Donating by a Legacy

A Will is a very personal document: it is your way of indicating what you would like to do with your money, property and other personal possessions after your death. Including a legacy to The Big Green Idea in your Will is a very special way of helping us in our mission to combat climate change and the damage being done to our ecosystem. It will allow us to keep helping people and companies move towards making lower impacts on our planet, and will be a lasting benefit for those you leave behind.

Making a Will

You can write a Will by yourself or use the services of a solicitor. Whilst using a solicitor may be more expensive initially, it does ensure that you have access to a professional who can guide you through the options available to you, and also provide witnesses for the Will. We can’t recommend a solicitor for you, but the Law Society can direct you to a local firm. If you have already made a Will, but would like to leave a gift to The Big Green Idea, you can do so by making a simple addition to your existing Will. This is called a Codicil and a solicitor can advise you how to create a suitable one. When dealing with a solicitor you will need to provide them with accurate contact details for the charity, which are:

The Big Green Idea
11 Graham Road,
Great Malvern,
Worcs.
WR14 2HR

Registered Charity Number 1123650

Inheritance Tax

Donating to charity can also help you manage the Inheritance Tax that will need to be paid after your death. Gifts to charities in your Will do not attract Inheritance Tax and their value is removed from the total value of your estate before the tax is calculated. This means that a donation to The Big Green Idea might even allow you to eliminate the tax payable by your executors entirely. Again a solicitor can advise you on the current details of the best course of action for you.

Options for your legacy

There are a number of options open to you for making a bequest to The Big Green Idea in your Will - which you choose, and what you donate, will depend on your personal circumstances and preferences. The most common options are:

Pecuniary Legacy

This type of legacy involves donating a fixed sum of money from your Estate to the charity. It is worth noting that inflation can take its toll on pecuniary legacies - what was once a large amount of money can appear much smaller many years later. This is one of the reasons why it is often advised that Wills should be reviewed and potentially revised roughly every five years. If you wish to make a pecuniary legacy to The Big Green Idea, either ask your solicitor to include the appropriate details or use a form of wording such as:

‘I GIVE the sum of £............. (pounds in words) free of tax to The Big Green Idea (Registered Charity No. 1123650) of 11 Graham Road, Great Malvern, Worcs. WR14 2HR for its general purposes and I DECLARE that receipt from a Trustee of the charity shall be a good discharge for the gift.’

Specific Legacy

You might not want to donate money to The Big Green Idea in your Will but instead bequeath us property. We can use such assets to forward the aims of the charity, either by using the property ourselves or by selling it to raise money to support our projects. Suitable wording for this sort of legacy might be:

‘I GIVE my .................................... to The Big Green Idea (Registered Charity No. 1123650) of 11 Graham Road, Great Malvern, Worcs. WR14 2HR for its general purposes and I DECLARE that receipt from a Trustee of the charity shall be a good discharge for the gift.’

Residuary Legacy

A Residuary Legacy is a gift formed from the balance of your estate once any debts, other legacies and funeral expenses have been dealt with. Your solicitor will be able to help you draw up such a legacy, or you can use wording such as:

‘Subject to the payment of my debts, funeral and testamentary expenses, legacies and all tax payable from my estate I GIVE all my real and personal property whatsoever and where-so-ever situated not hereby or by any codicil hereto specifically disposed of (including any property over which I may have a general power of appointment or disposition by Will) to The Big Green Idea (Registered Charity No. 1123650) of 11 Graham Road, Great Malvern, Worcs. WR14 2HR for its general purposes and I DECLARE that receipt from a Trustee of the charity shall be a good discharge for the gift.’

Let us know of your legacy plans

It is really useful for us to know if you are intending to leave a legacy to The Big Green Idea as it helps us to plan for the charity’s future. If you are happy to do this then please contact us and tell us that you have included us in your Will.

Thank you for considering a legacy to The Big Green Idea.

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