How gifts in wills help
How gifts in wills help
Gifts in Wills make up around 20% of WWF-UK’s income, a vital contribution, so thank you for considering leaving a Gift in your Will. Taking this incredible step is a wonderful commitment to our world – you’ll be leading the way for future generations, and helping them inherit a thriving planet to call home.
Our vision is that by 2030 the natural world’s vital signs will be improving and we’ll have halted the loss of nature. But threats to our world won’t disappear overnight. In the decades that follow, we must be prepared to take on new challenges and find new ways to support our world. Thanks to your kind decision, we’ll be in a position to do that.
With one single action, you’ll make it possible for thousands of people to work together globally to protect and restore our natural world, bringing endangered wildlife back from the brink of extinction, pressing governments to keep their climate change promises, and create a sustainable food system.
Steps to completing a will
It’s important to take care of your family and loved ones first before including a gift to WWF-UK in your Will. It’s also important that you have your Will made or amended by a legal professional to ensure that your wishes are understood and carried out. To find out more, check out our six steps to making a Will.
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© Shutterstock / Laura Gailbraith WWF-UKkMore Step 1: Choose your beneficiaries
Consider who you’d like to remember in your Will
You can leave a gift in your Will to whoever you wish; family, friends, loved ones or organisations that you would like to benefit from your legacy. Individuals and organisations who receive a gift in your Will are often called beneficiaries.
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© Richard Barrett / WWF-UKMore Step 2: Choose the gifts to give
Decide what gifts you’d like to give
There are different types of gifts you can leave to your beneficiaries. You can leave a specified amount of money or a particular item, such as jewellery, art or a property. You can also leave a share of your estate, e.g. 10%, 50%, after any debts, taxes or other gifts have been paid.
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© Elliot FramanMore Step 3: Appoint executors
Choose your executors
An executor is responsible for carrying out the instructions left in your Will. Many people choose a friend or loved ones to act in this capacity, or a professional executor such as a solicitor. If you are unsure if you have a suitable personal contact or professional to act as your executor, please do contact Grace or Ella in our Legacy team and they will be able to talk through options with you.
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© Troy MayneMore Step 4: Estate value and tax
Calculate the value of your estate, and consider inheritance tax
Your estate includes property, cash and savings, investments and personal possessions. You should deduct any outstanding bills or debts to establish the potential value of your estate. Inheritance tax can be complicated and is charged on your estate against a set threshold. You can find out more about inheritance tax on the HMRC website and from your legal advisor.
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© WWF-Aus / Chris JohnsonMore Step 5: Write your Will
Write your Will...perhaps for free
Having your Will made or amended by a legal professional is the best way to make sure your wishes are understood and carried out. WWF’s membership to special Will-writing schemes could help you to make or amend a simple Will with a local participating solicitor or online service for free, with no obligation to include a gift to WWF. To find out more please call Ella on 01483 412153 or email Ella@wwf.org.uk.
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© Richard Barrett WWF-UKMore Step 6: Keep it safe and sound
Keep your Will up to date and in a safe place
Be sure to keep a copy of your Will in a place that is easy to find. You can also provide copies of your Will to your executors or let them know where to find it.
If circumstances change, you may wish to update your Will. A codicil can be added to make simple changes, whilst more complex changes may require a new Will. Again, WWF’s free Will service could help you with these processes.
It is advisable to destroy or clearly mark any old Wills that have been updated.
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Make or amend your Will for free
Make or amend your Will for free
Having your Will made or amended by a qualified solicitor is the best way to make sure your wishes are understood and carried out. WWF’s membership to special Will-writing schemes could help you to make or amend a simple Will online, over the phone, or face to face with a local solicitor for free.
“Completing my Will gave me immense peace of mind and I felt very empowered. I had an excellent solicitor who split the process into logical sections and anticipated my questions before I needed to ask them.”
Anthony, fellow WWF supporter.
Hear from others who have pledged
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© WWF-UKVal and Pip
We’re retired civil servants who have supported WWF all of our married life, going right back to the 1970s. We like buying items from the WWF gift shop and Val raises funds by creating and selling animal paintings and greetings cards. It’s fantastic to know I’m making something for a good cause.
Though we’ve supported WWF projects all over the world, we don’t travel widely – we’re too conscious of the environmental impact. Even though we don’t go to these places, we’re with WWF on the journey. And when we’re invited to events, experts keep us up to date with what’s happening, what they’re doing and how we’re supporting them – whether it’s river dolphins in the Yangtze or jaguars in the Amazon.
Our wills are important to us, and when we decided to update them we chose to let WWF know that we wanted to include them. They put us in touch with the National Free Wills Network. The whole process was so straightforward and simple, and they made us feel at ease.
We want to give something that lives on after us, and we can’t think of a better way of doing this than leaving a legacy to WWF.
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© WWF-UKJon
After my wife Diane died, my son and I agreed we’d like to leave a legacy to WWF in her name. We all love nature, but Diane was passionate about it. She loved all wildlife; she kept all of her childhood books about exotic animals and chose to work at a Veterinary Surgery. She supported various animal charities and adopted an animal with WWF.
In our late twenties, we went on safari to Kenya. At the time, she couldn’t swim but she was determined to snorkel over the coral reefs to try to see moray eels. So she learned. She had that kind of determination.
My wife loved nature and this planet and lived her life doing all she could to protect it. It always felt right to me that we should give to WWF. The WWF team offered suggestions about what our gift might fund and one of the options was to support a long-term project. I’d like my wife’s name to be associated with a project, so that she’s remembered in some way. If our gift can help protect endangered animals and put right some of the wrongs that humans have done, then that gives me comfort. I like to think that Diane’s passion for nature lives on and will have an impact on WWF’s work.
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© WWF-UKCindy
Born in the Netherlands but restless from the moment I took my first steps, I was out exploring the world immediately after graduation, although I inevitably always come back to Scotland. I developed a love of big animals in Africa – everyone does! – but I just like nature. In my garden, I love watching the foxes, badgers and birds, everything!
I first adopted an animal with WWF when I lived in Namibia, and the more I travelled, the more animals I adopted. Then I became a WWF Guardian supporter. Wherever I moved or went on holiday, I would always ask about WWF projects in the area and visit those locations if I could. I follow UNICEF as well to see what’s being done for children all over the world. The connection between nature and people is so important – we can’t protect nature if we don’t include communities in conservation work.
I want to contribute to something that is close to my heart with my legacy. I don’t have children, but my brother does. I truly hope there will be a world for them that is full of animals when they, and their children, grow up.
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“WWF understand the delicate balance between wildlife, the environment and local communities, and their focus remains on helping people live in harmony with nature. It’s why I think they’re an important organisation for each and every one of us, and that’s why I’ve left them a gift in my Will.”
Valerie, WWF supporter
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