Forever Mansfield: the gift of a lifetime

Tess McCormick, Development Director

Mansfield has only been able to continue to thrive through the outstanding generosity of its alumni and supporters, including through legacy gifts, and we wanted to do something transformative to recognise that.

Helen Mountfield QC

Principal

In 2020, in the midst of lockdown, the Principal and the College’s Head Gardener, Thomas Edgar, set about planning a revitalised planting scheme in what was formerly the Fellows’ Garden in the back Quad.

In a year when we have lost far too many of our community, it felt important to create a space to recognise the people who have come before, and made Mansfield the leading, forward-thinking academic community it is today.

The first ever ‘Legacy Garden’ in an Oxford college, this tranquil area was devised as somewhere for quiet reflection, for reading and study. Moreover, we wanted a dedicated place at Mansfield to honour and remember everyone who chooses to pledge a legacy gift to the College. By the Spring of 2021, the beds were bursting with colour. The new planting and reordered layout of the grounds can now be enjoyed by all those looking out from the surrounding offices, academic and study rooms, and student bedrooms.

Thanks to a donation from alumnus, Jan Fischer (PPE, 1989), we purchased two attractive wooden tepees for use during times of social distancing. It has been wonderful to see tutorials happening beneath them – visited by the occasional cat – in the middle of the Legacy Garden lawn.

For most of us, supporting the causes closest to our heart, particularly through turbulent times, is important, but something we can only do modestly during our lifetimes. A planned or legacy gift can change that. Once you have made provision for your loved ones, this could be your gift of a lifetime: making a fundamental difference to the future of Mansfield and its students.

It has been truly uplifting to hear from so many alumni this year about their plans to support their College with a gift of a lifetime, by including Mansfield in their will.

If you have already done this, please let us know so we can thank you and discuss your wishes and how you might like your gift to be recognised. You will also be invited to join Mansfield’s Sarah Glover Society, named after one of our founders, for all those who have chosen to support the College in this way. You might also wish to have your generosity recognised by a plaque bearing your name, or that of a loved one whose contribution to the life of Mansfield you wish to commemorate, in our beautiful new Legacy Garden.

For more information – including the simple sentence you can use to include Mansfield in your will – visit our legacy webpage: https://www.mansfield.ox.ac.uk/ your-legacy-mansfield

Getting into Mansfield was, hands down, the best stroke of luck that has ever happened to me – especially for someone from my background. At Mansfield I learned that nothing was out of reach. So, being able to help by pledging a gift in my will, and expand the world for others, is immensely gratifying.

Rishi Dastidar

(Modern History, 1996)