Pears Foundation has become the first core funder of Kent’s Centre for Philanthropy, providing £210,000 to help it continue to develop innovative teaching and education for charity sector professionals.
Since 2012, Pears Foundation has made three grants to the Centre, totalling £300,000. These grants have supported the launch of a Master’s degree in Philanthropic Studies, funded the publication of a book on ‘Why Rich People Give’, and helped launch a free online course in ‘How to Fundraise’. Together these initiatives have helped improve the understanding and practice of philanthropy and fundraising, reaching practitioners and students in over 100 countries.
The new core funding will enable the Centre to maintain momentum in research, with the overall goal of building a more generous society. It will also allow academics to further develop public engagement activities such as making constructive contributions to discussions about the role and purpose of philanthropy in modern societies, as well as helping charities to rebuild after COVID-19.
Dr Beth Breeze, Director of the Centre for Philanthropy, said: ‘We are incredibly grateful for the longstanding support of Pears Foundation, and this new core funding demonstrates what a brilliant funding partner they are. We appreciate the trust that Sir Trevor and his brothers Mark and David Pears have put in us, and we look forward to extending our work and impact in the coming years, to achieve our shared goals of promoting more effective and thoughtful philanthropy to the benefit of wider society.’
Sir Trevor Pears CMG, Executive Chair of Pears Foundation, says: ‘We have been involved with Kent’s Centre for Philanthropy for a decade and are delighted to provide core funding so that they can continue to thrive and do valuable research and teaching that has a real impact on building a more generous and kinder society.’
Image caption: Dr Beth Breeze and Sir Trevor Pears – 3 July 2017
The MA in Philanthropic Studies (Distance Learning) at Kent is the UK’s first Master’s in Philanthropic Studies. It is an innovative online course that builds on our expertise and teaching in civil society, fundraising, philanthropy, the third sector and volunteering. (Also available to study as a PCert or PDip). For more insights into the programme, explore ‘MA in a Day!’ – this online taster shares resources, ideas and information that are normally only available to registered students.