COMMUNITY REPORT 2018–20
Fundraising Highlights

Introduction

Nearly half of the time period covered in this update has been dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic. The way in which the members of the Wellington Community have responded to the various requests for support during this time has been remarkable.

As you will have read elsewhere, we have been so grateful to the parents and OWs in the way they have supported the many career initiatives we’ve run during this time, particularly for the ‘Life beyond Wellington’ programme. The response from parents and OWs to requests for philanthropic support has also been wonderful and even more extraordinary considering that much of this support has grown during this most challenging and uncertain of times. A real testament to the power of the Wellington Community.

2018-2020 income and pledges
Raised £20m

In numbers

+
OWs and parents donated to the College
+
Members of the Waterloo Society
+
Members of the Kingsleys Society

Prince Albert Foundation

Thanks to a remarkable and historic act of philanthropy we were able to establish the Prince Albert Foundation Endowment Fund in the early summer of 2020.

This extraordinary act means that we have been able to realise a long-held aspiration to create an endowment fund for our life changing fully funded scholarship programme. Unlike many comparable schools we do not have a large endowment from which we can fund our scholarship programme in perpetuity. Our aim is to build this fund to £25m by 2025 and for it to be one of the main ways in which we fund our target of having over 40 fully funded Prince Albert scholars at the College at any one time.

Prince Albert Foundation Campaign Board established

We are delighted to announce that a Campaign Board has been established to help oversee the programme’s direction, drive awareness, encourage significant support for the programme with a particular focus on building the endowment fund. We are extremely grateful to all the Board members for their tireless work and wonderful philanthropic support for the programme.

President:
Arthur Wellesley, Earl of Mornington

Board Members:
Thor Bjorgolfsson and Kristin Ólafsdóttir, John Grayken and Eilene Davidson Grayken, John and Camilla Lindfors, Tim and Gemma Warrillow

Wellington Governors and Staff:
William Jackson, Mark Milliken-Smith QC, James Dahl, Murray Lindo, Sarah Miller

None of what has been achieved in the last 2 years could have been done without the extraordinary multi-faceted volunteering support from parents and OWs. As this support has increased, we have begun to formalise and put some structure in place in order to maximise the benefits of having such an incredible group. Detailed below are the various volunteer groups and the invaluable work that they do.

Please see the supporter lists to see those volunteers who were happy to have their name acknowledged in this report.

Wellington Community Parents Association (WCPA)

This group was established in 2016 with the objective of helping create and deliver the Wellington Community annual events programme. Each House is represented, and each member regularly updates fellow parents and HMs on the latest events and activities. In more recent times the group has begun to act as a feedback mechanism to the Senior Leadership Team at College – identifying areas for focus and improvement.

Old Wellingtonian Executive Board

This group of OW volunteers led by Mark Milliken-Smith QC (Governor) provides invaluable oversight and support for the annual OW social and professional programme. Each member of the Board has responsibility for a particular strand of the annual programme; careers, social events, entrepreneurship, sports and societies as well as charitable activity. The group has a direct link with the OW Charitable Trust that provides additional charitable support in the form of grants.

Prince Albert Ambassadors

We now have over 60 Ambassadors who undertake a number of responsibilities, the main one being to spread the word about the Prince Albert programme – its aims and objectives, encouraging others to get more involved. The group also provide invaluable insights and ideas that help evolve the programme as well as how we communicate as effectively as possible. The Ambassadors support for the Giving Week in 2020 by engaging fellow parents and supporting the HMs was key to the success of the week.

Prince Albert Career Mentors

We now have over 120 individuals offering invaluable career advice and support to our current and former Prince Albert scholars – this is our newest volunteer group and most volunteered during the 2020 Giving Week.

Prince Albert Advisory Board

Most of the members of this group are former Prince Albert Scholars and they provide invaluable insights and guidance in order to help us develop the programme to make it the very best it can be. Members of the group also provide a mentoring/buddying role for current Prince Albert scholars, providing support and a listening ear when required. The members work extremely closely with Sarah Miller, Head of the Prince Albert programme.

The Prince Albert Foundation is Wellington’s opportunity to not just give those who can afford it the benefit of the most fantastic education but to also open its gates to include those who are equally talented but without the same financial means. We are very proud to be involved with the Foundation and consider it a wonderful and inspiring ambition to be supporting.”

Tim and Gemma Warrillow (current parents and PAF Board Members)


Online Giving

Generates over £350,000 for the Prince Albert Scholarship programme.

Early in 2019, a year before we were all forced to go online, we thought we would pilot an online giving day/week – something that has become a very familiar to those that know the US educational world.

Welly giving Week

Working closely with the prefects and the Welly Community parent reps (WCPA) we developed an online fundraising campaign and an offline student engagement campaign (Wellies for Welly) and we were thrilled with the results. Over £110,000 was raised in 36 hours from 185 donors. Meanwhile the students helped to raise awareness by taking part in a ‘Welly Wanging’ inter House competition and a Design a Welly for the Master Competition Emboldened by this success and engagement we decided to run a Giving Week in November 2020 – this time the world had become familiar with online life although we were concerned that, for a whole host of reasons that the timing may not have been right. However, thanks to the extraordinary support of our growing ranks of Prince Albert Ambassadors, the WCPA Reps and the amazing support from the HMs the 2020 Giving Week turned out to be a truly inspiring event in very difficult times.

The response from the Wellington Community was extraordinary and an enormous and overwhelming endorsement for the Prince Albert scholarship programme and the aims of this life-changing programme.

The support from OWs and parents broke all expectations. The fact the HMs offered mad-cap incentives if their parents hit certain levels; from dyeing hair, running in fancy dress, freezing swims in Swan Lake, and even undertaking an Iron Man Challenge – created an amazing amount of healthy competition between Houses!


As of midnight, on Sunday 15th November enough funds were raised to offer 3 young people a Prince Albert Scholarship 6th form place at Wellington. This is an extraordinary achievement and will change the lives of these 3 young people. The total amount raised during the week was £250,000 – a phenomenal collective achievement.

Not only that, but we have had close to 150 offers of volunteering support, whether that is by offering career mentoring or by signing up to become a Prince Albert Ambassador. This support means that we can spread the word further and provide vital career support for our scholars while they are here but for many years ahead.

The response from the Wellington Community was extraordinary and an enormous and overwhelming endorsement for the Prince Albert scholarship programme and the aims of this life-changing programme.

£k
Raised in 1 week

I am very pleased to have been able to participate in the first ever Welly Giving Week which proved to be a resounding success. I spent five very happy years at College during the heady days of the 1960s and I owe much to Wellington. I look forward to the next Welly Giving Week. Well done again to all concerned.”

Robert Bales Bl (1961-66)

The Prince Albert Scholarship Programme
We asked four OWs who came through our scholarships programme to tell us about what it meant to them
Why is the Prince Albert Scholarship programme is so important?
The Master James Dahl and OW PAF Scholar James Brown discuss the Scholarship programme
Iain Drayton: 'Why the Prince Albert Scholarship programme matters to me'
Iain Drayton tells us why the Scholarship programme matters to him