A round-up of the latest news on philanthropic funding includes The Wolfson Foundation's largest ever single grant and donations to create the next generation of world leaders.

Philanthropists help fund new world leaders

Philanthropists are to fund five students in the first intake of Oxford University's Blavatnik School of Government. The school itself was set up by a £75m endowment from American industrialist and philanthropist Leonard Blavatnik. It launched on 20 September 2010 and the first cohort of students will be admitted in September 2012. This endowment will fund three scholarships. Two more will be funded by Hong Kong philanthropist Walter Kwok Ping Sheung. A further five will be funded jointly by think-tank, the Institute of Strategic Dialogue, set up by Lord Weidenfeld, and the British government’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The funding will allow students from around the world to study the one-year master of public policy degree aimed at tomorrow’s world leaders. It will cover tuition and living expenses up to a maximum of £47,250.

Oxford University vice-chancellor Professor Andrew Hamilton said: ”We are enormously grateful for the funding opportunities provided to those wanting to study at the Blavatnik School of Government. We hope this very generous funding package will attract the world’s very best students to Oxford where they will be trained as future world leaders, whether in government, non-governmental organisations or the private sector.”

Foundation awards £20m to fund neurology centre in memory of Lord Wolfson

The Wolfson Foundation has made its largest single donation to set up a new centre dedicated to the understanding and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases at University College London (UCL). It will be in memory of Lord Wolfson of Marylebone who died in 2010. During his lifetime his family trusts committed over £1bn of funding for good causes.

The foundation’s donation is one of the largest philanthropic gifts ever received by the college. It won the award through a competitive pitching process. Eight universities were shortlisted for consideration under the Wolfson Neurology Initiative. Trustees were advised by an international expert committee.

The new centre will be based at the heart of the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN), the partner hospital of the UCL Institute of Neurology. It will develop treatments and identify future therapeutic targets for neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, with the aim of earlier intervention for patients.

The Wolfson Foundation chief executive Paul Ramsbottom said: “In these times of austerity, the foundation has taken the bold decision to commit £50m of funding including our largest single grant of £20m – recognising that much other philanthropic support is under pressure.”

The other £30m was spent on smaller grants to a wide range of organisations including education, health and arts organisations.

Wood Family Trust invests £3.7m in three new charitable projects

The new projects include one called Imbarutso – Win Win for Rwanda Tea, a six year project to increase the income of 30,000 tea farmers. The £3m investment from the Wood Family Trust (WFT) is matched with £3m from Lord David Sainsbury’s charitable foundation, Gatsby.

WFT also aims to combat youth unemployment in Scotland by investing £425,000 in the Prince’s Trust Get Into project. This will support 1,425 young people by giving them vocational skills, experience and qualifications. The third new project, which will receive £300,000, is a two year pilot of the Global Teachers Programme. This will allow 45 Scottish teachers to take up a professional development placement in Ugandan and Ghanaian schools during the summer holidays.