Campaign for Oxford

Source:[4]

Oxford University has a long history of philanthropy, but like most British universities did not have a systematic approach to obtaining this through a central fundraising office. In the early 1980s, the university sector as a whole was facing a growing financial crisis as public funding was no longer adequate to meet its needs. Fundraising was one of several responses discussed by the Conference of University Administrators.[5]

University fundraising was controversial. In the Oxford context, it entailed a significant expansion of the central university. Oxford University was traditionally a federation of colleges, and the central administration was originally viewed as a range of support functions for the colleges. Various pressures were enhancing the power of the central University, and it was a situation that made the heads of college uncomfortable. It was also not clear that alumni would feel an allegiance to Oxford University as opposed to their own colleges, and there was concern that a central appeal would detract from the much smaller appeals run by some of the poorer colleges.

Across the sector as a whole there was a considerable amount of distaste for fundraising. British universities had hitherto relied on government funding and research grants, but public funding was diminishing and universities found themselves increasingly unable to afford to refill vacant posts. Even so, there were differing opinions as to whether fundraising was an appropriate activity, as opposed to lobbying for public funding to be increased.[6] There were questions over potential diversion of funds from 'real' charities, possible donor interference in academic impartiality, and the diversion of academic time from its prime purpose.

There was a significant financial risk for Oxford. The new Development Office represented a huge investment at a time of austerity, which was often expressed in terms of the opportunity cost of funding academic posts. The promised return on this investment was the largest goal of any British university campaign at that time[5] – and there was some uncertainty over whether it was possible to raise such a large sum from a standing start.

It was clear that Oxford was facing a financial crisis so severe that its position as a major university was under threat.

Responsibility for convincing a reluctant and risk-averse university to undertake this new strategy lay largely with Sir Patrick Neill, subsequently Baron Neill of Bladen. As Vice-Chancellor Elect from 1983 to 1985, and Vice-Chancellor from 1985 to 1989,[7] he recognised that dramatic intervention was the only way of saving the University. He persuaded the University to commission a report from the American consultancy firm, McKinsey, led by Nicholas Ulanov. This not only looked at the feasibility of fundraising, but also recommended methods by which it might be achieved. One of the consultants involved was the future Conservative Party leader, William Hague.[8]

Source:[4]

In 1988, Oxford took the step of launching its first major fundraising campaign of the modern era. Known simply as The Campaign for Oxford, it was set the then target of raising £220m in five years, to include research grants and contracts. This required an investment not only in a major office in Oxford, but also in permanent offices in New York and Tokyo. These were enhanced by the donation of a further office in Toronto.

Dr Henry Drucker, a former senior lecturer in politics at the University of Edinburgh and director of its development committee, was recruited to lead the new office. He drew on the McKinsey Report and work done at universities such as Princeton and Duke to devise a new model for university fundraising in the British context. He eschewed the 'cold' mail-shot techniques then dominant in British fundraising, emphasising the importance of building relationships with prospects and involving them fully in the projects they funded.[6][8]

The Campaign was successful, it became clear it would surpass its original target; thus in 1993 it was extended for a year and set the target of £340m, which it achieved in October 1994. It had funded new research centres, buildings and 117 academic posts including 34 professorships.[9]

The second campaign was launched in 2008 under the title The Oxford Thinking Campaign. Its initial target was set at £1.25bn. It surpassed this in 2012 and the University set a new target of £3bn. In 2015 Oxford announced that it was raising funds at the rate of over £200m a year, the highest in UK higher education.[10] Funds raised through the Campaign support three core priorities: student support; academic posts and programmes; and infrastructure.[3]