Join Tom
By committing your support now and for the future, you can give the brightest students the best opportunities - the ones that you remember.
Tom Quad started out as the Great Quadrangle, the centrepiece of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey’s plan for the greatest and largest quadrangle in Oxford. The awe-inspiring and unified quad we know today took more than another century to complete (with thanks to Sir Christopher Wren for the tower) and another twenty years before its namesake, Great Tom, rang out for the first time.
Today we want to recognise another significant vision. The support of our regular donors means that we are able to offer exceptionally bright young people access to the best opportunities. We have already done so much, thanks to the support of our alumni. But there is more to be done.
With the launch of TOM, our new regular giving society, we want to recognise our committed donors, who are at the heart of Christ Church, just like Tom Quad. Regular monthly donations provide the margin of excellence for today and tomorrow’s students, and allow us to commit support and budget for long term sustainable projects which make a huge difference to the House.
Membership comes with a minimum commitment of $15 per month, and will give you access to an exclusive event at college and allow you to receive regular updates on the impact you’re having on the Christ Church students of today and tomorrow. You'll receive one of our TOM pin badges of Mercury in the post.
You can give monthly by setting up a PayPal account here, and selecting ‘Make this a monthly donation’. You may also give by sending a check to the American Friends of Christ Church. Regular gifts to the House are particularly helpful, as they allow us to commit to long term projects which are the margin of excellence for Christ Church and its students. Contributions to the American Friends of Christ Church, Inc. (a 501(c) 3 charity) are deductible to the extent permissible under applicable Federal and State law. In light of changes in tax laws effective 1/1/18, notably as regards the standard deduction, contributors should consult their tax advisors as to how these changes might impact the deductibility of their contribution in their particular circumstances.
Become a member of TOM here or read about our fundraising priorities below. You will see that our projects all share the common principle of ‘openness’: opening doors, books and minds to ensure Christ Church continues to be the unique scholarly community you remember, but you can give to any aspect of college. Gifts to the American Friends Scholarships are particularly welcomed as our graduate students from the US greatly benefit from both the financial support and knowing they are part of a wider US community at the House.
Open Doors
Christ Church is committed to seeking out and inspiring talented young people in the pursuit of academic excellence.
Our students feel strongly that their community should be full of independent academic minds, which challenge them with a diversity of background and opinion. We are proud of our work with under-represented groups. But we want to reach more exceptional potential through our ambitious outreach activities, and we need your help. We also strongly believe that, once here, every student should be able to access the full Christ Church experience, no matter their background. This means our financial support for students has to be strong and reliable.
Christ Church Horizons
In 2018, we launched Christ Church Horizons, working with pupils in North London to broaden their academic experience beyond the school curriculum. The programme, run by our Schools Liaison Officer with the support of Fellows and JRFs, develops skills which students will need when applying to and succeeding at university. Following a successful pilot year we want to open Christ Church Horizons to more talented young students. You can read more about the success of Christ Church Horizons in 2018 here.
Student Support
It is a priority for Christ Church to admit the best and brightest, without financial barriers to study. This means that with recent changes to fees and government funding, we need to be able to offer bursary support to students from low and middle income families.
Join TOM to help us open doors for the brightest students.
Open Minds
We believe that the tutorial is the best way to challenge, stimulate and educate our students. The traditional tutoring of Oxford undergraduates has been put at risk by the recent decline in government funding. We are determined to preserve this method of teaching for future generations of talented undergraduates.
We also need to invest in the development of the next generation of academics and their ground-breaking research.
Open Books
The Library embodies what is special - but also financially demanding - about Christ Church. It holds a wealth of precious knowledge, providing books, journals and reports for our students and academics. In addition, our ambitions for increased accessibility mean a continuous process of digitising our rare collections, making all that wisdom more available to scholars, and helping to conserve our treasures for the future.
Join TOM and protect our treasures for future generations.