North American alumni raise record funds for NAFUM  

Donors across the USA helped the North American Foundation for The University of Manchester (NAFUM) break all previous fundraising records in 2021, with an incredible $3,970,000 raised. This compares to the Foundation’s previous record of $1.38m in 2011.     Established in 1998 by a group of US-based University of Manchester alumni, the Foundation has raised over $17.2m Read More…


Meet first-year students Ethan and Jawad

Thanks to generous support from alumni and friends, hundreds of students received scholarships to help them begin their studies in Manchester last year. Here, two of them tell the story of their first six months at Manchester. Studying at university is an incredible opportunity to gain new experiences, skills and make friends for life. But Read More…


How it feels to graduate from Manchester

Graduation represents the culmination of years of hard work and can be one of the most exciting times during a student’s time at university. The majority of our students graduate in the summer, but there are also ceremonies that take place in December, mainly for Nursing students, master’s students, and some PhD students. This December, Read More…


A passion for education

After graduating from Manchester in 1957, Norman Bland spent his life teaching and helping students. A legacy gift will ensure many others will benefit from the same world-class education Norman received. Walter Norman Bland was a man who was passionate about education. From a young age he was diligent and hardworking, and that hard work Read More…


Breaking down barriers to education

With the help of his donor-funded scholarship, Callum was able to study at Manchester and fulfil his potential. At a time when attending university is a natural next step for many young people as part of their higher education, it is easy to forget that there are many deprived areas in Manchester and the UK Read More…


Transforming students into Global Graduates

George has a passion for politics but wasn’t sure he was suited to higher education. After enrolling on the American Studies programme in Manchester he now realises the high level career he thought was off-limits is now achievable. George Flesher hails from a low income family in West Yorkshire, England. His brother was the first Read More…


Changing lives through social enterprise

Christina, a scholarship recipient and graduate of the Manchester Enterprise Centre, is changing the lives of young people with her award-winning Aim Sky High Company. Start-up businesses are becoming increasingly more important to the UK economy, with 40% of all UK businesses having been set up in the past 3 years. Start-ups employ 12% of Read More…


Why increasing university access is only the start

We’ve made impressive steps in increasing access to university, but it’s increasingly clear we need to do more to help low-income students even after they arrive at university. Access to university has been increasing. In 2016, young people in England were 31% more likely to attend university than in 2006, and despite fears around rising Read More…


Life changing scholarships: Hamza’s story

Hamza is a shining example of why access to university shouldn’t be restricted by economic background.   In Greater Manchester over a quarter of children are living in poverty and in many communities, most people don’t go on to higher education after finishing school. In Bury, for example, only 27% of pupils who receive free Read More…


A year of crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is one of the fastest growing methods of fundraising for business, charities and individuals. One year ago, we set up a platform to allow our staff and students the opportunity to take advantage of this growing market. In 2010, $880 million was raised globally through crowdfunding platforms. Five years later in 2015, that had Read More…