Leaving a legacy
Leaving a gift in your will to Cranfield Trust is a lasting and highly impactful way to make a difference to small charities.
“Eye-opening, inspiring, comfortable, challenging, thought-provoking, confidence-giving.”
This is how one charity leader described the impact of receiving pro bono support from Cranfield Trust. Others have said it’s ‘Transformative’, ‘Invaluable’ and ‘Game changing’.
Cranfield Trust is the charity other charities turn to for management advice, training and professional support. As the leading provider of management and leadership support for small to medium-sized social welfare charities and non-profits, we offer all our services free of charge, thanks to the support of our volunteers, donors and funders. Our dedicated and experienced team of staff and skilled volunteers work alongside frontline charities to understand their management challenges and share valuable expertise and guidance, helping them to build stronger, more resilient services for those in need.
Charities are a valuable national asset, playing an essential role in supporting communities and people facing disadvantage. The vital contribution of charities in supporting vulnerable people will continue long into the future, and Cranfield Trust is committed to being there to support them.
In an increasingly challenging environment for frontline charities, leaving a gift in your will to Cranfield Trust is a lasting and highly impactful way to make a difference to small charities and the people who need them the most. By supporting Cranfield Trust, you’ll ensure that charities can access professional management support, to help them operate effectively in delivering their services.
A letter of thanks from CEO Amanda Tincknell CBE
Nurturing small charities, our valuable national asset
For over 35 years, our staff and volunteers have supported thousands of small charities every year to help them become more resilient and to thrive. During that time, charities have become more important than ever, facing growing demand for their services. Quite simply, charities have never been more needed.
Charity leaders are driven, resilient, adaptable, talented and resourceful: they are the unsung heroes of society, driven by a passion for their cause. With limited resource, they have to wear many hats, often leaving little time to plan and look ahead. They care deeply about their mission, but sometimes they need support too.
Cranfield Trust provides that support, enabling highly skilled business professionals to share their expertise and time to complement the skills of charity leaders and managers. We have never wavered from our founding mission, striving to be a well-run, efficient and effective charity that operates on a lean budget and uses our income wisely.
On behalf of the charity leaders and organisations that drive our mission, we are very grateful to you for taking the time to find out more about leaving a gift in your will to Cranfield Trust.
What is Legacy giving and why does it matter?
Legacies are gifts of money, assets or personal possessions left in a will. A gift in your will to Cranfield Trust isn’t simply a gift to one charity. Your giving will be multiplied by the Trust’s support for numbers of social welfare organisations and causes that support vulnerable people. In this way, the seed of your legacy will grow to benefit future generations of charity leaders and vital frontline services for years to come.
We can use your gift in the way that will have the greatest impact at the time, or you can choose to focus your gift on a region, cause or other aspect of our work that you care about the most.
A gift in your will is an opportunity to nurture the causes you care about, allowing them to progress long after you’re gone. It’s a positive act of hope and enduring generosity - an investment in a future of compassion, opportunity and change.
Our promise to you
We will never pressurise you or your beneficiaries about legacy giving. We know that there are many things that are important to you and that the needs of family and friends must come first.
We will respect your wishes. We can use your gift to support the areas of our work you care about the most or you can let us to decide how to use your gift of support.
We will remain committed to our mission. A gift in your will to Cranfield Trust will help to ensure that we are here to deliver our mission in the long term.
Your gift will have an impact. Your support doesn’t support one charity, it supports many charities to thrive.
We will respect your privacy. You do not have to tell us you have left us a gift in your will – but we would be delighted to hear from you if you do make this decision, to thank you and to keep you up to date with our latest activities.
We understand circumstances can change. We respect your decisions and know that you may change your mind in future.
How to add a gift to your will
We understand that there is a lot to consider when making a will, and leaving a gift in your will is a decision to make at the right time for you.
Having an up to date will is a way of ensuring that your wishes are fulfilled and that your property and assets are used to take care of the people and things you care about the most.
At present, your gift will be tax effective - charitable gifts in wills are currently exempt from inheritance tax. In addition, the inheritance tax rate reduces from 40% to 36% if at least 10% of your estate goes to charity.
Once you have made the decision to leave Cranfield Trust a gift in your will, you will need to contact your solicitor or will writer and provide them with our registered name, address and charity numbers, as follows:
The Cranfield Trust
Registered office: Cranfield University, Cranfield, Bedford MK43 0AL
Registered charity numbers: 800072 in England and Wales SC040299 in Scotland
It is, of course, your decision on what type of gift to leave and how much you would like to leave to Cranfield Trust. There is no minimum amount for a gift in your will and a gift of any size will be treated with thought and care.
Types of gift
Residuary gift - this is a percentage of what remains of your estate once all other gifts and expenses have been made. Many people favour this option as it remains in line with inflation and proportionate to all other gifts to family and friends.
Pecuniary gift - this is a set amount of money, which will stay the same regardless of inflation.
Specific gift - this is a specific item of value such as a property, artwork, jewellery, land or shares.
If you already have a will and you want to include a gift to Cranfield Trust, you can ask a solicitor to add an amendment, called a codicil.
Talk to a professional advisor - We are not able to give legal or financial advice so if your will is complex and you have questions about the type of gift you’d like to make or inheritance tax we recommend you seek the advice of a solicitor.
If you need help finding a solicitor, contact The Law Society on 020 7320 5650 or visit The Law Society website where you can search an online database of registered legal professionals.
Talk to us
Our Development Team is here to listen and talk through the different ways in which a gift in your will could support our work.
Please contact our Head of Development, Joanne Madders directly on [email protected] or call on 07960 051910 if you would like more information or would like to discuss it further.
