MAKING A DIFFERENCE WITH THE MERTON FUND2017-18

“Being a Jim Buckee Graduate Scholar is a huge opportunity: it allows me to devote myself to physics in a uniquely focused way whilst being inspired by the fantastic academic community

which Merton has to offer. None of this would be possible without the financial freedom offered

by Merton’s generous donors.”

Yuri van Nieuwkerk (2016, DPhil Theoretical

Physics)

Dear Mertonian,

Merton has been my college for two years,

but it’s more than just an academic institution.

Since arriving as a timid little fresher, Merton

has become my home, the students and

staff forming an extended family - a support

network, a friendship group, a community.

I have been delighted to be part of the college; as

a student, as JCR Access Representative, a subject

president, and from working at interviews, open

days, our family fayre and as a telethon caller.

I know that I am not alone in truly feeling a

deep bond to Merton, as more than just a set of

buildings in which I live, eat and study.

Thank you, to you all, for making it possible

for students like myself to study at Merton. In

2016-17 985 alumni donated to the College, and

£543k was given in donations of under £25k.

These donations go towards brilliant initiatives

such as the Merton-Oxford bursaries, of which I

am a recipient, graduate scholarships and tutorial

fellowships. Also thanks to donations we have

access to facilities such as the TS Eliot Theatre

(which is great for classes, lectures, conferences

and group film viewing in the evenings!), and the

Merton Gym (which was funded by our American

alumni in MC3 and allows us Mertonians to try to

up our sporting game, but also provides a healthy

relief from studying).

Entering my third and final year is definitely nerve-

wracking, but I know that it is with College behind

me. It is heartening to know that I share this family

with you.

Hoping you enjoy reading about all of our College’s

current projects.

All the best,

Bethan Hughes

(2015, English)

GRADUATE SCHOLARSHIPSLess than one fifth of Merton’s graduate students currently receive funding from the College,

and the rest must be able to find funding elsewhere, or be able to support themselves. The cost

of undertaking further study varies by course and nationality, but the average annual costs at

Merton are:

£37Kfor the living and tuition costs of an international student in the

Sciences

£35Kfor the living and tuition costs of an international student in the

Humanities

£15Kfor living costs

alone

WHY SUPPORT GRADUATE SCHOLARSHIPS? • To support diverse and ground-breaking research that benefits the wider society

• To break down the financial barriers to further study that can prevent talented

students from taking the next step in their academic careers

• To help attract world-class researchers and teachers to Merton

SUPPORTING MERTON’S UNDERGRADUATESYou can support equal access to higher education with a gift towards the Undergraduate Student

Support Fund. This fund helps to cover the College’s portion of the Merton-Oxford Bursary Scheme.

WHAT IS THE MERTON-OXFORD BURSARY SCHEME?

One in four Merton undergraduates receive a Merton-Oxford bursary

The maximum annual bursary awarded is £3,700

This contributes to the cost of accommodation, food, books, and much more

Awarded on a sliding scale to those with a combined household income of £42,875 or less

SAFEGUARDING THE TUTORIAL SYSTEM

Merton prides itself on providing an academically stimulating environment for its

students, and this is only possible with a combination of world-class academics and the rigorous

Tutorial System. This is an expensive system, and your gift can help us to maintain our high

standards of education and to re-endow and protect our Fellowships.

“The Tutorial System was a truly invaluable part of my time at Merton and something I feel very grateful to have experienced. Supporting it is my way of helping ensure that future students also benefit from this way of learning.”

Laura Hurrell (2005)

HOW CAN MY GIFT HELP?The collective support of alumni can be transformative for the College. In 2016-17, almost 45%

of the funds raised by Merton were in donations to the Merton Fund, under £25,000, and the

impact of these donations for Merton’s students is wide-ranging. For example:

Last year 80 donors gave over

£70,000 between them towards Undergraduate

Student Support - that’s an average gift of

£25 per month for 3 years, and the equivalent of 19 full Merton-Oxford

bursaries

Last year 11 donors gave almost

£5,000 between them towards

Graduate

Scholarships

– that’s an average gift of less than £500 each, and the equivalent of half the annual living costs of a Graduate Student

YOUR GIFT REALLY DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCEMake a Gift to the Merton Fund Online: www.merton.ox.ac.uk/makeagift

By post: using the attached donation form

Contact the Development Office Email: development@merton.ox.ac.uk

Tel: +44 (0)1865 286 312

I WOULD LIKE TO SUPPORT MERTON COLLEGE

Name: Matriculation Year:

Name:

Address:

Postcode:

Name(s) of Account Holder(s):

Reference: (for College use only)

Instruction to your bank or building society: Please pay Merton College Direct Debits from the account detailed in the Instruction subject to the safeguards assured by the Direct Debit Guarantee. I understand that this Instruction may remain with Merton College, and, if so, details will be passed electronically to my bank/building society.

Bank/Building Society account number:

Branch Sort Code:

Signature: Date:

Banks and building societies may not accept Direct Debit Instructions for some types of account.

To: The Manager

Address:

Postcode:

REGULAR GIFT BY DIRECT DEBIT I have a UK bank account and I wish to make a regular gift of £______ per month / quarter / year by Direct Debit.

Commencing on the 1st / 15th / _______________ (month) / 20_____

For a period of _____ years / until further notice (delete as appropriate)

Please allow at least a month between the present date and the start date of your Direct Debit for the payment to be processed.

Instruction to your bank or building society to pay by Direct Debit

Please fill in the whole form using a ballpoint pen and send it to: Merton College, Merton Street, Oxford, OX1 4JD

Name and full postal address of your bank or building society:

Service User Number: 445387

Card number:

Name as it appears on the card:

Expiry date: Issue number:

Security code: (the last three digits on the back of the card)

Signature: Date:

SINGLE GIFT I wish to make a single gift

I enclose a cheque in my country’s currency made payable to Merton College for the amount _______________

Please debit my Mastercard/Visa/Maestro/Solo card (please delete as appropriate) the amount _______________

PRIVACY NOTICEWe want to ensure that we keep the details we hold about you up to date and communicate with you fully in accordance with your wishes. Your data will continue to be used for the purposes of communication and marketing activities by post, email, telephone, fax or text message, unless you indicate otherwise. We use tools to monitor the effectiveness of our communications with you, including email tracking, which records when an email from us is opened and/or how many links are clicked within the message. The data from this tracking are generally used in an aggregated and anonymised form. If at any time your details change or you wish to unsubscribe from the communications sent to you then please contact us.

Your data are held securely in the University’s shared Development and Alumni Relations System (DARS), which will help ensure your details are up to date and improve our communications with you. The data may be used by colleges, faculties, departments, administrative units, international offices, recognised alumni societies, sports and other entities associated with the University, and agents contracted by the University in that capacity.

Full details on how your data are held and used are set out in our Data Protection Statement at www.alumniweb.ox.ac.uk/oao/dataprotection or you can request a hard copy from us. Some sensitive personal data may be held in DARS. If at any time you have any queries about the use of your personal data in DARS, or wish to change the fact of, extent of, or use of your personal data, please contact the Merton College Development Office using the contact details on the back of this brochure.

Signature: Date:

Please notify us if you want to cancel this declaration, change your name or home address, or no longer pay sufficient tax on your income and/or capital gains. If you pay Income Tax at the higher or additional rate and want to receive the additional tax relief due to you, you must include all your Gift Aid donations on your Self-Assessment tax return or ask HMRC to adjust your tax code.

If you are giving from outside the UK and would like to know if you can make your gift tax-efficient, please contact the Development Office or visit www.merton.ox.ac.uk/make-a-gift-row.

Name:

Address:

Email:

Telephone number:

Postcode: Matric:

MY COMMUNICATION PREFERENCESI am happy to receive College news, information about events, fundraising materials and publications including the annual Postmaster, Newsletter and termly Merton Messenger (email only) via:

Email Phone Post

If you no longer wish to receive these mailings from us, please tick the relevant box and return this form to the Development Office in the envelope enclosed.

I do not wish to receive any further fundraising materials from Merton College I do not wish to receive any further contact from Merton College

I WOULD LIKE MY GIFT TO BE ALLOCATED TO: Unrestricted Tutorial System Support General Student Support Fund Buildings and Facilities Undergraduate Student Support Graduate Student Support

I would like my gift to remain anonymous

GIFT AID DECLARATIONIf you are a UK taxpayer, you can boost your donation by 25p of Gift Aid for every £1 you donate.

Gift Aid is reclaimed by the charity from the tax you pay for the current tax year. In order to Gift Aid your donation please tick one of the boxes below and ensure your contact details above are correct.

I want to Gift Aid this donation to Merton College, as well as any donations I make in the future or have made in the past 4 years

I want to Gift Aid only this donation to Merton College

I am a UK taxpayer and understand that if I pay less Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax than the amount of Gift Aid claimed on all my donations in that tax year it is my responsibility to pay any difference.

MY CONTACT DETAILS

Please complete this form and return to: The Development Office, Merton College, Oxford, OX1 4JD

The Development Office Merton College Merton Street Oxford OX1 4JD

Tel: +44(0)1865 286 312 Email: development@merton.ox.ac.uk www.merton.ox.ac.uk

Merton College is a Registered Charity | No. 1139022