The Gatehouse Logo

Gifts in Wills

More and more people are leaving a sum of money in their wills as a gift to a charity as a way of donating that can provide long term benefits without impacting on their current financial position.

Leaving a Gift to The Gatehouse in your Will
Play video icon

Helping to fund the Gatehouse over the long term

At the Gatehouse we are continually looking at ways to both expand the range of our service offer, and to identify additional target groups of beneficiaries. Over the past few years that strategy has led to our costs more than doubling, and we expect them to continue rising steeply as we implement our plans for the future.

Although we obtain funds from many different sources, including grants from charitable trusts and support from commercial organisations, a significant proportion of our funding comes from donations by local residents and community organisations. We are hugely thankful for your generosity, which has enabled us to achieve so much already in support of Oxford’s homeless and vulnerably housed community.

Now, as we look towards securing a stable financial position over the long term that will enable us to achieve our Vision for the charity, it is becoming more and more important to highlight the opportunity for people to leave a Gift in their Will.

Why people choose to leave a Gift in their Will

There are three good reasons why many people choose to leave a Gift to charity in their Will:

  1. Unlike normal donations there will be no impact on your current finances, which can be particularly important at times when paying your bills is a priority and there is little spare cash to give to charities.
  2. You can choose as big or as small a sum as you like, either as a lump sum or as a percentage of the value of your estate.
  3. It is a very simple process, especially if you are adding a Gift to a Will that you already have in place.

 

What would you need to do to Leave a Gift to the Gatehouse in your Will?

Firstly decide how much you want to leave to the Gatehouse, and how much to other charities and beneficiaries. For example, leaving as little as 1% to the Gatehouse would allow you to leave 99% to those close to you. Even if you raised that to 5% then other beneficiaries would still receive 95%.

Secondly you need to talk to a Solicitor, either to add a Gift to a Will that you already have in place, or to draw up a Will if you haven’t already written one.

If you don’t already have a solicitor and need to find one in your area then one way is to use Find a Solicitor function on the Law Society website. Simply select ‘wills, trusts and probate’ under ‘your legal issue’, add your location and search to produce a list of nearby Solicitors.
Find a Solicitor on The Law Society

When you discuss this with your Solicitor they will need to know how much you want to leave, and the following two items of information:

  1. Our full charity name, which is Homeless People & the Oxford Churches (Gatehouse)
  2. Our registered charity number 1002741

Thank you for your support, and for considering the possibility of leaving a Gift in your Will, which could make a real difference to many of our guests’ lives in the years to come.