This awareness week, run by Remember a Charity, aims to shed a light of the importance of gifts in wills for charities, as it provides vital resources for their work and leaves a lasting impact. Gifts in wills are a critical source of funding for charitable services across the country, raising more than £3 billion for good causes annually.

At Avon Wildlife Trust, we’ll be participating in Remember a Charity Week, spreading the message about the importance of gifts in wills for the future of our work and wildlife conservation, and about what legacies from our supporters have already helped us to achieve.

A gift in your will could leave a lasting legacy that will help protect the wildlife you love for years to come.

Including a charitable gift in your will can be a wonderful way to contribute to a cause that is close to your heart. Legacies from our supporters have helped us with some amazing achievements in our efforts to protect Avon’s wonderful wildlife for future generations, including:

• Maintaining the 30 nature reserves that we own or manage, such as Browne’s Folly, so that they are in the best condition for wildlife to thrive
• Advising 40 landowners each year on how to manage their own land for the benefit of wildlife
• Engaging children with their local wildlife through working with 30 schools and 1,500 schoolchildren at our Folly Farm Centre and on their own school grounds
• Running 70 public events each year such as bat walks and wildlife ID activities.

This year, legacy gifts are contributing to the vital work we’re doing on our reserves to tackle the devastating impact of ash dieback, enabling us to manage affected areas more effectively and make our sites safer for you.

Will you leave a wilder future?

Not only is making a will the best way to protect the people you care about, but it’s a lot easier than you think, and a great opportunity to give a gift that you may not be able to give in your lifetime. A gift in your will could help us acquire and manage nature reserves, protect endangered species and inspire children to value nature.  Every single gift makes a difference, no matter how large or small, whether it’s the gift of money or of land. By leaving a gift in your will, you will be at the absolute heart of the wilder future we hope to create for generations to come.

If you have any questions, or you’d like to discuss including a gift to Avon Wildlife Trust in your will further, contact me at rhiannon.doherty@avonwildlifetrust.org.uk.

Find out more about including a gift in your will to help local wildlife long into the future