'£100 million donated to Cambridge University': can we call this 'philanthropy'?
By Scarlett Sheriff, 4th year French and Spanish
Last week the BBC reported that £100 million had been donated to Cambridge University, from hedge fund billionaire David Harding. After graduating from St Catherine’s College, Cambridge in 1982, Harding became a stockbroker for Johnson, Matthey and Wallace and later founded his own investment management firm in 1997.
The gift to Cambridge University is the latest in his string of donations towards research and educational institutions, mainly in the field of scientific and medical research. Cambridge’s alumni page calls the donations ‘philanthropy’, a term usually used for donations to groups or individuals in order to improve their welfare or quality of life. However, last year The Guardian reported that Oxford and Cambridge already have access to a ‘pool of wealth totalling almost £21 billion’. These are clearly not institutions that are in need of donations.
Whilst Oxford received over five and half billion pounds in endowments as of 2017, Bristol University, which is by no means an institution struggling for funds, received £70.2 million. Alumni donations are an incredibly important source of wealth for universities and many have aggressive campaigns directed at wealthy alumina. Harding’s donation raises serious questions about philanthropy in educational institutions. The independent boarding school, Eton College, has charitable status and receives substantial donations from alumni. Meanwhile, many state schools are chronically underfunded and are having to cut certain subjects such as drama, music and languages.
'Meanwhile, many state schools are chronically underfunded and are having to cut certain subjects such as drama, music and languages.'
Furthermore, last September the Institute for Fiscal Studies found that some educational institutions such as sixth forms and colleges have had their budgets cut by more than 20 per cent since 2010-11 as government spending ‘has shifted towards younger pupils and universities’.The Financial Times reported that in the same time period, funding for students aged 16-18 in further education, typically on vocational courses at colleges, fell by 8 per cent. These colleges and schools do not have the ‘pool of wealth’ that universities have to fall back on. Like established public schools, elite universities get the most donations even though they are already the best resourced.
'some educational institutions such as sixth forms and colleges have had their budgets cut by more than 20 per cent since 2010-11.'
These issues are part of the bigger picture in a country that prioritises one type of education over another. Whilst Harding’s donation will benefit research and progress at Cambridge, there are educational institutions across the country which would benefit far more from such funds. Perhaps, as a society, we need to review the definition of philanthropy and consider that pouring more wealth into an overflowing pot is not the best use of resources.
Featured Image: Flickr / Llee Wu