Fundraising at St Mary's

We are grateful to our alumni community for their generosity and enthusiasm to help students. These donations have helped many St Mary’s students in the form of scholarships and bursaries, and funds have also contributed to renovation work.

In April 2025, we will continue our fundraising efforts starting with a telephone campaign. St Mary's students will call alumni to talk to them about Mary’s as it will be, and some exciting projects we have planned.

St. Mary’s College Trust Development Fund 

The Trust Development Fund is for the benefit of our students and is divided into two areas – supporting students as they transition from undergraduate to postgraduate study, and updating our student facilities.

From UG to PG

We aim to ensure that our students benefit from being part of a welcoming, diverse and inclusive community. In particular, we want to support students from lower income households to come to Mary’s and encourage them to remain with us for postgraduate studies. Currently there are some bursaries and scholarships to encourage undergraduate students from lower income households to apply to St Mary’s. We would like students to continue studying for a higher degree and remain an active member of Mary’s Middle Common Room, regardless of their backgrounds. 

As way of an example, St Mary’s undergraduate students in receipt of a scholarship receive £5,000 per year of study for a maximum of 4 years. Postgraduate courses are typically 1 year for a full-time course.

Student Facilities 

There is a wide range of sports, arts, music, drama, volunteering and social activities for our students. The ability to deliver these activities, and attract incoming students to St Mary’s, often depends on the quality of our student facilities.

Our development plan aims to refurbish and reuse space in college to support student activities. The first phase of the project in summer 2024 was to refurbish part of the basement, including the college bar, toilets, adding accessible facilities and improved security. We also repurposed underused and outdated computer rooms to craft space.

Next, we aim to refurbish the music rooms and add studio facilities to support dance, drama and yoga. 

We are hoping to raise £55,000 for this project. 

Support our fundraising plans.

During the telephone campaign, students will speak to alumni about our plans and ask for donations to support the St Mary’s College Trust Development Fund. Donations can also be made online.

Donate here 

If you would like further information or arrange a meeting to discuss how you can contribute to the St Mary’s College Trust Development Fund, please email us stmarys.alumni@durham.ac.uk