Making a will can give you peace of mind knowing that you can look after your loved ones, friends or your favourite charities, ensuring that your wishes are respected. Oxfam is a global movement of people who will not live with poverty. Across the world, we give people the support they need to turn their lives around, stand on their own two feet, care for their children and build a future free from poverty. Last year, we helped to support over 19 million people in 90 countries.
How to leave a legacy gift
It's easier than you think! First, work out what you've got. Start by sitting down with a cuppa and write down everything you own – including savings, possessions, property – and their approximate value. Then note down the names of relatives and friends – people you want to include in your will.
Match up the two lists and you’ll be ready to make an appointment with your solicitor or use our free online will-writing service.
Our promise to you
Leaving a gift in your will to Oxfam is one of the best ways to support our work. In return, we promise you that:
- Your legacy will help change lives. Every euro/pound you give will be stretched as far as possible. We will invest your gift efficiently and cost effectively so it has the most impact.
- Your privacy is paramount. We respect your privacy and will look after your gift to us with sensitivity, care and confidentiality.
- We know that the decision is yours alone and that circumstances can change. You may, of course, change your mind about your gift to Oxfam at any time in the future.
- We are discreet. You don’t have to tell us if you intend to leave a gift to Oxfam, but if you do, it will help us to plan future work and allow us to thank you.
We are always here. If there is anything you want to know about your gift to us, or the communities you are helping to thrive, please get in touch.
With the help of supporters like you, we’ve been able to transform countless lives over the past six decades. In the last 20 years alone, over 660 million people have risen out of poverty; yet still one third of the world continues to live below the poverty line. But we know we can improve that statistic. Let’s make a world without poverty with the help of your legacy!
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HOW YOUR WILL CAN CHANGE LIVES
It is thanks to kind gifts in Wills from supporters like you, that we are able to continue our work. From women’s rights to climate change, emergencies to education, we carry out life-changing work around the world. If you want to be part of this ground-breaking legacy, you can join a growing group of people who want to leave behind a better world by leaving a gift to Oxfam.
Your legacy could help people like Zeb-Un-Nisa in Pakistan, whose life has been transformed by a kitchen garden.
Zeb-Un-Nisa has to walk for hours every day to collect water for her family. The journey is dangerous, with aggressive animals and men from other villages harassing her. In the past, she also had to travel long distances to the city to buy expensive vegetables for her family. Drought had made the land around her home barren and unproductive.
But with the help of Oxfam training, Zeb-Un-Nisa has learned how to farm more efficiently by growing vegetables in her kitchen garden that uses less water. She is now able to provide food for her family and can even sell the extra vegetables she grows to earn an income.
By remembering Oxfam in your Will, you could help more women like Zeb-Un-Nisa grow resilient kitchen gardens and empower them to create brighter futures for themselves and their families.
Your legacy could also help women like Napodi, a beekeeper from Uganda.
Napodi lives in a small Ugandan village, where she has 20 beehives. With the support of Oxfam, she has been able to take part in training with our partner (and bee experts!) TUNADO. This training has enabled Napodi to learn more about processing honey and how to use beeswax to make candles. Thanks to this support, she has been able to use the profits from her honey sales to buy goats, chickens and start a small business.
With your legacy gift, you could empower more women like Napodi to start their own businesses and enjoy a life free from poverty.
And your legacy could help communities like the ones in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
DRC is Africa’s most water-rich country, yet millions of people do not have access to clean, safe water. Instead, they have to get their water from other sources, putting them at the risk of contracting deadly waterborne diseases such as cholera. This pipe will provide safe clean water to 18,230 people who have been forced to flee their homes, as well as to almost 82,000 residents living in four host communities in the surrounding area.
By remembering Oxfam in your Will, you could provide communities the life-saving gift of clean safe water.
It’s so easy to leave a gift in your will – there are 4 simple ways:
Having a will ensures that what you own goes directly to the people and causes you care most about. If, like many of our supporters, you chose to remember Oxfam Ireland in your will, we are honoured and want to say a heartfelt thank you.
- Pecuniary Gift
A pecuniary gift in a will is a gift of a specific sum. Remember, any amount, whatever you can afford after family and friends are taken care of, is priceless in the battle to fight poverty.
- Residuary Gift
A residuary gift in a will is a gift of part of an estate. This is a share of your estate that hasn’t been promised to family or friends. These kind of gifts are enormously valuable in supporting our work.
- Specific Item
This is where you generously select a specific item of value such as stocks, shares, jewellery, property, the proceeds of a life assurance policy or other valuable items.
- Codicil to a will
A codicil to a will is an addition to a will. If you have already written a will, but decide you would like to include a gift for Oxfam Ireland, you can ask a solicitor to add a codicil, or an addition to your original will. A codicil is simple to add and is signed in the same way as your original will, with a witness present and will be added to a permanent part of the will.
FAQs
What happens if I don’t have a will?
If someone dies without making a will, they are said to have died ‘intestate’. This means, the law will decide who inherits your prized possessions, property and money.
Why don’t more people have a will?
Many people think their estate isn’t large enough to warrant making a will. The fact is that if you have any assets at all, making a will ensures they go to the people you want to benefit when you die. Even leaving your personal possessions and some of the contents of your home to one of our shops will provide a lasting legacy.
If I have left a gift to Oxfam in my will, should I tell you?
Yes, it is really helpful if you can let us know that you have included us in your will. This information will always be treated in complete confidence. There's no need to tell us the value of your gift (unless you want to); just knowing we have a source of future income helps us to plan ahead with our long-term work. We would also like to have the opportunity to thank you and to answer any questions you may have about the work of Oxfam Ireland and our bequest programme. If you are happy to let us know, please contact Aisling Wallace at aisling.wallace@oxfam.org.
MyLegacy.ie
Will to Give
Oxfam Ireland is a member of WILL TO GIVE - a group of over 40 most cherished Northern Ireland charities who have come together to promote charitable gifts in wills.
Download the 'Will to Give' guide to making and updating your will.
