Lucy Cavendish College celebrates a huge achievement as its first ever Giving Week raises an incredible £164,681

Over 7 days from noon on Sunday 18 October 2020, alumnae, students, Fellows, staff and friends came together to raise £164,681* (including £98,507 in gifts made during the week, £50,000 in unlocked match funding and £16,174 in Gift Aid) for four key priorities vital to Lucy’s important mission.

320 College members and friends made a contribution, and a dedicated team of 49 LucyGives Ambassadors helped spread the word. Supporters gave from across the worldwide Lucy community and beyond, with gifts received from donors in 24 different countries. We are immensely thankful to those alumnae and friends who so generously pledged £50,000 in match funding ahead of LucyGives, which was fully unlocked during the week.

A further contribution of £60,449 was unlocked towards a special fund for undergraduate financial support across Cambridge, as part of the University’s Harding Challenge. The fund was established through the generosity of the Hardings, and will in the future support bursaries for students from low-income backgrounds, including those at Lucy Cavendish.

All gifts made during LucyGives will directly support Lucy’s renewed mission to boost social mobility, tackle global issues, and create a real movement for change at Cambridge. Gifts will help us ensure that:  

1. the barriers faced by students from disadvantaged backgrounds at Cambridge are identified and overcome. From the moment they arrive in Cambridge;
2. students make the most of the opportunities which Cambridge has to offer through participation in co- and extra-curricular activities;
3. no student is disadvantaged by being unable to access the course books they need. As we increase student numbers  your support will ensure that our College Library resources grow in step; and
4. more full and partial studentships are available to Master’s students from low-income backgrounds who are taking one of the many interdisciplinary courses focused on the global issues facing humanity.

Over the next five years we will more than double our numbers to support over 900 students, where 80% of our Home undergraduates are from under-represented or disadvantaged backgrounds. Lucy will become the only Cambridge College to have a student community that is demographically reflective of UK wider society. Once at Lucy, students will be encouraged and supported to develop and grow, enabling them to become future leaders committed to finding and implementing solutions to the world’s toughest problems.

During the week we were delighted to welcome Honorary Fellows Jackie Ashley (Former College President) and Sarah Sands, who gave an insightful talk entitled ‘How to carve a career in an uncertain world’ as part of the LucyGives celebrations (recording available here). We also held Lucy’s very first #TogetherForLucy Day, a chance for members and friends worldwide to show their pride in their connection to our college. With thanks to everyone’s submissions, we were thrilled to produce a new college collage.

Endless and heartfelt thank yous to everyone who participated, helping to make the LucyGives Giving Week such a great success.

 

*The figures reported in this article were amended on 4 November 2020 and again on 6 January 2021 to reflect further LucyGives donations which have been received since the time of publication. Thank you to everyone who has supported LucyGives to date!