The Tom Fund has recently been launched to the 2019 Third Year Design BA students and now seems a very good time to let you know a bit more about how the Tom Fund looks in 2019.
The Tom Fund leadership within the Design Department has been handed over from Matt Ward to Juliette Kristensen, who is the programme lead for BA Design. Huge thanks go to Matt for steering the fund through its earliest days with kindness and thoughtfulness to students, staff and friends and family. Matt also offered direction in making the fund as responsive as possible to allow a very rapid turnaround in providing funds at a crucial time in project development. I think our record is 4 days from application to available funds! Juliette has taken the reins in hand and continues to lead with an analytical and compassionate approach ensuring the fund reaches as many students as possible at the right time. We are very grateful for Juliette’s delight in the fund and her thoughtful approach and wish her well in her new role at Goldsmiths. Further details about Juliette and her fascinating work are available at http://www.jckristensen.com.
We also welcome Keit Bonnici to the team of Tom’s friends assessing applications. He has just returned to the UK after a successful exhibition of his work in Malta.
The Tom Fund has been formally launched by Juliette to this years’ Third Year Students who are working hard on their final projects. The launch brought a fresh insight as the current third years were not at Goldsmiths with Tom; students were curious about him, us and the fund. It was particularly gratifying to hear Juliette explain her delight in their recognition of being part of a community of Goldsmith designers able to both pay it forwards and backwards. We are very much looking forward to seeing the first applications and joining the year group at their Degree Show in the summer.
Continued funding of the Tom Fund has been a delightful surprise. The funds are held in a Gift –Aid enabled account by the Goldsmiths finance team who let us know if donations are made. To date, the majority have been, and are extremely gratefully received, from people who knew Tom. However, the students who graduated in 2018 have made significant donations to the fund, which together with several warmly welcomed continuing donations from Tom’s family and friends, has left our finances in a healthy position.
The website at https://www.tomfund.org provides both a means of application for students and a legacy of successful applicants projects. This ongoing presence on the web and experience of applying for funding are two of the significant benefits offered by the Tom Fund attested to by graduates as they pursue their careers in the design world.
Thank you
STOP PRESS….30th January…First Application in and swiftly approved.