supporters, with an average open rate of 26.4%, above the education industry average of 25%. The conditional content trial in June yielded positive results, with high click throughs, number one ranking of the conditional content for all Colleges, and positive feedback from Colleges featured.
Alumni Festival sessions on Youtube
Alumni Festival sessions on Youtube
Cambridge Conversations online events continue to be enjoyed online by viewers
Cambridge Conversations online events continue to be enjoyed online by viewers
The virtual book club connects alumni readers around the world
The virtual book club connects alumni readers around the world
Photo by Carlos Muza on Unsplash
Photo by Carlos Muza on Unsplash
Recent MGO programme participants share their thoughts
Recent MGO programme participants share their thoughts
Building a sustainable platform for philanthropy
Recruitment and growth
Strategic Investment Fund funding has allowed Development and Alumni Relations to expand fundraising capabilities across its programmes, in order to meet the increasing need for philanthropic funding. Each School now has at least two dedicated fundraisers, allowing for greater resource to support School fundraising priorities and business continuity. This growth allows for connection with a greater number of prospective donors and enhanced relationship management.
Development and Alumni Relations continued to fill key roles in 20/21, hiring 33 people including 18 fundraising roles and a new Director of Advancement Communications & External Engagement. The Talent Acquisition team partnered with seven Colleges on the hiring and recruitment of 10 vacant advancement roles.
Training and development
Part of the strategic professional development programming for Collegiate Cambridge fundraisers, the Major Gift Officer (MGO) Learning Series was delivered virtually in 20/21 to 26 College, Cambridge in America and University Development fundraisers. The seventh Annual Development conference took place virtually with 234 advancement staff across Collegiate Cambridge and Cambridge in America attending 16 sessions over eight days.
Looking ahead
Looking ahead to 21/22, Development and Alumni Relations is hoping to resume face-to-face fundraising and alumni engagement activities, but is mindful of ongoing challenges posed by new variants.
Work continues to end the campaign on a strong year of fundraising. The Vice-Chancellor's tenure will be celebrated alongside the impact of campaign.
To learn more please visit
philanthropy.cam.ac.uk
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