Philanthropy will be “fundamental” to the future of Oxford University, its vice-chancellor has said, as the institution announces it has now raised £1bn.

Just over two years after officially launching the ‘Oxford Thinking’ campaign, the university has hit the fundraising milestone. The campaign was launched in May 2008, with more than £575m already in the bank from fundraising activity which began in summer 2004.

The university has raised more than £230m in the last year alone.

Professor Andrew Hamilton, vice-chancellor of Oxford, said that the resilience of supporters during the downturn showed promise for philanthropy in the future.

“It is clear from the comprehensive spending review and the Browne Review recommendations that, under any future funding regime, Oxford is going to have to do all it can to find additional resources,” he said.  

“Philanthropy has a key role in this endeavour. Though we are well on the way to achieving our initial goal of £1.25bn, it is very clear that the extraordinary generosity o f our donors will become even more important in the future.”

Having reached the £1bn mark, the campaign chair Dame Vivien Duffield has announced she is stepping down from her position.

Oxford is the second university to reach the £1bn fundraising total this year, after Cambridge announced it had achieved the feat in June.