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February 06, 2009

Cambridge University Sets Fund-Raising Record

Coinciding with the institution’s 800th anniversary, a capital campaign at Cambridge University recently passed the £800 million ($1.16-billion) mark. Cambridge officials say that is more than has ever been raised by a university outside the United States.

Cambridge secured £138-million in contributions in the fiscal year ending July 31. And despite a slowdown in new gifts in the past six months due to the global financial crisis, Peter Agar, Cambridge’s director of development and alumni relations, says he hopes to surpass the campaign’s £1 billion ($1.45-billion) goal by its 2012 completion date.

When the ambitious campaign was announced in 2005, some were concerned that, with little tradition of alumni giving to British universities, it would be overly dependent on U.S. or other international support, says Mr. Agar.

But donors in the United Kingdom have so far contributed 65 percent of the total, and about 9 percent of the university’s alumni have made campaign donations. The campaign has raised 24 percent of the total from donors in the United States. The remaining 11 percent came from other international supporters.

— Paula Wasley

Friday February 6, 2009 | Permalink

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