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.
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.
A letter of thanks from CEO Amanda Tincknell CBE
Nurturing small charities, our valuable national asset
Charities play an essential role in supporting communities and people facing disadvantage. Over 35 years, our staff and volunteers have supported thousands of small charities, helping them thrive. During that time, charities have become more important than ever, facing growing demand. Quite simply, charities have never been more needed.
Charity leaders are adaptable, talented, resilient and resourceful, driven by a passion for their cause. With limited resources, they have to wear many hats and sometimes they need support.
Cranfield Trust provides that support, enabling highly skilled business professionals to share their expertise, complementing the skills of charity leaders and managers.
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?
Having an up to date will is an important way of ensuring that your property and assets are distributed according to your wishes. 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 work with thousands of social welfare organisations, supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our society. 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 understand that leaving a gift in your will is a personal decision to be made at the right time for you. We will treat any gift we receive, of any size, with thought and care.
You may choose to leave a gift for us to use in the way that will have the greatest impact at the time, or you may choose to focus your gift on a region, cause or another aspect of our work. 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.
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 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 - and will support not one but 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.
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
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, which is a further legally binding document that explains or alters your existing will.
Or, as an alternative, you might consider a letter of wishes, an informal, non-binding document that provides guidance to your executors and/or trustees on how to administer your estate.
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.
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.
