Legacy giving can be the culmination of a lifetime of giving. Many churches would be delighted to receive a legacy from a former worshipper.
Church Legacy website and materials
The Church of England’s Church Legacy webpages offer essential information for individuals considering leaving a gift in their Will to their local church, Executors, solicitors acting on behalf of clients, churches looking to encourage legacy giving in their parish or receiving a legacy gift and Christians wishing to find out more.
A gift in your Will
Always take advice from a solicitor when making your Will. The Church Legacy webpages give advice on how to leave a gift in your Will to your church, prepare for a visit to your solicitor, and provides example wording for your Will to make sure it reflects your desire to support your parish church’s mission and ministry after you die. The legacy helpline is 08445 870875.
Farewill Legacy project 2021
Leaving a gift in your Will to your local church is one of the most valuable and lasting ways you can continue to support its mission and ministry in your community. Making a Will and keeping it updated is the only way to make sure your wishes are carried out after your death, giving you peace of mind that you can continue to support the family, friends and charities you love.
This autumn, the Church of England has partnered with Farewill, the National Will Writing Firm of the Year 2020, to offer an online Will writing service, which you can do from the comfort of your home in less than 30 minutes. Farewill’s specialist team are available to help you over the phone or live chat 7 days a week, 9.00 am – 7.00 pm. There are a limited number of free Wills available on a first-come-first served basis.
If you decide to include a gift in your Will to your church, your gift - great or small - will make a real difference to your church’s life for future generations.
Find out more about the Farewilll offer on the Parish Buying website.
Encouraging legacies in your parish
A parish wishing to encourage people to leave a gift to the church in their Will must act with sensitivity. Does your PCC have a legacy policy? A policy indicating that legacies will be used for developmental projects, rather than to pay day-to-day running costs, is likely to give potential donors greater confidence that money they leave to your church will make a lasting difference. Download our document to aid PCC discussion on what your parish would do with a legacy (below).
It is helpful to appoint a parish/benefice legacy officer to oversee your legacy strategy and be available to discuss matters in confidence.
Order a free Legacy toolkit through the Church Legacy Information for PCCs or a download the Gifts of Faith Hope and Love information pack below.
A leaflet which you can personalise using photographs of your church and its community and your own messaging on gifts in Wills is available on the Parish Resources website. A customisable legacy leaflet or legacy bookmark may be ordered through the Church of England print hub.
Just as we can encourage proportionate giving for regular lifetime gifts, why not encourage people – through general legacy promotion – to consider a Residuary gift (a percentage of their estate) in their Will, rather than a Pecuniary gift (a fixed amount, the value of which could have decreased considerably since the Will was written).
Good Will suppers/lunches are a proven way of introducing the subject in your parish/benefice/LMG in an informal atmosphere. People can discuss how to make or amend a Will, with speakers from the local and national church and a local solicitor present. Christian Aid has previously run joint events with the diocese and may do so with individual parishes or benefices – contact us or Christian Aid direct if this would be of interest.
You can also drip-feed messages – using our parish magazine article and follow-up article (download from bottom of page).
The Church has encouraged members to make sure their Wills are up-to-date since the first Book of Common Prayer:
‘And if he have not before disposed of his goods, let him then be admonished to make his will . . .. . . men should often be put in remembrance to take order for the settling of their temporal estates, whilst they are in health.’ Order for the Visitation of the Sick, Book of Common Prayer
Will Aid
Will Aid, held every November, is an excellent opportunity to encourage parishioners to make or amend a Will and include a legacy gift to their parish church. People can make their Will with a one of the participating solicitors and donate their fee to participating charities.
Christian Legacy Week
Christian Legacy Week in October is run by a group of leading Christian charities, to encourage churches and congregations to talk about the power of legacy giving.
Who to contact
Natalie Wainwright, Lead Giving and Funding Adviser
Sue Whitehead, PA to Giving and Funding Adviser
Downloads
Gifts of Faith, Hope and Love: A Guide to making your Will
A Short Guide to Encouraging Legacies
Legacy policy parish discussion document
Wills and Legacies magazine article 1
Wills and Legacies magazine artice 2 follow up