RESOURCES ON LEGACIES

The Church has a special website about legacies : www.churchlegacy.org.uk  In time, this will focus on meeting the needs of individuals considering leaving a gift to the Church. This site will host the resources that can help parishes nurture and encourage legacy giving.

Working over the long term......

For nearly 500 years, since the first edition of the Book of Common Prayer, the Church of England has encouraged people to make a will. This is a basic part of human stewardship, and enables us to set out our future wishes.  Since family circumstances, personal needs and wishes change over time, it is important for wills to be reviewed periodically. The first and most important key message is simply "make a will and review it regularly".  Encouragement to leave a gift in their will to their local church should be a lower priority message. 

How should churches promote legacy giving?

Gently is the simple answer!  There are a number of ideas available from this site: parish magazine articles, sermon ideas, leaflets you can overprint or simply order. However, the most important thing that you can do is for the PCC to determine its policy on legacies - so potential donors will know what will happen to their gift. Find out more about how to do this.

What resources are available to help?

There are a wide range of leaflets and other resources available to support parishes promote legacy giving. Find out more about them.....