This page is for church leaders looking for information about legacy giving. If you are thinking about leaving money to your local church in your will please click here.
Legacies and gifts in wills
Even for those of us confident in speaking about the importance of giving it can be hard to talk about legacies. It is helpful to reconsider legacies in the light of faith and to think about the meaning and importance of legacies to those who leave them. Just as we support our church by regular planned giving while we are alive, so we can choose to continue to profess our love for God and our church after physical death, as a commitment to support its ongoing life in generations to come. In addition to the below resources, the national church has a webpage dedicated to helping you talk about and encourage legacy giving and includes a suggestion on the legal wording for a will.
Tools for Encouraging Legacies
Template Promotional Leaflet
If you're thinking of getting in touch with people to promote legacy giving you can use our template leaflet to help potential donors understand the difference a legacy could make. This is a quick and simple tri-fold leaflet which you can personalise to your parish and is designed so that you can communicate the difference a legacy would make to your church as well as spark a conversation in your community about how you might spend a gift left in someone's will. You can tailor the message to include a personalised greeting from the vicar.
Free Online Will Writing Service
Will writing can often seem like a time-consuming and difficult thing to do – and that’s a big reason why many people put it off. You may want to consider the Farewill free online will writing service. Farewill provides a way for people without a will to easily create one online and includes the opportunity leave a legacy to their local parish church. Farewill provides legal forms and information about wills but it does not provide legal advice and anyone thinking of creating a will may wish to speak to a solicitor. To get started simply share this link with members of your community.
Template Letter of Wishes
Many churchgoers already have a will but they can still leave a gift without having to go through the hassle of amending it, by leaving a Letter of Wishes. These are simple to create and express someone's desire to support a cause in addition to the stipulations of their will. You can download this here to provide to members of your congregation.
Faith Will Legacy Campaign with Christian Aid
Christian Aid has partnered with the Church of England, and several other UK denominations, to inspire congregations to leave a gift in their will to their church and to Christian Aid. Faith Will is the first œcumenical legacy campaign of its kind, supporting church leaders with free resources to make it easier to talk about gifts in wills. It includes an amazing suite of worship resources, a congregational leaflet, posters, and a testimonial video. Have a look at the introductory mini-booklet or sign up to access the resources.