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A lasting giftRemembering St John’s in your will“Our College has done much for each of us, especially in

enabling our careers. It is the rock upon which many of us have built our lives, through the influences and excellence of those appointed to guide us and our contemporaries. In this era of uncertainty, let each of us ensure that the future of our College is stable to withstand political and other pressures, to enable others to benefit from the unique advantages we have enjoyed, so that we, our children, and later generations can say as they walk past:

St John’s – that is our College.”

Dr Tim Hunt (1973) Vice-President of the Beaufort Society

Development Office, St John’s College, Cambridge, CB2 1TP, United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0)1223 338605. Email: beaufortsociety@joh.cam.ac.uk. Johnian.joh.cam.ac.uk

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Just over five hundred years ago Lady Margaret made provision in her will for the creation of a college in Cambridge on the site of the ancient Hospital of St John the Evangelist. From a small nucleus of Fellows and Scholars, Lady Margaret’s bequest, followed by that of many others over the centuries, has led to St John’s becoming the institution we know today, renowned throughout the world for the outstanding quality of its teaching and research.

From supporting our students, investing in our academic staff and safeguarding the fabric of our beautiful College, there is hardly an area of life here that has not benefitted from the generosity and foresight of those who came before us.

We are now at a critical time in higher education, where the diminishing financial support available to students and academics in the UK is beginning to affect our ability to attract the very best talent, and to nurture it in the strongest possible manner. In 2016 we made the bold move to take a lead in addressing these issues by launching our Free Thinking campaign, with the aim of raising £100 million to enable us to continue supporting the very highest levels of learning and scholarship.Every gift, regardless of size, makes a real difference to ensuring that St John’s can offer future generations the

same outstanding opportunities that Johnians have enjoyed in the past.

In recognition of the enormous contribution made by those leaving a legacy, the College established the Beaufort Society in 2009. Its members include alumni and friends of St John’s who wish to help fund one or more of a wide range of activities. Such commitment is as impressive as it is inspirational, and the Society is a growing source of strength for St John’s. In these times of uncertainty, the support provided by the Beaufort Society is both a comfort and a necessity.

Whatever you feel able to spare when making your will, be it small or large, your bequest will help us to build on the resources accumulated over centuries of philanthropy to contribute to the long-term financial security of St John’s. It will enable the College to ensure that present and future generations of Johnians can make as great a difference to the world as their predecessors have done over half a millennium.

Professor Sir Christopher Dobson, Master

Remembering St John’s

“There is hardly an area of life here that has not benefitted from the generosity and foresight of those who came before us”

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Helping future gener ations of JohniansGifts in wills constitute a vital source of income for the College and are one of the most meaningful ways to make a lasting impact.

Thanks to the kindness and generosity of Johnians and friends, bequests totalling £8.1 million (as of June 2018) have already contributed to the Free Thinking campaign, and have bolstered all areas of life and learning at St John’s.

We encourage you to leave a gift to ‘general purposes’, as this will help to increase the College’s financial agility and independence so that it can meet new challenges as they arise. Many benefactors decide to leave money to specific areas of College life as well, such as the buildings, Library, our world-famous Choir, and the LMBC.

UndergraduatesNever has funding for students been as vital as it is today. The cost of a three-year degree is now in excess of £50,000 for home students, and higher for those coming to St John’s from overseas. For some, this debt amounts to several times their family’s annual income and can be a deterrent from applying to university.

St John’s responded to this in 2016 by creating its Studentship programme, which offers 100 per cent maintenance support to all home undergraduates whose household incomes are less than £25,000 a year. This five-year pilot scheme has been made possible entirely through donations. We are now looking to extend it past this trial period, ideally on a sliding-scale basis to include those with household incomes of between £25,000 and £72,000. Our ultimate ambition is to provide completely free-of-charge places and push to become a needs-blind institution.

PostgraduatesApproximately 300 postgraduates make up 40 per cent of St John’s vibrant student community, and their impact on the wider world is immeasurable. In recent years, graduate courses have been essential to the ambitions of many young people and are often a requirement for establishing a specialised career or working in academia. Despite this, cuts in funding have led to a significant reduction in the number of grants available for postgraduate study in the UK, causing the number of students taking further degrees to fall dramatically. Our aim is to establish several Master’s and PhD scholarships that will enable candidates with the greatest potential to pursue their goals.

Overseas scholarsWith almost 60 nationalities represented among the student body, St John’s has a truly international flavour. The College must ensure that it continues to attract the best young scholars from across the globe. Our goal is be able to offer a range of awards from undergraduate to postgraduate level for those who need them most – ranging from smaller awards up to full scholarships.

The College MasterplanSt John’s has developed a strategic Masterplan to guide decision-making concerning the Estate over the next twenty years or more. The heart of this strategy is to strengthen the College community through a series of developments in and around the main College site. This will bring Fellows, students and staff closer together, allowing them to interact and share ideas in this inspiring setting so that St John’s can continue to attract and benefit from the knowledge and collaborative approach of the best academics in the world.

Teaching: thinking independently indFor over 800 years, the core of a Cambridge education has been the supervision system, in which some of the world’s leading academics teach students in a small group setting. We want to ensure that St John’s continues to be a place where our academics’ transformational research can develop and flourish, while ensuring that we provide the world-famous teaching that is so valued by our students. By establishing a number of fully-endowed teaching fellowships, the College can attract people who are not only at the forefront of their field, but are also able to challenge bright young minds.

The six pivotal areas that would benefit greatly from your support

Time for research Johnians have changed the world through their research and the advancements they have spurred, and we want this to continue. Our research fellowships are open to early-career academics and offer a much sought-after opportunity to join a stimulating intellectual community. Such career-staging posts are increasingly rare in Cambridge, but are crucial to attracting the very best academics to the University. The creation of additional posts will ensure that we are able to give more researchers the freedom to form and explore new ideas and lines of enquiry.

My three years at St John’s were amongst the best of my life to date. Having thoroughly enjoyed studying Law, I was encouraged to apply for a Master’s at Harvard Law School (HLS). I was fortunate enough to be awarded a Law Link scholarship provided by the Faculty to cover some of the fees, but that still left a considerable gap in funding.

My Director of Studies arranged for a grant to be awarded from the College’s McMahon Fund to cover the outstanding HLS fees and maintenance. This fund was set up by a Johnian to provide financial assistance to lawyers in their studies.

Armed with the scholarship and the grant, I was able to fully enjoy my year at HLS, where I forged invaluable contacts with fellow lawyers from over 30 countries, visited the east and west coast of the US and took electives in a wide range of topics from corporate governance and creditor rights (which sparked an interest that has shaped my career to date) to art law. Ultimately I decided that I wanted to pursue a career as a solicitor and, after HLS,

I took up my training contract in the City, where I have been working ever since.

At St John’s, I learned to love the study of Law, met lifelong friends and, perhaps most importantly, fell in love with the Red Boy that was to become my husband! When I had my first daughter, I rewrote my will and started to think about what causes I wanted to remember.

It was an easy decision for me to leave a bequest to the McMahon Fund, for the simple reason that I believe in ‘passing it on’. I benefitted from the goodwill of another, so it seemed only right that I should leave a gift that could assist a future Johnian lawyer in pursuing their academic career when they might not otherwise have been able to. In doing so, I would be passing on that goodwill.

Becoming a member of the Beaufort Society has provided me with another opportunity to engage with College life, to keep in touch with fellow Johnians, and to attend some of the excellent events on offer.

“I benefitted from the goodwill of another, so it seemed only right that I should leave a gift that could assist a future Johnian lawyer in pursuing their academic career when they might not otherwise have been able to”

Passing on goodwill

ZIP COLLEY (2002)

Bequests have strengthened the endowment, created new teaching and research posts, contributed to undergraduate studentships and bursaries, generated new avenues for postgraduate funding, helped the St John’s College Choir, and invested in the College Library, among many other projects.

The College is extremely grateful for the bequests it receives. Here are just a few examples of gifts that have made a lasting impact over the past ten years:

Undergraduate supportIn 2008 Mr John Cargill generously left a legacy in memory of his late son and Johnian, Dr Alexander Cargill (1971), who read Engineering at St John’s. As well as leaving a sizeable contribution to the endowment, Mr Cargill established the Cargill Access Exhibition to support Engineering students in need of additional financial assistance throughout their undergraduate studies. The College aims to realise each individual’s potential and the Cargill Fund provides vital support to its beneficiaries to enable this.

Postgraduate support In addition to creating an undergraduate travel award and a new associate lecturer post, the transformative bequest from the late Lady Birthe Cradock will establish a Cradock Scholarship for postgraduate students in the humanities. This support is vital at a time when so much funding flows towards the sciences. Lady Cradock’s late husband, Sir Percy Cradock (1946), read English and Law at St John’s and was one of the first from his family to attend university.

ResearchIt was the ambition of the late Derek Austen (1964) to introduce a Research Fellowship in the subject he so enjoyed while studying at St John’s: evolutionary biology. Derek’s generous bequest created the William Bateson Fellowship, which allows an exceptional early-career academic to concentrate entirely on research in this field. It is named after another Johnian, the great geneticist William Bateson. Working decades after Darwin, but decades before DNA, it was Bateson who first used the word ‘genetics’.

TeachingProfessor Toby Milsom came up to Cambridge to read Law in 1941 at Trinity College and was called to the Bar by Lincoln’s Inn in 1947. After holding a variety of fellowships and lectureships at Trinity, LSE and New College, Oxford, Professor Milsom’s final move was a return to Cambridge in 1976 as Professor of Law and Fellow of St John’s. He remained a Fellow until his death in 2016, and his legacy will go towards teaching in Law at the College. This funding will support academics to push the boundaries of their discipline while simultaneously inspiring and guiding the next generation.

College lifeProfessor Joseph Zund, a friend of the College from the United States, made substantial contributions towards the College Library during his lifetime. His support funded cataloguing projects in the Upper and Lower Library, The Library Treasures of St John’s College book, and many other initiatives. On his death in 2014, he left a significant legacy to our Library that continues to fund projects, such as the post of Special Collections Assistant, which has enabled the cataloguing of major collections of papers, including those of Douglas Adams.

Legacy gifts of all sizes have a transformative effect on College life

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I came up to St John’s in 2012 and specialised in Manufacturing Engineering for my undergraduate and Master’s degrees. I was interested in the business implications of complex engineering technology and wanted to solve problems in a real-world environment.

In October 2016, I was lucky enough to be able to return for a PhD, which I am enjoying immensely. My broad area of research is innovation management and open innovation (companies collaborating to drive their innovation processes forward). I have been looking into how automotive manufacturers make use of their Silicon Valley-based innovation offices to partner with other local organisations to develop ground-breaking technologies in the industry.

This is particularly relevant as road transportation is going to be the greatest contributor to global warming over the next 50 years, and automotive manufacturers need to improve their innovation to enable new technologies – such as autonomous driving and electric vehicles – to transform the industry and improve sustainability. In addition to Silicon Valley, I will be looking into the automotive companies’ home offices and, possibly, further innovation offices in other centres of expertise around the world (e.g. Tel Aviv or Beijing) to understand their global network of innovation.

I remain interested in education and am keeping up this passion during my PhD by engaging in regular outreach activities at local Cambridge schools. Together with my supervisor I have attended multiple school assemblies

to deliver an exciting talk entitled ‘Why Engineers are Amazing!’ Through this, we are hoping to make children from a young age aware of what engineers do and emphasise that anybody can be an engineer if they want to. Crucially, I am hoping to set a positive example that girls can be engineers and can achieve anything they set their minds to. This ambition has been developed further through the project ‘How Stuff is Made’, funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering. This project brings together manufacturing engineering graduates and primary school teachers to co-develop whole-day events and lesson plans that can incorporate the concept of ‘How Stuff is Made’ into lessons. We are hoping that this will prove to be a more sustainable way of embedding an understanding of engineering in primary school pupils.

It is thanks to the generous support of the Sandy Ross-Macdonald Scholarship that I am able to embark on my PhD at St John’s. I would not be where I am today without it and I appreciate all that the Ross-Macdonald family and other donors give to the College to make it such a special and inclusive place. I hope to be able to reciprocate this one day, when I venture out into working life, by also giving back to College and providing similar opportunities for future students.

“Road transportation is going to be the greatest contributor to global warming over the next 50 years, and automotive manufacturers need to improve their innovation to improve sustainability”

‘Thanks to the scholarship I am able to do my PhD’

MARTHA GEIGER (2012)

The late Sandy Ross-Macdonald (1955) left the legacy that created this scholarship for postgraduate students at St John’s, and that funded the reading room in the new College Archive Centre in the School of Pythagoras.

It is a great and special honour to follow the late Professor Richard Perham (1958) as President of the Beaufort Society. Richard’s gift for friendship and for wise and often witty guidance was, for me as an undergraduate in the late 1960s, one of the things that made being a Johnian so special then and ever since – a state of mind and an approach to learning and life in general that is, in my case, as deeply felt now as it has ever been.

Richard, as is plain from his message to the Beaufort Society in its earlier literature, was, as a scholarship beneficiary of the 1944 Education Act (as was I), an intense believer in meritocracy. A superb education of the kind the College provides should be available to all who meet the entry requirements, whatever their social background or the economic status of their families. The word ‘meritocracy’ didn’t exist when Bishop Fisher persuaded Lady Margaret to back his vision of a new college, but it was the impulse that fuelled him, as it has St John’s ever since.

During his time as President of the Beaufort Society, Richard wrote the following message: ‘A little over fifty years ago I came up as a freshman, fortunate to have been afforded the opportunities made possible by the Butler Education Act of 1944. I was the first of my family to go to university, and little did I know what a profound effect Cambridge and St John’s would have

on my life. Memories and friendships I have made here over the years have been enduring and enriching. To give something back to an institution that has meant so much to me and my family is a pleasure, and not to be reckoned a hardship to be borne.’

When Richard passed away in 2015 he left a generous bequest to the College for the Thornton-Perham Bursary Fund, which he set up in 2004 to give financial assistance to undergraduate students from lower income backgrounds reading Natural Sciences or Medicine. The other part of his gift was left to the St John’s staff fund, which is testament to the close relationships Richard maintained across the College, spanning over 50 years from his time as student, Fellow, Master, and finally as President of the Beaufort Society.

Providing a gift for the College in our wills will help – in times of rolling uncertainty for higher education – to ensure the future of an institution we so cherish, which is such a part of both our lived experience and our continuing imagination and the meritocratic principles by which St John’s abides. How fortunate we all are to have had the College as such a powerful shaper of our lives in those crucial formative years.

Professor Peter Hennessy (1966)

An ‘intense belief in meritocracy’Professor Peter Hennessy is the President of the Beaufort Society. He reflects on his predecessor, and former Master of St John’s, Professor Richard Perham. The first in his family to go to university, Richard had a passion for supporting students from lower income backgounds

“Providing a gift for the College in our wills will help – in times of rolling uncertainty for higher education – to ensure the future of an institution we so cherish, and the meritocratic principles by which St John’s abides”

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Why we are giving to St John’s in our wills

Since Lady Margaret’s founding bequest, St John’s has had a tradition of recognising its benefactors, whose support has allowed the College to flourish over the last five centuries. To show our gratitude for the enormous contribution made by those far-sighted individuals leaving a legacy, and in honour of our foundress, St John’s established the Beaufort Society in 2009. This community of friends and Johnians continues to thrive and grow each year, enjoying a close relationship with

the College.

Membership Everyone who informs the College that they have promised a gift to St John’s in their will is welcomed as a lifetime member of the Society. Members and their guests are invited to an exclusive annual event in College in the autumn, which typically includes drinks on arrival, formal lunch in Hall and a range of optional afternoon activities, such as tours, musical recitals and lectures from Fellows.

The day is rounded off with afternoon tea in the Master’s Lodge, before heading to Chapel for Evensong. A smaller, more informal event takes place in the spring, the format of which varies from a buffet lunch in College to evening drinks. These festivities enable members to keep in touch with life at St John’s, as well as have the opportunity to get to know one another.

Our mottoSouvent me Souvient, usually translated as ‘I often remember’, is the Beaufort family’s motto, and can also be thought of as ‘Forget me Not’. This is why a tiny blue flower appears with Lady Margaret’s white daisy – the marguerite – in the decoration surrounding the College arms on the Great Gate. It is a fitting motto for the Beaufort Society; celebrating and remembering our connections with St John’s, whilst at the same time

looking forward to the future.

The Society’s emblemThe simple white and gold marguerite appears throughout the College, from above the Great Gate to the drainpipes in Chapel Court. As a small gesture of our appreciation, members are given a beautiful silver pin in the shape of a marguerite.

The Beaufort Society

“The Beaufort Society is much more than a way of keeping in touch with St John’s. It is a unique family community and through it we’ve made new friends, all with a common interest: the College”Dr Heidi Doughty OBE (1983)

HEIDI DOUGHTY AND JIM STORR

“My husband, Jim, and I are both members in our own right. I was a postgraduate medical student and was one of the first ladies to attend St John’s. I had the privilege of knowing Big Bob! – Bob Fuller, Head Porter 1969 to 1985. Cambridge offered me superb clinical medicine education and small group supervision, and I think both gave me the confidence to push boundaries.

Jim isn’t a Johnian. He was offered a place but turned it down. It’s one of the few things in life he regrets. We both believe passionately in education, and want to do something practical for future generations. That is why we are leaving a gift to the College in our wills.”

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How to leave a legacy to St John’sWording your willGifts in wills, large or modest, constitute a vital source of income for St John’s. They can be directed toward specific areas, but contributions marked for ‘general purposes’ are more flexible as they will allow the College to respond to changing needs in years to come. We suggest you use the following wording when donating to St John’s in your will:

I give to the Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge [the residue] / [% of the residue] of my estate [or] [the sum of £x] free of tax as permanent endowment for the general purposes of the College. I direct that the receipt of the Senior Bursar or other proper officer for the time being of the College shall be a full and sufficient discharge to my Executors.

However, bequests for specific areas of College life are also welcome and we will be glad to discuss the terms of any proposed gift. Conversation about your bequest helps to ensure that there is a clear understanding by the College of your wishes so that they can be faithfully observed.

Taking care of your family firstWe understand that you will want to provide for your loved ones in your will and it is possible to leave a gift to St John’s whilst still looking after your family. Your solicitor can advise you on the best way to record your intentions and, should you wish to make a change to an existing will, they can also advise on using a codicil.

Tax benefitsSt John’s is a registered charity (no. 1137428) and this means that there are financial benefits to leaving a legacy to us. By remembering the College in your will, you can reduce the taxable value of your assets and so reduce the amount of inheritance tax (IHT) payable on your estate. If you leave at least 10 per cent of your estate to charity in the UK, your estate will be able to take advantage of a reduced rate in IHT, from its current level of 40 per cent to 36 per cent. Gifts may be in the form of money, property, or other valuables.

Types of legacy giftResiduary bequestA gift of all or a percentage of your estate after other legacies, debts, taxes and expenses have been paid. The advantage of a residuary bequest is that it maintains its real value, regardless of inflation.

Pecuniary bequestA gift of a specific sum of money. Whilst this is very welcome, the disadvantage of such a gift is that inflation may erode its value over the years.

Reversionary bequestA gift of assets to the College whilst giving someone the benefit of them during their lifetime.

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For US residents, a planned gift can offer significant tax benefits, substantially reducing capital gains and estate taxes, and providing immediate income to you or a beneficiary. US taxpayers wishing to support St John’s through an estate plan can do so through Cambridge in America (CAm).

An outright bequest to CAm is not subject to federal or state inheritance or estate taxes, and the value of your bequest is deductible in determining the value of the estate for estate tax purposes. If you would like to leave a specific bequest to Cambridge in America in your will, we suggest the following wording:

I bequeath to Cambridge in America, a 501 (c )(3) nonprofit corporation organized and existing under the laws of the District of Columbia with the business address of 1120 Avenue of the Americas, 17th Floor, New York, NY 10036, the sum of ________ [dollars or percentage of estate], to be used exclusively for its charitable purposes. It is my hope that these funds will be utilized for the support of St John’s College, Cambridge.

Under its charter and in accordance with US tax law, Cambridge in America may not receive restricted gifts. However, the CAm Board gives every consideration to donors’ requests when allocating gifts to Cambridge and its colleges.

The 1209 SocietyEveryone who lets the College know they have made a gift to St John’s in their will is made a member of the Beaufort Society. Those living in the US are also eligible to become members of The 1209 Society.

The 1209 Society honours and acknowledges the many generous donors living in the US, who recognise the importance of the University of Cambridge and its 31 colleges through their estate planning. Members enjoy invitations to special events, a recognition certificate, a biannual newsletter and enewsletter, and a listing in The 1209 Society Roll of Honour (a bound book listing honorees kept by the University).

Next stepsTo notify Cambridge in America of an estate provision, or to obtain more information about your giving options, please visit cantab.myplannedgift.org or contact the Cambridge in America Planned Giving Office: Caroline Gallaher, Assistant Director, Planned Gifts, Cambridge in America, 1120 Avenue of the Americas, 17th Floor, New York, NY 10036. Phone: 212.984.0962 Email: caroline@cantab.org

Planned giving in the US

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