DUNELM - Durham University Alumni Community
Van Mildert Trust Appeal
Message sent to College alumni by Professor Patrick O’Meara
Master of Van Mildert College, Durham
It is my very great pleasure to announce the most generous matching gift in the history of Van Mildert College. One of our non-alumni friends, who chooses to remain anonymous, has promised to match gifts to our Trust – £2 for every £1 raised, up to a total match of £100,000.
We are both humbled and honoured by this gift. Also, as you might imagine, we are incredibly motivated to request your help in maximising this pledge! Would you please consider making a gift at this opportune time to the Van Mildert Trust?
Here are some swift calculations of the leveraging potential of this match: a gift of £500 becomes £1500 with the match. When Gift Aid is added to your portion, the Trust would receive £1640! Similarly, a gift of £100 becomes £300, and with gift aid £328 would be the overall benefit.
How would we use your contribution? One of the Trust’s priorities is to enrich the College community by bringing exceptional students into Mildert through the provision of postgraduate scholarships. Earlier this year we received 80 outstanding applications for the one scholarship we were able to offer. We would like to bring an ever increasing number of postgraduates into Mildert. They add to the intellectual and cultural life of the College and are mentors for our undergraduates.
We will be running this campaign until 31st July 2009, and gratefully recognising all Van Mildert men and women who give to the Trust in an online Roll of Honour. Additionally we will tell you how many postgraduate students we were able to support through this appeal. We expect to make these postgraduate awards over the next 2 academic years. We will also publish short biographies of the postgraduate students so that you can get to know to them.
Many thanks, and do feel free to contact me with any questions. I would be very pleased to hear from you.
With all good wishes and in grateful anticipation,
Professor Patrick O’Meara
Chairman of the Board of Trustees & Master of Van Mildert College, Durham
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