Has a charity made a difference to you or someone you care about?

Gifts in Wills are vital for charities to continue their important work. In fact, many charities wouldn’t exist without them. Most people, however, simply aren’t aware of this form of giving.

There can also be a misconception that only extremely wealthy people leave money to charity, but even a small donation can have a massive impact.

Family and friends first

While the priority is making sure family and friends are taken care of first, a Will can also offer the opportunity to leave a thank-you gift to a favourite charity.

Many of this country’s best-loved charities wouldn’t exist without gifts left in wills by people like you. After taking care of family and friends, leaving even a small gift can achieve big things. And it’s much simpler than you think.

A small amount can make a big difference

Gifts in Wills are a critical source of funding for charitable services across the country, raising more than £4 billion for good causes annually – with around £3 in every £10 donated to charity comes through gifts in Wills.

These gifts fund 6 out of 10 RNLI rescue launches, more than 50% of British Heart Foundation’s funding, over a third of Marie Curie’s hospice care, and crucial support for hundreds of small and community-based charities, including St Nicholas Hospice here in Bury St Edmunds.

Inheritance Tax benefits

Aside from supporting your favourite charity’s work, there are also financial benefits to leaving part of your estate to charity. The inheritance tax threshold is currently £325,000 – doubling to £650,000 if you have a partner – but leaving money to charity can be a way of reducing how much of your estate ends up with HMRC. Not only will any portion left to charity not count towards the total taxable value of your estate, but if you leave at least 10 per cent of your net estate to charity then you can cut the rate of inheritance tax you pay from 40 per cent to 36 per cent.

Who to give to

Think about the things that have played a really important part in your life, and the causes and charities that you think are doing particularly great work which should continue and be protected for the future. You may have a specific charity in mind that you’d like to donate to. Alternatively, the Remember A Charity website allows you search by location or type of cause from some 200 charities it collaborates with.

Find out more

Find out more about How to leave a gift to charity in your will or about our fixed fee wills service

or just get in touch, we’re here to help.