Pioneering Cambridge Campaign reaches record US$2 billion

The University of Cambridge today announced it has raised more than US$2.0 billion (£1.17 billion) during the course of its 800th Anniversary Campaign, the largest fundraising total ever announced by a European university. This total places Cambridge in the top rank of fundraising institutions worldwide.

Calculated at the average exchange rate for each year of the ten-year campaign, a total of US$1.1 billion (£649 million) was raised by the University and US$905 million (£523 million) by the Colleges.

2010 - 11 has also been a record year for Cambridge with US$215 million (£135 million at current exchange rates) raised.

These figures do not include more than US$640 million (£390 million) of legacy pledges, which will, in turn, create a significant pipeline of benefactions in the future.

The Campaign has attracted broad support from alumni and friends globally and 54,000 alumni, more than a quarter of the total, have contributed at least once to a College and more than 8,000 have contributed at least once to the University

Acknowledging this success, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, said:  "This is a remarkable achievement. I pay tribute to my predecessors, Alec Broers and Alison Richard, who saw the need for such a Campaign and then led it with such distinction.  The University and the Colleges are immensely grateful to all our donors who have given to this Campaign so generously.

"It is now the right time to declare that the 800^th Campaign is complete.  But, paraphrasing Churchill, this is simply "the end of the beginning".  The need for philanthropic funding to sustain Cambridge’s position as one of the best universities in the world has never been greater.  To be a global leader in education and research requires Cambridge to continue to be a leader in philanthropy.  We are beginning, immediately, to prepare for a new, even more ambitious Campaign".

Bill Janeway, Co-Chairman of the Campaign Board and Senior Advisor to Warburg Pincus, said: "In a time of economic challenge and global competition, the case for philanthropy and fundraising to support Britain’s great universities has never been stronger. Today we celebrate Cambridge’s leadership role in philanthropy and express our enormous gratitude to our benefactors."

Fellow Co-Chairman and Senior Advisor to Morgan Stanley International Sir David Walker said: "Our alumni and friends in the UK and internationally have responded with generosity and vision to the call of this Campaign. They understand the need for sustained investment if teaching and research are to remain cornerstones of Cambridge’s excellence and ability to seed the world with ideas."

Celebrating Philanthropy at Cambridge (Full text of speeches – PDF)