The King’s Campaign was publicly launched in December 2018 to raise £100 million. Thanks to the generosity of King’s alumni, friends and supporters a total of £102 million has now been reached, in the College’s most ambitious fundraising effort in its recent history.
During the Campaign more than 6,500 alumni, friends and supporters of King’s made a donation, at all giving levels and from members of the King’s community across the world. In addition over £36 million has been pledged in future legacies. £2.75 million has been raised from the College’s annual telephone appeals and the first King’s Giving Day in December 2024.
'We are deeply grateful to those donors who commit to making regular gifts of all sizes over several years, providing a steady, guaranteed stream of income to benefit important areas of the College such as student hardship, bursaries, welfare and mental health, and the Chapel and Choir' said King’s Development Director Lorraine Headen. 'Some alumni have been giving this way since graduation, and we cannot thank them enough.'
The Campaign total was surpassed in May thanks to a £6 million gift from David Sainsbury (KC 1959) and the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, to support a new Executive Director post for the King’s E-Lab and create a new flexible meeting space in the southwest part of Chetwynd Court. The space will provide a greatly needed home for E-Lab and other College events, bringing the King’s community closer together and fostering innovation in line with one of the main Campaign priorities.
Encouraging the brightest and best
Over half of what has been raised has gone directly to supporting students, to help in multiple ways. At the launch of the Campaign a £33 million gift from an alumnus was announced, establishing the College’s transformative Student Access and Support Initiative. A further philanthropic donation in 2020 set up the innovative Bridging Programme, which has now helped over 60 offer holders from traditionally low attainment schools spend time in King’s before their course starts and prepare for life and study at Cambridge. Recently the College partnered with IntoUniversity to open a new education centre in Middlesbrough to provide academic support, mentoring and aspiration-raising activities for young people in one of the most deprived parts of England.
At the other end of the educational journey, as King’s students start to think about life beyond their first degree, the King’s E-Lab, launched in 2021 thanks to a donation from Malcolm McKenzie (KC 1977), is fostering innovation and providing entrepreneurial and career skills. This builds on the success of the Entrepreneurship Prize Competition founded by Stuart Lyons (KC 1962) in 2014. Since then the Entrepreneurship Prize has recognised 23 winning businesses, awarded over £325,000 in funding, and an expert panel of judges has provided valuable advice and mentorship.
A previous gift from David Sainsbury and the Gatsby Charitable Foundation is enabling a Summer Research Programme aimed at inspiring talented science students to think about going on to a PhD and further research; and in 2024 the College appointed its first Futures Tutor, to provide students with careers advice and coaching to support them in their personal and professional development, thanks to a donation from an alumna.
The King’s Student Welfare and Mental Health Fund was established at the start of the Campaign from a legacy gift and has enabled the creation of a programme of care and activities directed at the welfare and mental health of resident students. The Fund provided vital support through COVID, and further generous gifts have allowed the College to respond to the increasing complex needs of our students and recruit a Mental Health Advisor, and a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist.
Empowering Minds
The Campaign has also added to the College’s teaching excellence and boosted its research capacity, with a range of academic posts funded since its start. Recent gifts have included £1.75 million from Mervyn King (KC 1968) to create a new Research Fellowship in economic history; $5 million from Roger Evans (KC 1964) and Aey Phanachet to endow two named Research Fellowships; a gift from an alumna to establish the first Sydney Brenner Research Fellowship; and the Enactor Alan Turing Fellowship and PhD Programme is now in its sixth year. Graduate students contribute enormously to the research culture of the College and play a vital role in teaching, mentoring and inspiring undergraduate students, before going on to contribute to society in myriad ways.
Protecting our Heritage
One of the Campaign’s key priorities has been the protection and enhancement of the College’s exceptional heritage and environment, both now and for future generations.
An early gift from alumnus Ian Jones (KC 1980) to support the Choir is also helping to maintain the fabric of the Chapel, including enhancing the lighting. Over the course of the Campaign more than £5 million has been given to support the Choir, in donations from alumni and friends around the world.
In 2023 the College completed work on a year-long conservation of the Chapel roof and installed 438 new solar panels, thanks to a significant legacy gift. A major project to restore the interior of the 300-year-old Gibbs Building has received generous initial funding from Malcolm McKenzie and other alumni.
Sarah Legg (KC 1986), Chair of the Campaign Advisory Board, said: 'This is a fantastic achievement and reflects the tremendous support and commitment of King’s alumni around the world. King’s was the making of me, and of so many of us; I’m delighted that thanks to the Campaign, more talented students who might not otherwise have the chance to come to King’s will get the support they need not only throughout their time here, but also be equipped with the skills to go out into the world and make a difference.'
The Provost Dr Gillian Tett said of the Campaign: 'King’s is an exceptional environment in which to be a student and an academic. Thanks to the generosity of the amazing King’s community, over this Campaign we’ve been able to create 15 new Research Fellowships; a fund of £5m for MPhil and PhD studentships, which have already enabled a large number of students to do graduate research; and welcome a record number of students from disadvantaged backgrounds and support them to thrive here. For our students and Fellowship alike, this is game-changing.
Reaching our goal is not of course an ending. The Campaign is one part of the long story of this very special place and the people who believe in it, and we haven’t finished yet. We’re incredibly grateful to everyone for their support.'
