Individual Charities
A Multitude of Worthy Causes
Listing all of the tens of thousands of charities in England and Wales is going to take a while. Meanwhile, here is a handful of charities to consider.
Meanwhile, please e-mail us if you represent a charity and want to be included. In addition, contact us if you are a donor or potential donor and want to suggest a particular charity - or tell your story about your legacy to one or more charities.
Age UK
Age UK is the new and correct name of the charity that was formed by the merger of Age Concern with Help the Aged.
Age UK welcomes a specific sum of money, items such as jewellery or works of art, or a residuary gift (all or part of your estate after all funeral expenses and other bills have been paid and all other legacies have been distributed).
The Age UK website provides recommended specific wording for your will and offers a downloadable factsheet on making a will.
www.ageuk.org.uk
Barnardo's
Children sleeping rough and begging for food! That is what greeted Thomas Barnardo when he arrived in London in 1866. A year later he founded his first "ragged school," and by the time of his death in 1905, his charity was helping thousands of children in 96 homes. Today, Barnardo's helps more than 100,000 young people every year.
HRH the Duchess of Cornwall is president of Barnardo's, and TV celebrity Melinda Messenger (pictured) fronts its Stock our Stores appeal.
Barnardo's offers a free-will service for people over the age of 55, participates in a separate "QualitySolicitor free Will scheme", and will send a DVD on leaving a gift to the charity to people interested in donating.
www.barnardos.org.uk
Battersea Dogs & Cats Home
Battersea Dogs & Cats Home cares for more than 10,000 dogs and cats annually at an average cost of more than £1,000 per animal. The charity receives no government funding and is totally reliant on human kindness. Many people still associate the charity, which was founded in 1860, only with dogs, although cats were added more than 100 years ago. The charity was founded as The Temporary Home for Lost and Starving Dogs in north London.
www.battersea.org.uk
British Heart Foundation
Heart problems affect one in every three people. The British Heart Foundation relies on legacies for half of its funding, and offers a free-will scheme. The BHF will send potential donors "My Generation," a legacy information pack.
www.bhf.org.uk
Cancer Research UK
Cancer Research UK supports the work of 4,000 scientists, doctors and nurses researching all aspects of cancer. It also strives to prevent cancer and to help cancer sufferers and their families cope with the stresses caused by the disease.
Cancer Research UK sponsors a free-will service for people 55+ years old and their website has several pages explaining wills and includes basic information for executors. Cancer Research UK also distributes a legacy information pack.
www.cancerresearchuk.org
Cruse Bereavement Care
Cruse relies on 5,000 volunteers to support grieving people and help them "understand their grief and cope with their loss." Cruse receives nearly 100,000 requests for help annually and conducted 32,700 face to face sessions last year, 2,500 of which involved children and young people under the age of 18.
www.crusebereavementcare.org.uk
Dogs Trust
Britain's largest dog-welfare charity, Dogs Trust never puts a healthy dog down and cares for about 16,000 stray and abandoned dogs in 18 rehoming centres. The Trust tries to find an appropriate new home for every dog no matter how long it may take.
Who takes care of your dog after you die? If you register for a Canine Care Card, Dogs Trust will find a suitable new home for your pet.
Registration and rehoming are free. Dogs Trust suggests that you should tell friends and family about your Canine Care membership and mention it in your will. The Dogs Trust can also provide the wording you should insert in your will. www.dogstrust.org.uk
RSPCA
'Home For Life'
If you include a clause in your will passing care of your pet(s) to the RSPCA, the charity will collect your pet, take it to one of their centres, give it a health check, and try to find a suitable new home for it.
The health check may include vaccinations, neutering and microchipping if necessary before the pet is rehomed.
The RSPCA recommends specific wording for your will (see box) and asks you to send them a copy of your will.
RSPCA recommended wording for your will
In the event that any pet animal of mine survives me and I have made no other provisions for its care I direct my trustees to notify the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (“RSPCA”) of Wilberforce Way Southwater Horsham RH13 9RS (registered charity number 219099) as soon as practicable after my death and to request the RSPCA both to relieve them of responsibility for the animal and to endeavour to place it in a suitable home as soon as practicable the RSPCA having absolute discretion to deal with the welfare of the animal as it considers fit and I direct also that (RSPCA having accepted such a request) the animal shall not form part of my residuary estate.
www.rspca.org.uk
Stroke Association
The Stroke Association offers a free-will service through the National Free Wills Scheme for people who over the age of 60. As the charity notes on its website - - people who take advantage of this scheme "are under no obligation whatsoever to remember The Stroke Association in any Will made under this scheme."
The Stroke Association is affiliated with more than 400 Stroke Clubs, some of which are registered charities in their own right.
