Best of CASE Europe Region Award
 

Institution: University of Cambridge

Title of entry: Dear World...Yours, Cambridge

About this entry: The campaign for the Colleges and University of Cambridge, “Dear World...Yours, Cambridge”, is one of the largest higher education campaigns in European history and one of very few outside North America to have raised more than $2 billion.

The campaign launched publicly in October 2015 with a target of £2 billion and closed in July 2022 having raised £2.2 billion from more than 130,000 donors globally. It sought philanthropic support for Cambridge’s research, teaching and transformational capital projects, with fundraising priorities including improving the early detection of cancer, student support, and advancing public policy to improve lives everywhere.

Its impact is remarkable: £356 million was raised for student support, contributing to 4316 scholarships, bursaries and studentships. Philanthropy towards programs like the Stormzy Scholarships and Get In Cambridge enhanced Cambridge’s drive to diversify its undergraduate student body. Cambridge more than doubled its intake of Black British students during the campaign.

More than 160 buildings and facilities received philanthropic support, including the Ray Dolby Centre, which will be one of the most advanced sites for physics research in Europe. 400 new posts were created or endowed, and over 12,000 volunteers were engaged globally.

The campaign has successfully embedded new fundraising models and practices across Cambridge, and enhanced collaboration across College and University advancement teams. It expanded the horizons of what philanthropy can achieve in support of the University’s mission to contribute to society through the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence.