Over 7,000 donors have given to Bristol University’s £100m Centenary Campaign this year raising more than £13m. Last year was a record-breaking year for the number of donations received by the university. In terms of donor numbers, Bristol is now the third most supported university in the UK after Oxford and Cambridge.

Bristol’s highest profile philanthropists are Bristol’s own vice-chancellor, Professor Eric Thomas, and his wife Narell, who have given well over £100,000 to the campaign. Ten members of the Centenary Campaign, and a number of other donors, also gave at a similar level. Most of the board members and 88% of all donors to the university are alumni.

Other major donors include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, JP Moulton Foundation, the Mothercare Foundation, the James Tudor Foundation, the Noel Coward Foundationand the Mackintosh Foundation.

Professor Thomas says: “For over 7,000 donors to pledge their support in such a generous fashion is really encouraging. Their cumulative support enables the university to work hard in the areas we care about, making a difference both to the community through local initiatives and having a great impact globally through our research.”

The £100m Centenary Campaign, launched in 2003, has so far raised £83m in cash and pledges. Most donations have come from alumni as well as friends of the university, which include 381 so-called ‘Bristol Pioneers’, who gave over £1,000 each in any given year.

Director of campaigns and alumni relations Tania Jane Rawlinson says: “Bristol is still building a pipeline of significant supporters. It is telling that our 'Pioneers' programme began with just 15 members when it was launched in 2005. By the 2010-11 academic year we had 381 members.”

She explains that the pipeline involves building long lasting relationships with donors, regardless of the amount of their initial gift. Rawlinson advises on how to engage with donors: “Encourage them to support the right project for them, but do not let philanthropy take your institution in a direction that is not wholly aligned with the path of your organisation – it will only be detrimental to both in the long-term.”

She says demonstrating impact is important for philanthropists and gives a compelling example of how donations to a Bristol University research project has had an amazing impact.

“One of our academics was researching infants who are oxygen-deprived at birth. Gifts worth £400,000 enabled this professor to take her research forward faster. This led to the now industry-standard practice of cooling oxygen-deprived newborns in order to minimise brain damage. Estimates are that this professor’s techniques are saving at least 1,000 babies’ lives each year, and reducing brain damage in countless others. That is an extraordinary impact, and makes gifts so worthwhile.’

Within the donor numbers each year, there is a core of regular donors. Over 3,100 individuals have made gifts to Bristol in each of the last three academic years. As a way of saying thank you, the university has placed a bookplate with each donor’s name in a book displayed in the university’s library.

Rawlinson also stresses the importance of leadership. “People need to be able to  trust that an organisation has a great leader with a vision of the way forward, and that their gift will be well utilised as a part of that vision. Philanthropists have the wonderful opportunity to save lives and change the world we live in. They should be treated as close friends and partners, and they should be proud of the impact of their gifts.”

Most of the money raised by the campaign is already being spent on bursaries, scientific research and clinical trials. A small amount is being used to build up an endowment.

Bristol University was established thanks to a gift of £100,000 from local businessman and philanthropist Henry Overton Wills in 1909.