Today we are launching our Caius Fund ’19: Expanding Opportunities campaign, aiming to expand opportunities throughout the whole of Caius.

The year-long campaign will aim to raise £600,000 as immediate expenditure, contributing to four key elements of College life: student support, teaching, research, and our buildings and collections.

‘Caius is an institution that’s been in existence for 700 years, founded entirely on the benefits of donations that we’ve had over that time. We want to be here for another 700 years, and we now live in very different times for our students,’ said Dr Pippa Rogerson, Master of Gonville & Caius.

Key areas of College life, from teaching to research, books, bursaries and buildings, all receive vital support from the fund. The Caius Fund sponsors twelve undergraduate bursaries every year, which provide excellent opportunities to students from all backgrounds. ‘If the bursary wasn’t in place, for example, students might have to go out seeking part time work, but because the bursaries are in place, it means they can participate more fully in University life,’ said Chris Deane, JCR Access Officer.

The fund also supports our research community, which is made up of around 100 Fellows and 250 postgraduates. ‘The Caius Fund is really important for postgraduate researchers, and for Research Fellows because it allows them to concentrate on their research without having to worry about financial pressures,’ said Amelia Drew, MCR President.

The quality of teaching at Caius is outstanding, with approximately 98% of our finalists graduating with a first or a 2.1 last year, and we need to maintain this quality. The Caius Fund provides £50,000 every year to support teaching posts, allowing us to employ world-leading experts to teach our students.

The Caius Fund is also vital for our buildings and collections, such as the Library. The fund supports manuscript maintenance and repairs, and the purchase of new books. ‘The students deserve the most recent teaching and research materials, but as the syllabus changes every year, it’s really important to be able to keep things fresh and up to date,’ said James Howell, Director of Development. The funds raised allow our library to offer a service whereby students can request any new books they require, and the book can be available within a few days.

Whilst supporters of the College can give at any time to the fund, its most important source of income is the College's annual Telephone Campaign, which also links present-day students with alumni. In 2019, we will also be running campaigns to inspire everyone to keep in touch with the College and consider making a gift to help future generations of Caians in their pursuit of academic excellence.

To find out more about the Caius Fund ’19: Expanding Opportunities campaign, watch the launch video below. You can also find out more about upcoming campaigns, our funds and news on our Caius Fund pages.