Issue 6, January 2003 (Back to Contents)

Judy Longworth, Foundation Director, reports on recent Foundation activities.

The Callers of the 2002 Telephone Campaign (Click to enlarge)

First Major Gift Received
We have received a magnificent anonymous donation of £250,000, to be used at the discretion of the Foundation Trustees, for which we are extremely grateful. The Trustees will be deciding during the course of this year how best to use this very generous gift, for which there are many competing priorities.

A number of other generous gifts have also been received, as a result of personal contact or the brochure mailing, for which we are very grateful. Some donors have taken advantage of the opportunity to name parts of the proposed new buildings and so far we have named some seats and one of the dressing rooms in the theatre and one of the changing rooms in the sports clubhouse.

Olly Gibson (1994) talking to an Old Radleian during the telephone campaign. (Click to enlarge)

Telephone Campaign
Our first telephone campaign was held in September. We had eight young OR callers who came back to live at Radley for the last two weeks of September. They made all of the calls in a supervised environment from the Lake Room in the Mansion. We managed to get through to 600 Old Radleians in our two weeks of calling. Both the callers and many of those called were surprised by how much they enjoyed their conversations which, in many cases, lasted upwards of 20 minutes and were as much about an exchange of information as about fundraising.

We asked everyone to consider making a monthly gift for a three year period. Altogether, just over 50% of those we called responded, resulting in pledges totalling a magnificent £123,500. Thank you very much to all those who responded positively. By the way, if you are one of those who haven't yet fulfilled their pledge, we look forward to hearing from you very soon!

Many thanks, too, to our tremendous team of callers who were great fun to work with. A telephone campaign in the latter half of September will become a regular annual fixture.

Foundation Board
We now have an active Foundation Board, under the Chairmanship of Andrew Fane, consisting of talented and energetic ORs, most of whom are either former or prospective parents. They have very kindly agreed to help the Foundation by seeking major gifts from individuals and companies. We are planning to invite one or two current parents to join us during the course of the year.

A Legacy Guide
Many ORs have asked us to make available to them information about leaving a legacy to Radley. A legacy guide is in the final stages of preparation and will be sent out in small batches during this year. The number of ORs and parents who are providing for the College in their Wills is steadily increasing. We have £803,500 so far pledged in specified legacies. This collective commitment will make a real difference to Radley in years to come. We are forming a special society, the Vyvyan Hope Society, which all those who promise legacies will be invited to join, in order that we can thank them, during their lifetimes, for their generosity.

The Website
You can find full details about the Foundation on our website (www.radley.org.uk/foundation). These pages also give you information about how to make gifts of cash or stocks and shares tax efficiently, and details of the naming opportunities available in recognition of major gifts. You can also make a single gift online by credit or debit card through a secure server, or print out a gift form appropriate to the country in which you live.