Bursar's Report

Despite providing a world-class academic experience, Clare College receives no government funding. Its only sources of income are (a proportion of) the fees students themselves pay, external conferencing revenue, the income on our historic endowment, and philanthropic donations. Our challenge is to sustain Clare’s historic mission in an era of rising costs and constrained income.

Although the headline rate of inflation has eased over the past twelve months, many of the College’s core costs (energy, food, wages) continue to experience significant inflationary pressures. At the same time, our principal income streams have either declined in real terms (student fees) or are still recovering from the pandemic (conferencing). We are particularly conscious of the impact of the cost of living on our students, and while some student costs have had to increase, we are focused on passing on the minimum level of increase that we can. The result of all these drivers is an ongoing operational defecit of £1.4m in 2023–24. While a similar picture is replicated across the Cambridge colleges, we are very conscious that we are custodians of Clare for future generations, and therefore have a responsibility to secure the College’s long-term financial sustainability.

The total comprehensive net income for the year ended 30 June 2024 was £18.7m compared to £19.0m for the year before, while expenditure rose from £18.9m to £20.1m due to inflationary pressures.

With tuition fees having been frozen for most of the past decade, with the prospect of only modest inflationary rises in the coming years, our academic income covers only 36% of the cost of educating our students. We are fortunate that current donations and the annual drawdown from the College’s endowment (valued at £187.5m on 30 June 2024) shield us from some of the financial pressures facing other parts of the higher education sector. We are enormously grateful to our alumni and supporters, without whose continuing generosity we would simply not be able to continue offering the same educational opportunities enjoyed by previous generations.

The endowment drawdown funded was £4.8m in the year ended 30 June 2024. None the less, expectations for the return from the endowment in the short to medium term need to remain prudent. One area of challenge is the fact that a significant proportion of the endowment is made up of restricted funds – the income from which can only be used for specific, designated purposes. Meeting most of our core costs, by contrast, requires unrestricted expenditure. Work is underway to move as much expenditure as possible onto restricted funds.

As reported elsewhere in this Review, the Old Court transformation project is proceeding apace, and is currently scheduled for completion by the end of 2025. Thanks to the exceptional generosity of over 1,000 donors, the Campaign for Old Court reached its fundraising target of £25m (towards the overall project cost of £42m) in June 2024. We are enormously grateful to all those who have invested in the beating heart of Clare.

Looking to the future, the College aspires to move towards Net Zero across our estate and operations. The science and lived reality of climate change argue for swift action, yet the necessary changes to our historic buildings will be complex and costly. In its recent report on the financial sustainability of higher education providers in England, the Office for Students noted starkly that ‘The sector also faces significant investment needs in meeting carbon reduction goals to achieve important net zero targets… This is unlikely to be affordable in the current financial environment.’ Clare is committed to achieving net zero, but must do so in a way that is affordable, sustainable and maintains inter-generational fairness.

Finally, a word about our amazing staff. Bringing the College back to full functioning post-pandemic while simultaneously undertaking the most complex construction and refurbishment project in living memory has placed an enormous burden on members of the Clare community, especially our staff. Our colleagues are loyal and hardworking, often going the extra mile. Clare is a small institution and very lean in its staffing, yet with a level of irreducible complexity. Our staff have shown, and continue to show, huge dedication and resilience. The College is grateful to each and every one of them.