St John’s College was founded in 1555 by Sir Thomas White as an act of benefaction; philanthropy remains an essential part of the College today, ensuring that it can remain an outstanding institution, renowned both for its academic strength and its commitment to the highest educational standards.

The College warmly welcomes support from individuals, trusts and foundations, and organisations, and is delighted to discuss ways in which relationships can be fostered with potential donors.  Given the importance of such relationships, the President and Fellows are profoundly grateful to all donors who choose to support the College and is committed to treating them with respect and the highest level of professional care. 

The College is equally committed to academic freedom, its autonomy and freedom of inquiry by students and staff, and therefore does not accept gifts with conditions which would compromise these core principles, reserving the right, for example, to make academic appointments to posts and to make financial awards to students without external consultation.

The College undertakes to:

  • Acknowledge receipt of donations promptly and to provide appropriate recognition and publicity in consultation with donors.
  • To respect requests for anonymity and donors’ rights to privacy while fully complying with the Data Protection Act of 2018 and General Data Protection Regulations of 2018.
  • Inform donors of the use of donated resources, and of our commitment to use donations effectively for their intended purposes, while respecting the rights of all students and staff.
  • Keep donors informed about the impact of their giving and the College’s evolving needs and priorities.

How your donation will be used

  • All unrestricted donations will be used for such purposes as the College judges will best meet its academic priorities.
  • Where donors wish to express a preference for the application of their donation, the College will take great care that such conditions are met. 
  • The academic priorities and needs of the College are likely to change from time to time; if such changes occur alternative uses for restricted donations will be discussed with donors or their representatives. 

Data Protection

Your data is held securely in the collegiate University’s shared Development and Alumni Relations System (DARS). Full details on how your data is held and used are set out in our Data Protection Statement. You can also request a hard copy from us. Some sensitive personal data may be held in DARS. If at any time you wish to change the fact of, or extent of, use of your personal data, or no longer wish to receive a specific communication, please contact us.

Contact

If you would like to discuss any aspect of the Donor Charter or other matters concerning development activity at St John’s, please contact:

Robert Crow, Development Director, St John's College, St Giles, Oxford, OX1 3JP

Email: robert.crow@sjc.ox.ac.uk