Members of Homerton College’s JCR have expressed outrage over the College spending over £500k of College reserves on its “Changemakers” since 2019, with the treasurer labelling it a “money pissing exercise”.

The Changemakers programme, which refers to itself as “Cambridge… Plus” on its website, has spent £296,858 in 2022-23 alone. £283,285 of this funding came from College reserves, with only £13,573 from donations, despite the College originally claiming it would be predominantly funded by donations.

The College is currently in a £2 million deficit, which has been attributed to the College’s “education account” and a lack of income from student fees.

Changemakers advertises itself as a place where you can “learn the tools to make a profound difference for good”. As part of the programme, students of Homerton and other Cambridge colleges are welcomed to workshops, panel conversations, and field trips which have amounted to a total cost of £83,270. Over £50,00 of this amount has been spent in the previous academic year.

In addition to college events, Changemakers offers an annual residential programme, a strong point of contention with members of Homerton’s JCR committee.

The residential, which lasts for six days, costs £37,314 to put on. As part of the residential, students of Homerton and other Cambridge colleges are offered free dining and accommodation. In return, they are requested to attend talks and events organised by Changemakers. However, students were able to skip these organised events, while still benefiting from free accommodation and dining.

A student who attended the Changemakers residential told Varsity: “I think the Changemakers residential was on balance a net positive experience. I met some interesting people that I never would have otherwise met. I was able to talk one-to-one with academics about pretty much anything.”

“My main motivation for going was the offer of a free week’s accommodation ahead of term which seemed quite appealing after three months more or less at home […] This pointed to something bigger though - every day that we sat down for our inclusive breakfast/ lunch/ dinner, I felt slightly uncomfortable with the amount of money being spent on the experience”, they later admitted.

Lauren Welsby-Riley, the JCR’s Vice President External stated: “The students of Homerton are constantly being told that the college is having to raise prices for everything (including formals, rent, hall meals, etc.) in order to pay off [the] amorphous £2m deficit”.

“Most recently, subject formals were cancelled presumably in another cost-cutting move. So to hear that Changemakers, which the accountant said in a HUS/Staff meeting was supposed to be entirely funded by donations, is spending half a million pounds of [the] college’s reserves is extremely disappointing”, she added.

Jim Bridger, Treasurer of Homerton College JCR, said: “Changemakers is an absolute money pissing exercise, might as well burn the money in a bonfire.”

Elise Rich, the JCR’s Disabilities Officer said: “It’s frustrating to consider whether this money could be used to help fund disability related needs, filling in the gap that has been created by changes to the Cranes Fund.”

These frustrations were shared by another member of the JCR, who stated that: “The Changemakers residential is a prime example of the excessive and wasteful expenditure typical of Changemakers events […] I know several students who attended the residential this year just for the free food and accommodation, skipping the programme entirely.”

“It seems hypocritical for Homerton to claim they are dedicated to students’ welfare and experience when JCR officers must fight for a few hundred pounds budget to cover an entire year’s worth of events, whereas the Changemakers yearly residential, lasting only a week, cost [over] £37,000,” they added.

A spokesperson for Homerton College told Varsity: “We are extremely proud of Changemakers, an extra-curricular progamme that gives our student body expertise in politics, arts, business, and leadership. This is fundamentally about equipping students with even more than a world class degree, and encouraging them to go out and change the world for the better. In just five years we have seen a track record of success in social enterprise and more.”

“People like Abiel Ma, who runs a multi-million renewable waste company after receiving a start up grant through the Changemakers Catalyst Fund. We make no apology for investing in our students, being innovative and often trying new things. That is the Homerton Way. Changemakers work with leading tech companies, and we are seeing our students getting quality work experience from this. We have the ambition to grow Changemakers with greater donor contributions.”

“We have engagement than comparable ‘education plus’ programmes, and almost all students registered for our Annual Residential and GameChangers programmes attended and participated in the sessions and activities. The figures Varsity asked for do not tell the full story. Between 2018-2024 we’ve raised approximately £120,000, plus £800,000 in in-kind support. You can see the events and opportunities on offer here. And find out more about the work and the difference it makes via Changemakers’ Stories,” they continued