Oxford University raises record 2 billion pounds

Oxford University has set a new fundraising record by raising a whopping 2 billion pounds from philanthropists, charitable foundations and alumni in 10 years.
One of the world's premier educational institutions began raising the funds towards new scholarships, academic posts, programmes, buildings and facilities in August 2004.
The campaign has been branded the biggest money-raising project in European university history and is aimed at competing with Ivy League colleges in the US.
Oxford University said it had raised over 200 million pounds a year, more than any British university, putting it on course to hit its final target of 3 billion pounds by 2020.

"We are extremely grateful to the alumni, friends of the university, charities, companies and many others who have made it possible.
"Their generosity is benefiting the entire Oxford collegiate community through increased financial support for students, ambitious programmes of academic research and high-quality new buildings and facilities," said university vice-chancellor Professor Andrew Hamilton.

"Oxford will need ever-greater financial freedom in support of our mission to foster academic excellence at the highest level for the greatest common good.
"I'm confident that the continuing goodwill and support of our donors and friends will allow us to achieve this, and that the 3 billion pounds target will soon be in sight," he said as he prepares to move on to a new role a president of New York University.

The University of Oxford is in the process to choose its next vice-chancellor and is expected to propose a candidate for approval by next month.
There have been almost 50,000 individual donations of varying sizes to Oxford's well-endowed coffers over the last decade.
Last year the university raised more than 204 million pounds, which represents a quarter of the overall UK total of university income from philanthropic funding that year.
The university, which is the oldest in the English-speaking world, launched its Oxford Thinking campaign in 2004 to beef up its fundraising clout to put it within reach of US universities such as Harvard, Stanford and Yale which have a strong tradition of philanthropic funding.

Almost 18 per cent of Oxford alumni donated to the university in 2013-14, helping put the university at the top of the UK and European fundraising league.