The Footsteps Fund

The Footsteps Fund

The Footsteps Fund was founded on the principle that all outstanding students should have the opportunity to benefit from, and make the most of, their experience at Leeds, regardless of their background.

Supported by alumni and friends of the University, the fund supports initiatives that enhance the student experience and provides scholarships to hundreds of students annually to enable them to take up their hard earned place.

Since 2004, nearly 16,000 people have donated a total of over £7 million through Footsteps Fund appeals and during telephone calls with current students on campus.

Donations to the Footsteps Fund have an invaluable impact on our current students and the wider community:

• Student Undergraduate Scholarships are funded by alumni and supporter donations to the Footsteps Fund. These scholarships are worth £3,000 each year for undergraduate students, who might not have been able to take up their place without financial support. Such students come from low income backgrounds, and may have been in care, or carers for family members. Some of these students are the first in their family to go to university or may be estranged. Your support help to alleviate the financial barriers which may stop these students from aspiring to go into further education.

• Leeds Masters Scholarships are worth £5,000 and enable students whose financial circumstances would otherwise prevent them from studying at a postgraduate level. Your donations enable students to equip themselves to excel in an economy that is becoming progressively more competitive, and able to take advantage of potential career opportunities.

Your support also enables students to make the most of their time at Leeds. Some great examples include…

• Our sector leading Plus Programme, an extra support scheme available to students who have entered the University through specific access routes, including scholarship recipients. The Plus Programme ensures that every student has access to all opportunities at Leeds and helps them achieve everything they want out of their University experience. This includes providing support as they settle into, progress through and graduate from university and onto further education and the graduate market.
• Our hugely successful Lifestyle & Wellbeing Programme. Created to support students who for varying reasons attend student counselling, this is a collaborative project between the Student Counselling Centre and Sport & Physical Activity takes a holistic approach to wellbeing, focusing on both physical and mental health. In 2018-19, thanks to this support, 183 students accessed the programme.
• The Leeds for Life programme which equips students with the skills they need for life beyond Leeds. For some students, taking part in extra-curricular and voluntary activities requires money they just don’t have. The Leeds for Life grants level the playing field for those students; even though they may not have the financial support available to them, they can still undertake projects which will be developmental for them and beneficial to the community.
• The University’s Crowdfunding platform which aims to empower students to fundraise for projects which will help them make the most of their time at Leeds. Your support provides small match-funding grants to eligible projects to enable them to reach their full potential.

Your support also provides additional opportunities for students to make a wider impact on the Leeds community, including:

• The Writing Back Programme, which connects lonely and elderly people with penpals in order to help tackle loneliness and social isolation.
• The Gryphons in the Community project, which places sport students into the Leeds community, providing support and guidance in sport and physical activity to groups who might not have the ability to access these activities.