The ISLA Gift

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).