RI given £4.4m by anonymous donor
But chairman says its financial woes are not over
The cash-strapped Royal Institution (RI) has received an anonymous £4.4m donation that may mean it does not have to sell its headquarters on Albemarle Street in Mayfair, London.
The science charity announced earlier this year that it may have to sell the building, home to the Faraday Museum, and undergo a restructure in order to overcome a financial crisis brought on by its £22m redevelopment in 2008.
The proposal prompted online and Twitter campaigns to save the building, with commentators such as Harry Kroto, the 1996 Nobel Laureate in chemistry, blogging that a sale would be “the death-knell of the greatest shrine” to British science and scientific culture.
But at a special general meeting last night, Richard Sykes, chairman of the RI, announced the “timely” donation, which he said was made by a foundation that “will remain anonymous at this stage”.
“[It] will clear the RI’s bank debt, as well as giving us the breathing room to explore other options more fully,” he added. “However, our financial issues are far from being resolved.”
Sykes also launched a future direction committee at the meeting, which is tasked with developing a new vision for the charity at its Albermarle Street address.
Led by Robert Winston, the English professor, medical doctor and television presenter, the committee also includes a number of professors including Brian Cox.
The RI’s 2008 redevelopment, which was backed by a £5m Heritage Lottery Fund grant, individual donors and through the sale of other properties, was carried out under the leadership of the charity’s then-director, Susan Greenfield.
In 2010, the trustees of the RI forced Greenfield to leave, stating that the organisation no longer needed a director. Later that year Greenfield launched legal proceedings against the RI, claiming to be the victim of sexual discrimination, but subsequently settled out of court.
The science charity announced earlier this year that it may have to sell the building, home to the Faraday Museum, and undergo a restructure in order to overcome a financial crisis brought on by its £22m redevelopment in 2008.
The proposal prompted online and Twitter campaigns to save the building, with commentators such as Harry Kroto, the 1996 Nobel Laureate in chemistry, blogging that a sale would be “the death-knell of the greatest shrine” to British science and scientific culture.
But at a special general meeting last night, Richard Sykes, chairman of the RI, announced the “timely” donation, which he said was made by a foundation that “will remain anonymous at this stage”.
“[It] will clear the RI’s bank debt, as well as giving us the breathing room to explore other options more fully,” he added. “However, our financial issues are far from being resolved.”
Sykes also launched a future direction committee at the meeting, which is tasked with developing a new vision for the charity at its Albermarle Street address.
Led by Robert Winston, the English professor, medical doctor and television presenter, the committee also includes a number of professors including Brian Cox.
The RI’s 2008 redevelopment, which was backed by a £5m Heritage Lottery Fund grant, individual donors and through the sale of other properties, was carried out under the leadership of the charity’s then-director, Susan Greenfield.
In 2010, the trustees of the RI forced Greenfield to leave, stating that the organisation no longer needed a director. Later that year Greenfield launched legal proceedings against the RI, claiming to be the victim of sexual discrimination, but subsequently settled out of court.