Bequests: Your effective legacy

Bequests, gifts in wills, or planned giving

Leaving money in your estate is a wonderful way to maintain giving as part of your legacy.

We are regularly contacted by people who would like to leave money to effective charities after they die. This is normally called a bequest, but also known as planned giving, or gifts in wills.

Depending on your circumstances, a bequest may also provide you with beneficial inheritance tax treatment. For more information, please read this post on the potential to quadruple your charitable donations at almost no cost to your beneficiaries.

Giving What We Can can help fulfil your wishes to give, either as the direct beneficiary of a bequest, or by disbursing money among highly effective organisation based on your preferences.

Bequests made simple with our tool

We have created a new tool that allows you to set up a free will and leave a bequest to effective charities. This tool includes exact wording you can also include in exisiting wills.

Use our bequest tool

Leaving money to Giving What We Can

Giving What We Can is a project of the Effective Ventures group, the umbrella term for Effective Ventures Foundation (England and Wales registered charity number 1149828, registered company number 07962181, and also a Netherlands registered tax-deductible entity ANBI 825776867) and Effective Ventures Foundation USA, Inc. (a section 501(c)(3) public charity in the USA, EIN 47-1988398). If you would like to leave money to support the activities of Giving What We Can, please make your bequest out to the Effective Ventures Foundation . You can specify that the donation should be restricted to Giving What We Can.

Leaving money to other highly effective organisations

If you would like to leave money in support of highly effective organisations, charities or funds, you can do so via Giving What We Can. Please specify whether you would like to either:

  • Restrict your donation to one or more of the charities or funds listed on our donation platform (be sure to set out the proportion of your donation that each should receive)*; or
  • Allow Giving What We Can to disburse the money to whichever charitable organisations it deems would be most effective at the time of the bequest.

Suggested wording for bequests via the Effective Ventures Foundation

We recommend you consult with a legal professional when writing your will. The suggested wording below can help as a guide.

For donors in the United Kingdom:

I bequeath {X% or the sum of £X} to the Effective Ventures Foundation, a registered charity in England and Wales with charity number 1149828 and place of business at Trajan House, Mill Street, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX2 0DJ, United Kingdom, or its successor organisation. Please contact community@givingwhatwecan.org in order to process this request.

For donors in the United States:

I bequeath {X% or the sum of $X} to the Effective Ventures Foundation USA, Inc., a section 501(c)(3) public charity in the USA, EIN 47-1988398 or its successor organisation. Please contact community@givingwhatwecan.org in order to process this request.

For donors in the Netherlands:

I bequeath {X% or the sum of £X} to the Effective Ventures Foundation, a Netherlands registered tax-deductible entity with ANBI 825776867 and place of business at Trajan House, Mill Street, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX2 0DJ, United Kingdom, or its successor organisation. Please contact community@givingwhatwecan.org in order to process this request.

Add the following to allocate the bequest to a specific cause or charity:

These funds should be allocated to the option listed as '{fund or charity name/s}' at the time of writing, which serves the purpose of.. {description of charities/funds eg: 'supporting highly effective work in field of global health and development'}.

Add the following to allocate the bequest to fund Giving What We Can's operations:

These funds should be allocated to support Giving What We Can's operations.

General advice regarding bequests

There are many considerations to take into account when you leave money to a charity in your will. Giving What We Can is not in a position to provide legal advice. We strongly recommend that you seek legal advice on the matter, thoroughly research whether a bequest will have broader implications for your will, talk to your loved ones about your intentions, and find out how to write your will to ensure your executor can honour your wishes.

Resources — United Kingdom

The following resources may be useful if you are in the United Kingdom and are preparing a will that includes a bequest to Giving What We Can or our recommended charities. These resources are provided by third parties, and Giving What We Can cannot take any responsibility for their accuracy. We recommend that you seek advice from someone legally qualified to provide it.