We recognise the generosity and importance of donors, whom without, our education grants programme would not be possible.
We celebrate donors who support the work of the RCN Foundation, and in turn support the achievements we collectively make in supporting and improving the care that nursing and midwifery staff provide, and ultimately the care that patients receive.
We are grateful to the individuals whose generous gifts make this work possible, and in particular, enables RCN Foundation education grants to be more accessible to those who may otherwise not receive such funding.
Leave a lasting legacy
Legacy donations, such as donating or fundraising In Memory of someone is a very special and meaningful way to remember them – honouring their life and helping others at the same time. Alternatively, you could simply choose to leave a gift in your Will, knowing that your gift will support nursing and midwifery professionals for generations.
If you would like to learn more about making a donation to the RCN Foundation, please email Tamara.Gervasoni@rcnfoundation.org.uk.
Dame Betty Kershaw
Dame Betty Kershaw continues to support the RCN Foundation and has made several donations to fund healthcare support workers like Daniel, and support their professional development. Throughout her nursing career, she has held many senior nursing posts – she was Dean at the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the University of Sheffield and was instrumental in integrating the Schools of Nursing and Midwifery into Manchester University, receiving an honorary doctorate from Manchester University in 1995 in recognition of her contribution to nursing education.
Dame Kershaw served as the President of the Royal College of Nursing from 1994 to 1998 and has made several donations to fund health care support workers and students. These funds have been used to support healthcare support workers to progress in their careers and develop much needed skills and experience.
Daphne Heald
Daphne joined the Queen’s Nursing Institute at 17 and on the outbreak of the Second World War she worked for the St John Ambulance Brigade and the Red Cross. Daphne dedicated her time and energy to many nursing related charities and causes. From 1950-1978 she was vice-president of the RCN and Chairman of its Appeals Committee. The Daphne Heald fund was set up to fund a research unit within the RCN.
Gertrude Cowlin
Gertrude Cowlin was the first librarian at the RCN. A Travelling Scholarship Fund was set up by the RCN in her name to award travel grants to RCN members for the purpose of studying nursing.
Dame Kathleen Raven
Dame Kathleen Raven qualified as a nurse in 1936 and became a prominent figure in the nursing community. She was a member of the General Nursing Council and was on the Royal College of Nursing Council. She became Chief Nursing Officer in July 1958 and in 1986 Raven was awarded Fellowship of the RCN. The Raven-Clay Award Fund was established in the names of Kathleen Raven and her colleague Trevor Clay to provide an annual scholarship for the advancement of respiratory nursing.
Lady Cowdray
Lady Cowdray was a firm supporter of the nursing community and in particular district nursing, she helped establish nursing services in rural districts. Often referred to as the ‘Fairy Godmother of Nursing’, in the early 1920s Lady Cowdray donated 20 Cavendish Square to the RCN for its headquarters and she donated to many other nursing related causes. In 1932 she established the Cowdray Scholarship Fund to award trained nurses with funding to undertake postgraduate study.
Mona Grey OBE
Mona Grey was a trained nurse and midwife who dedicated her life to nursing. She was Northern Ireland's first Chief Nursing Officer in 1960 and she was the first salaried secretary of the RCN in Northern Ireland in 1964. She enthusiastically supported health visitors joining the RCN and warmly welcomed the joining of male nurses. She contributed to many significant nursing causes and in 2000, donated £25,000 to the RCN for the creation of the General Secretary Bursary Fund for individuals to continue their studies.
Monica Baly
Monica Baly began nursing in the 1960s but always had a passion for history. On retirement she combined these two interests to study the history of nursing and at the age of 70 she completed a PhD in Nursing and Social Change. Her passion was reflected in her role as the first Chair of the History of Nursing Society. She established the Monica Baly fund specifically to remove the stumbling block of lack of funds for registered nurses who might otherwise not be able to start their history careers or fulfil their potential.
Dame Sidney Browne
Dame Sidney Browne began nursing training in 1878 and had a long military nursing career. She was involved in setting up the RCN and was not only a member of the first Council but was also the first Honorary Treasurer of the College as well as the inaugural President. Dame Sidney Browne created a Lecture fund in 1926 to be spent on lectures on tropical diseases.
Trevor Clay
Trevor Clay was a British nurse and General Secretary of the RCN (1982-1989). Trevor was a registered mental health nurse and was one of the first male nurses to join the RCN in 1960. The Trevor Clay Scholarship Fund was established with monies left as a gift to the RCN in his Will and donations at his memorial service. This money was left to provide practical help to members of the RCN, both qualified and student nurses, to undertake projects and study which would extend their nursing knowledge and develop their professional skills.
Winifred Raphael
Winifred Raphael was trained in psychology and worked at the National Institute of Industrial Psychology for 39 years, later becoming the Assistant Director. She also worked at the King’s Fund and was associated with the RCN for 30 years, lecturing and writing. In 1981, the RCN began an annual research lecture in her name supported by a memorial fund set up by her family. Her contribution to nursing research was described in the first Winifred Raphael Memorial Lecture by Marjorie Simpson in 1981 as “a lifetime of non-judgemental exploration of people’s hopes and interests, seen always within a social framework and closely related to practical outcomes.”
Alexander Mair
Professor Alexander Mair was the Head of the Department of Community and Occupational Medicine at the University of Dundee and in 1970, he created the Institute of Occupational Health. He promoted public health and training of health professionals in occupational health and hygiene. The Mair Scholarship was founded by the RCN’s occupational health nurses’ group, in recognition of the contribution that Professor Alexander Mair made to occupational health nursing. The Mair Scholarship was established to provide funding to occupational health nurses in Scotland to undertake professional development activities.
David Thomas
The donation was left for the David Thomas Millennium Fund to finance two awards in the millennium year for project work in urinary incontinence and self-harm.
Elizabeth Leedham
Elizabeth wrote the Community Nursing Manual. She left a donation to be used for educational projects related to sufferers of Alzheimer’s disease.
Halifax Scholarship Fund
In 1919 the Halifax Scholarship was created through funds raised by the ladies of Halifax including the Mayoress and the Nation’s Fund for Nurses. The fund was set up to provide scholarships to nurses who had completed their training in a Halifax Hospital or practiced for at least 12 months within a ten-mile radius of Halifax.
John Colyer
John Colyer donated money to establish a fund for those holding a first degree to return to university to study nursing.
Kelsey Bequest
This bequest was originally made for the upkeep of Greencroft Convalescent Home which by 1986 had been sold. Thereafter the income was for use at the discretion of the Royal College of Nursing Newcastle Branch.
Marcia Mackie
Marcia Mackie CBE was the Chair of the Northern Ireland Hospitals Authority and Chair of the Benevolent Fund for Nurses in Northern Ireland during the 1970s. She was married to James Mackie of Mackie’s Foundry in Belfast. She established the Marcia Mackie Bequest Fund to assist nurses in Northern Ireland to undertake professional development activities.
Muriel Fleet
A donation from Middlesex Hospital established the Muriel Fleet Memorial Fund in 1982 to provide an annual scholarship to assist a nurse to undertake studies or other relevant activities designed to further their career.
Muriel Stott
A donation from Muriel Stott established a Trust in her name for better education and training of nurses.
Peter Holgate
Peter Holgate was an RCN member of staff who worked throughout his career to further the cause of occupational health nursing education. His death in 1988 led the RCN to establish a memorial fund in his name for the progression of occupational health nursing education.
Rae Bequest
The Rae Bequest Training Fund was presented to RCN Northern Ireland in 1963 by the Supreme Court. The fund was established to support the training of nurses in Northern Ireland.
Thomas Page
The Thomas Page Legacy Fund was to be used for the benefit of RCN members employed at the Central Middlesex Hospital. The awards were to be given for the purposes of research.