Legacies - Giving - University of Kent

Leaving a legacy

Provide opportunities for future students

A legacy to Kent will benefit the University long in to the future, you can leave your mark and support your passion while providing future generations of students with the opportunities to further develop personally and deepen the shared understanding.

A legacy bequest is one of the most personal gifts you can make; after you have remembered your loved ones, making a bequest enables the gift of education to be passed on to others, and we would be pleased to work with you to ensure your legacy is used according to your wishes.

The Maxwell Tyler legacy

For many years Max Tyler was the historian and archivist of the British Music Hall Society. He wrote regularly for 'The Stage' and 'The Call Boy' (the magazine of the British Music Hall Society) and was co-editor of 'Music Hall Studies'.

Max looked after the British Music Hall Society's own large archive of theatrical memorabilia but also built up his own substantial personal collection of books, ephemera, research notes, and audiovisual recordings relating to the British Music Hall tradition. The Max Tyler collection contains material spanning from the late 19th century to the early 21st century.

During his lifetime, Max was in touch with the University and made arrangements to gift his Music Hall collection to the University of Kent's Special Collections and Archives through his will. The collection contains material spanning from the late 19th century to the early 21st century. In June 2018 the University accepted the gift along with a planned financial legacy to support the work needed to make the collection accessible to a wide range of audiences, including researchers.

Legacy facts

You can remember your loved ones and also support the University of Kent with a legacy – and you can still make an impact on University life.
You can make a gift of any size: there is no minimum or maximum amount.
Even a modest percentage of the residue of your estate, after you have provided for family and friends, will make a huge difference to the University.
You can specify precisely where you want your money to be directed.
You can change your mind at any point.

By making a legacy pledge, you can make a gift to Kent and also gain financial and tax benefits for you and your family. We understand that your Will is private and you may not want to divulge details of the arrangements that you have made. However, if you wish to tell us that the University has been included in your will, we will be delighted to hear that you are supporting us, and will also be able to keep you informed in a way that suits you.

If your intended bequest is a particular item or a sum of money to be used for a specific purpose, such as a collection of books for the Templeman Library, it is helpful for us to know in advance so that we are aware of any arrangements that will need to be made.

Any donations accepted by the University of Kent in respect of a legacy will be directed according to the wishes of the donor as agreed with the University. If we cannot fulfil the wishes set out in a personal will, we will discuss the donation with the executors before proceeding to accept the gift. If a legacy is made through a will without any formal wishes against it, the donation will be directed to the University’s Kent Opportunity Fund which supports students in a variety of ways, or will be allocated to an equivalent student support fund that exists at such time.

View of Canterbury Cathedral from behind Eliot College, including the Eliot Labyrinth

Support in times of hardship

Students facing exceptional circumstances of hardship stay in education because of the generosity of our donors. Your supports means we can do more to support people facing the toughest of times and challenges. We cannot tell you who they are, but their words can tell you how much your support means to them.

"I have a young family to support and I have been working almost a full time job alongside a full time degree. This bursary will allow me to reduce my hours at work and concentrate on my studies."
Student 1

"To receive such generosity is humbling, and especially helpful to me in my final year of study… just days from the beginning of my exams – this bursary will help me buy food, bus tickets to campus, electricity for the meter – quite literally surviving exam season!"
Student 2