Our fund for tomorrow

Thanks to UEA’s new Pioneer Fund, the difference you make could go on for many years to come…

When it comes to investment, there are broadly two schools of thought. One is based on timing the market; on risk and reward. The other is based on time in the market; on patience, and careful long-term planning. In my role to steward the resources for UEA’s groundbreaking work and keep it growing for years to come, there are no prizes for guessing my approach.

Unlike older and larger universities, UEA did not benefit from a large permanent endowment in an investment bank at its formation. Consequently, we do not have the returns to invest in all the great things that now happen on campus that you will read about elsewhere in the magazine.

Our first supporters helped build the University. Today, in an increasingly uncertain world, it is more important than ever that UEA is always here to continue its vital role on a local, national and global scale.

UEA’s Pioneer Fund is a brand-new permanent endowment that will be carefully managed by a leading investment bank, for donors and supporters who want to see cash gifts to UEA grow over time for the University’s long-term benefit.

In the new endowment, we will use annual growth to pay for really pressing needs; be it a scholarship, a new piece of lab equipment or an academic research project, while the original investment is left untouched.

Together, we can build a significant sum. Both large donations and more modest unrestricted gifts made to UEA on a regular basis will be pooled and invested in

£1m Pioneer Fund fundraising target

the fund. Of course, our wonderful legacy donors are able to direct their final gifts from their estates to the Pioneer Fund and ensure their impact on the world lasts forever.

We welcomed our very first founding donors to the Pioneer Fund early in 2020, whose wish is to use the interest from a significant six-figure capital donation to fund a family scholarship at UEA in perpetuity. I’m deeply thankful for their vision and foresight – and will be inviting many more supporters to invest in the fund, at a level they can afford.

In years ahead, our students and graduates worldwide will look back with pride upon these donations to endow UEA.

It is the responsibility of us all to make sure the University remains a global force for teaching future generations and tackling the world’s greatest challenges. I cannot wait to see what our Pioneer Fund founders make possible.

Mark V Williams (EUR81)

was Senior Tax Partner at Deloitte. As UEA’s Non-Executive Treasurer, he has an honorary yet strategic role.