The ISLA Gift is an annual, charitable initiative which supports students of black heritage with a financial gift towards their study resources and/or a personal academic mentor, in spaces where they're underrepresented.
It aims to encourage more students from these backgrounds to apply, and to support them while they're there.
Started by a personal pledge in 2020 to offer 3 students £50 towards their study resources plus mentorship for a year, the 2020 gift snowballed so that £1.7K was raised in 4 weeks and shared between 17 winners, while 38 students were paired with subject-specific mentors, as over 50 friends generously signed up to mentor and donate.
In 2021, we partnered with Churchill College, Cambridge University, and raised £5.8K in 4 weeks, to be awarded over the next 4+ years. In 2025, 4 awards were made.
The gift is now entirely fundraised, managed and distributed by Churchill College, Cambridge. The gift has offered financial and/or mentorship support to over 70 students to date. The black student population at Churchill increased from 3.1% in 2020 to 4.5% by 2024, helped by the Gift towards a goal of 5% (representative of the national population aged 16-24).
Company Details
- Founded
- 2020
- Address
- University Of Cambridge, Gb
- Industry
- Higher Education
- NAICS
-
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools
- Keywords
- education, diversity, inclusion, funding, students.
- HQ
- University of Cambridge
The Isla Gift Questions
The Isla Gift's website is https://www.chu.cam.ac.uk/news/people/introducing-the-isla-award-winners-2023-24/
The Isla Gift's LinkedIn profile is https://uk.linkedin.com/company/islagift
The Isla Gift's industry is
Higher Education
The Isla Gift's top competitors are
Linklaters,
Humans In The Office,
Churchill College, University Of Cambridge,
Mercy Elroi,
Millitec Food Systems Ltd,
Globus Warwick,
Our Long Walk,
Domino Σκέψεων Podcast,
Amelio,
Jabalie.
The Isla Gift's categories are Higher Education
The Isla Gift's founding year is 2020
