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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More than a game: Cambridge football captains on sport, wellbeing, and community

Reece Linney and Alexia Dengler hope that plans for an all-weather pitch at Grange Road will further enhance sporting opportunities across the University of Cambridge.

Cambridge rugby captains back all-weather pitch plans to transform Grange Road into a year-round sports hub

Fergus Hughes and Bethan Jones have described the impact that an all-weather pitch at Grange Road would have on sport at the University of Cambridge.

From Shanghai to Cambridge with the Bill Cornish Memorial Fund

The inaugural Bill Cornish Scholar Zihan Ni meets Lovedy Cornish and talks IP law, life in Cambridge—and the impact of giving to postgraduates

End to end weather prediction with AI: Google DeepMind Scholar Anna Vaughan

Using artificial intelligence for faster, better, and more impactful climate modelling for extreme weather forecasting systems

Ghost cities, mixed Mauretanian arts, and overland from London to Baku

How the Tom Parkinson Travel Writing Bursary is creating a legacy in footsteps across the globe

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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How can we speed up the commercialisation of clean energy technologies?

A new donation from Quadrature Climate Foundation (QCF) will support research at the University of Cambridge and the University of California, Berkeley, on designing public institutions best suited to bringing clean energy technologies to market

Gift from alumnus supports PhD programme in Computer Science

Ten years after he completed his PhD, thanks to a scholarship he received, alumnus Dr Raoul-Gabriel Urma is giving another student the same opportunity

Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Heart and Lung Research Institute receives £5 million boost

A love of education and helping others has prompted a Canadian-born entrepreneur to donate a further £5 million to support the University of Cambridge institute which already bears his name.

Far-sighted donation enables new initiative to address engineered pandemics

Thanks to a generous £5.25 million donation to the Centre for Research in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (CRASSH) at the University of Cambridge, a team of scientists and policy researchers have launched the Engineered Pandemics Risk Management Programme.

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.

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.

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.

Bill Gates: "Of all our foundation’s grants, this was my dad’s favourite"

I couldn’t be prouder of the difference Gates Cambridge scholars are making, and the leaders they have become.

"Where we're going, together"

Volunteer Siobhan Cassidy (Homerton 1994) reflects on giving back, organising the 2021 Boat Race and the power of sport.

Eashwar Krishnan on supporting PhD students from around the world

University volunteer and philanthropist Eashwar Krishnan’s (Trinity 1996) time at Cambridge was supported with a Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund scholarship. Today, he supports postgraduate students “trying to give back and replicate the structure of incredible generosity” shown to him.

Legacy stories

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Romance, physics, and a revolution in sound: the Dolby family’s unique relationship with Collegiate Cambridge and how it drives their phenomenal philanthropy

The Dolbys’ philanthropic support for science research and higher education has helped secure the UK’s status as the epicentre of physics discovery for the world

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

‘The Thrill of the Will’

Alice Macek, Associate Director of Legacies, reflects on why estate planning is vital — at any stage of life!

Early music — a love story: the unique Dolmetsch family and an extraordinary legacy to Cambridge

In a leafy Surrey village, an extraordinary musical story has unfolded over the course of more than a century, with its roots in mid-19th century France and a narrative spanning Belgium, London, the USA and Haslemere, Surrey. Its next chapter? At the University Library, Cambridge.

Personal giving, far-reaching impact: the Early Cancer Institute and the ripple effect of philanthropy

Most of us will — at some point in our lives, whether directly or indirectly — feel the tremendous impact of cancer. The disease has a unique poignancy and resonance: in its suddenness or its duration, in the uncertainty and changes it brings, and in the meaning it contains, cancer touches and transforms lives dramatically.