New: Ash Court
Read about our plans for a new Wing at Ash Court
What Girton students think about the funds…
Sports Pavilion Fund
"The recent pitch development has given us more than consistently playable pitches – they’re fantastic. On top of this, a pavilion would not only reflect the College’s sporting success, but also provide a gym where the rowers would not be split across two sites, and ensure a fitness space would be available anyone that wanted to train. The pavilion will provide a space to enhance all aspects of the wide variety of Girton sports." Anna Heaton, Women’s Football Captain (2008–09)
Teaching Support Fund
“Supervisors really push you to get the most out of your ability, which they can do particularly well when they are based in College because they know you personally. The supervision system means that we are seen as individuals and not just numbers and having continuity in your teaching is really important in identifying your strengths and weaknesses.” Leanne Sheen, 3rd year, MML
Postgraduate Bursaries Fund
“Financial stress should not be taken lightly. As a member of a university which strives on excellence, one will want the financial freedom and stability that boosts creativity and in turn brilliance. The College scholarships have helped a vast number of students, myself included, to free themselves from the stress of financial burdens that were holding their research back. Such funds also open the door to a greater number of talented people, who may have found it difficult to study at postgraduate level had these funds not been available.” Bogdan Roman, Postgraduate Student
Childcare Bursary Fund
“I very much appreciate the Girton childcare bursary. Without the bursary, we could not send our daughter to nursery where she can play and learn with other kids. Meanwhile, both my wife and I are able focus on full time study.” Mr Gen-Tao Chiang, Postgraduate Student
Campaign Projects
For 2011, the College is focusing on supporting several key areas where you can make a difference:
Ash Court | College's Endowment Fund | Sports Pavilion Fund | Teaching Support Fund | Girton Opportunities Fund | Bursaries | Girton Futures Fund (Access)
Make a difference by donating to the College's endowment
Contributions to the College's general endowment fund will equip the College with a more sustainable income for many generations to come. Such support will provide the College with a greater capacity to plan for the future with confidence.
The College’s endowment is below what is needed for Girton to operate sustainably in the long-term. Building up the endowment fund will secure College’s future in an uncertain statutory funding environment and will enable College to direct its resources to areas most in need in the future. Income from this general endowment has been already used to support teaching, student services and facilities, and to maintain buildings.
Make a difference by donating to the Sports Pavilion Fund
This will be a fantastic new addition to Girton’s facilities, providing every student with the opportunity to exercise on-site. A new gym and changing rooms are incorporated in the plans. So far the sports pitches have been redeveloped, giving College full-sized rugby and football facilities and the ability for college teams to play both sports concurrently. However, £200,000 of the £800,000 still needs to be raised in order to begin the pavilion.
Donating £500 or more to the pavilion will give you the chance to have your name inscribed on a special donor plaque in the new pavilion. Four people donating £1,500 each would fund the gym changing room and showers.
NEW: you can now download the new version of the pavilion fundraising brochure.
Make a difference to the Teaching Support Fund (a matched fund)
At present, Girton has an annual shortfall of between £500,000 and £1 million in its education account, the difference between the funds received from student fees and UK government, and the necessary expenditure on College-based teaching. The deficit is currently made up from College’s own endowment funds and fundraising, but is unsustainable in the long-term. The aim of the Teaching Support Fund is to endow teaching posts to secure the funding for specific sujects, and thus support the supervision system for which Cambridge is renowned.
Currently, the following subjects are in particular need:
| Economics |
| English |
| History |
| Law |
| Mathematics |
| Modern and Medieval Languages (MML) |
The long-term aim is that all the posts in these subjects are endowed. The Teaching Support Fund, which has been established thanks to a generous donation of £2.5 million from an individual alumnus, will match gifts from alumni and other sources at a ratio of 1:1 for the long-term endowment of teaching provision in the College. The alumnus wishes to encourage donations, at all levels, in order to support teaching.
For instance, a gift of £22 per month for three years from 300 alumni would raise enough, with Gift Aid and matching funding, to fund a half-time teaching post. The sum required to endow one Fellowship is currently £1.2 million; at a 4% annual return this covers the salary of a teaching Fellow, together with employers’ costs.
We have already enjoyed some successes in fundraising for teaching, with an endowed post in Classics, thanks to the gift of John and Barbara Wrigley in 1997, and gifts totalling £400,000 from a number of donors to support Mathematics.
Make a difference by donating to the Girton Opportunities Fund
The Girton Opportunities Fund is a new unrestricted fund to support areas of current need within College with an almost immediate effect (within the year) and it will therefore benefit current students. This will help College projects such as choir tours, students' sports, postgraduate student support and other such areas that may require extra financial resources in a particular year.
Make a difference by donating to Postgraduate Bursaries and Childcare Bursaries
Providing support for students, so that no student should be deterred from applying or continuing his/her studies because of financial hardship, remains at the core of the College's mission. We have continued commitment to provide assistance in this way, and your support in this area will give us the flexibility to adapt as the debate on University funding continues.
The College has good provision of bursaries for undergraduates, but not so for postgraduates. We would like endowment income from this Postgraduate Bursaries Fund to help students who may face difficulty continuing their studies. Furthermore, providing childcare bursaries underlines our commitment to equal opportunities and access. The College has a nursery at Wolfson Court, but the costs of childcare are still such that they deter many from continuing their studies after becoming parents. As well as encouraging more mature students and graduates with children to study in Cambridge, Childcare Bursaries are an essential benefit to help us attract and retain the best academic staff.
We also have numerous undergraduate support schemes, and we welcome further donations for this purpose. A gift of £11 per month over three years from 100 alumni would enable us to endow a bursary award of £2,000 per year in perpetuity.
Make a difference by donating to the Girton Futures Fund (Access)
The College’s current mission is to widen access to the best quality education for people from all social backgrounds. This fund will enable College to put on more school events and enable the admission open days to be bigger and better than ever before in order encourage the best students regardless of their social or financial backgrounds.
This fund will help initiatives such as the establishment of a residential course for pre-GCSE pupils. This course will target children from regions where few people go to university and will encourage them to see university, and specifically Girton College, as a viable option for them in the future.
View an example of the initiatives being helped by this fund.
How to give your support to the College
Making a donation is easy: you can download a donation form, or view the different methods of donating.
Please note that we have numerous other schemes that can be donated to, in addition to the aforementioned priority funds. Please contact development@girton.cam.ac.uk for more information.