The University of Nottingham

Nottingham’s alumni continue to make a real difference to the lives of current students through their generous support of the University’s Annual Fund.

Over the last year, thousands of alumni have a made a gift to Nottingham, ensuring today’s students enjoy the same rich experience they did.

Such donations are dispersed through the Annual Fund Grants Programme, with applications reviewed by a panel of alumni donors.

To be successful, a project – devised and implemented by a student – must demonstrate that it is likely to significantly enhance the experience of a group of students.

Thanks to the support of alumni and friends, Nottingham continues to attract the brightest students – not just for the quality of its core teaching, but also for the added value to the student experience that our Annual Fund Grants Programme helps to provide.

Over the last year, our generous alumni have helped to fund dozens of projects including CEDIS, an innovative micro-credit project offering small business loans to some of the poorest communities in rural Ghana.

CEDIS is the brainchild of Chris Skilton (Finance, Accounting and Management 2008), former President of the University’s Students in Free Enterprise team, and Alumni Laureate Award winner. This groundbreaking initiative is helping hundreds of people in Ghana to capitalise on their business potential, giving them a stable income and enabling them to work themselves out of poverty.

Chris said: “Having a £17,500 grant from the Annual Fund transformed us overnight from working with a handful of people to helping hundreds.

“We were also able to take a group of Nottingham students over to Ghana and this was vital because they helped us enormously and I think they themselves found the trip an invaluable learning experience. I think it’s important that Nottingham’s alumni know that their financial support is allowing students to do some amazing things around the world.”