Class giving
Class Gift Bursaries are means-tested bursaries funded by and named after particular year groups.
We hope that you will join your contemporaries by making a gift to support Churchillians of the future. Class Giving will leave a lasting legacy through endowed funds that will provide at least one student every year into the future with the same educational opportunities enjoyed by alumni.
Select your year group from the dropdown in our online donation form and add your support today.
“Before coming to university, I was deeply concerned about the financial side of things, especially the cost of tuition and living expenses. The uncertainty about how I’d manage it all, had caused stress and anxiety, but finding out I was eligible for The 1988-92 Bursary was a huge relief. Considering that my course demands full time dedication to my studies, The 1988-92 Bursary enables me to concentrate fully on my academic pursuits without the added pressure of needing to work part time to meet financial costs. It has given me the confidence to fully immerse myself in university life without constantly worrying about the financial pressures.”
Why Class Gifts?
The aim for each Class Gift is to raise £100,000 which will endow a Cambridge Bursary for one Home undergraduate student. The funds raised are invested by the College and only the income will be spent (up to the maximum £3,500 of a full Cambridge Bursary), meaning that the Bursary can be awarded for as long as Churchill College is in existence.
The average debt after a three year undergraduate degree for a UK student at Cambridge easily exceeds £55,000. While students can borrow much of the money they need, such significant debt can act as a deterrent to considering a university education. Churchill has a long tradition of welcoming students from non-traditional Oxbridge schools and regions forged by a desire to help combat entrenched social and economic disadvantage by improving equality of access and equality of opportunity.
Bursaries and hardship grants make a significant difference in encouraging students to apply to Churchill who otherwise might fear getting into debt, and to their educational outcomes once here. These bursaries have only been made possible because of generous alumni support.
The cost-of-living crisis is affecting everyone – you, the College, its students and their families. Now more than ever before, it is vital that the College has access to the funds needed to continue to reach, support and transform as many of the best young minds as possible, regardless of their financial circumstances.
Every individual donation of any size will take us closer to our goal.
If 150 alumni donate a one-off amount of £500 (or commit to donating £15 a month for three years), with Gift Aid, this will total just over £100,000.
(If you are a UK taxpayer, Gift Aid increases your donations by 25% if you pay tax at the basic rate – and there are other tax incentives for higher rate payers and those living overseas).
Alumni donations have now fully endowed three Class Gifts: the 1977–81, 1988–92 and 1972–77 Bursaries. The College is awarding means-tested, full Cambridge Bursaries named after these year groups in perpetuity.
You can read more about the impact of Class Giving on page 13 of the 2024 Donor Report.
166 undergraduates currently receive a means-tested Cambridge Bursary
The number of undergraduate students eligible for a Cambridge Bursary increased by 64% in 2023-24 compared with 2022-23
Almost one third of eligible students received the maximum Cambridge Bursary of £3,500 last year (2023-24) because their family income is below £25,000
Over £575,000 was awarded to undergraduate students as bursaries, grants and hardship awards in total last year (2023-24)
67% of offers to UK students in the 2024 UCAS round were made to maintained sector pupils – the Office for Students (OfS) target is 65%
22% of students from state schools were from the most disadvantaged areas of the country according to the “Indices of multiple deprivation” (IMD Q1&2), and 7% qualified for free school meals
There are separate funds for postgraduate students and over £700,000 is awarded as postgraduate studentships and hardship grants each year
“I am very grateful to receive The 1972-77 Bursary. It really helps to relieve the burden of having to worry about finances while at university. Particularly in a place like Cambridge, where cost of living is quite high, the Bursary genuinely does help, and I want to say thank you to those who are donating.
Having now studied in Cambridge for a year, it is only just sinking in that I am studying at one of the best universities in the world. Especially for maths, it is amazing to be surrounded by and regularly talk to people who are world-leading, not only in their research, but also in their pedagogical abilities and ability to communicate complex maths topics in an understandable way.
This year, I am part of the committee for Cambridge University Athletics Club, and I compete in hurdles. The 1972-77 Bursary has helped me to be able to afford to go on the ‘warm weather training camp’ in Portugal this Spring, as well as travel to competitions, general training related costs, including buying enough food, membership fees etc. Hopefully, I will make the elusive ‘Blues standard’ this year!”
John Bennett, U23
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