By remembering Whitley Fund for Nature in your Will, you’re helping to protect wildlife, restore critical ecosystems, and support the communities who live alongside them for generations to come.
A gift in your Will is a way to reflect the values that have shaped your life, and to continue making a difference long after it. The conservationists you are helping us support today are working on solutions that will outlast all of us. By leaving a gift to WFN, you’re continuing to stand with them long after you’re gone.
WFN will never ask you to tell us your wishes, but if you would like to share your intentions we’d love to hear from you. This gives us the opportunity to extend our thanks to you for the difference your generosity will make as well as offer to keep in touch with a relative or friend to let them know the impact of your legacy in future years.
“It’s true to say that WFN is a very special organisation. It’s small. It’s very precisely focused… and so it is able to give its money where it really counts; where every penny counts.”
— WFN Ambassador, Sir David Attenborough
Build a lasting conservation legacy
WFN is working to create a world where nature and people thrive together. Through our ever-growing network of conservation leaders, WFN is helping to drive sustainable, scalable, community-led solutions that benefit both wildlife and people.
For more than 30 years, Whitley Award winners, their teams, and communities have achieved lasting impact for our planet. Over 45 million hectares of threatened habitat have been protected, 750,000 hectares restored, and 87% of funded projects have seen a measurable reduction in threats such as poaching or deforestation.
“WFN has been one of the most consequential partners in terms of supporting the growth of snow leopard conservation worldwide, and in my own professional growth since 2005.”
— Charudutt Mishra, 2022 Whitley Gold Award winner
With the help of our funders and partners, WFN will continue to back new generations of grassroots conservationists. Your legacy could be part of that story.
How to leave a gift to WFN in your Will
Leaving a gift to WFN in your Will is easier than you might think. All you have to do is decide on the type and size of gift that feels right to you.
As a registered charity, any gift you leave to WFN is exempt from UK inheritance tax. And if you leave 10% or more of your estate to charity, the rate of inheritance tax on the rest of your estate could drop, meaning a legacy gift can also reduce what your family pays.
Your Will is your legacy – for your loved ones, and for the world you leave behind. Thank you for considering making WFN part of it.
WFN’s details for your Will
Including a gift to WFN in your Will is straightforward, but it is important to be clear and precise with your wording to avoid any doubt about your gift or our identity.
Please ensure that any gift to WFN includes the following details:
- Our full name: The Whitley Fund for Nature
- Registered charity number: 1081455
- Registered office address: Calder & Co, 30 Orange Street, London, WC2H 7HF
This information is not a substitute for legal advice, and we strongly recommend speaking to a solicitor or Will writer before writing or amending your will. They will be able to provide the best advice on the correct wording, depending on the type of gift you choose.
Types of Gift
However you choose to remember WFN, your gift will help conservation leaders tackle some of the most urgent threats to nature. There are four main ways to do it:
1. Share of estate
Also known as a residuary gift, this is a percentage or fraction of the remainder of your estate once all other gifts and costs have been deducted. This can be as little as 1% – so those closest to you inherit the majority – or as much as 100%.
2. Cash gift
Also known as a pecuniary legacy, this is a specific sum of money left to WFN. You can speak to your solicitor about protecting the value of your gift by directly linking it to the cost of living, so that it doesn’t reduce over time.
3. Specific gift
This includes gifts such as property, antiques, jewellery, or stocks and shares. The money from the sale of these gifts can make a big difference to conservation.
4. Gift in trust
Also known as reversionary gifts, this type of gift allows you to provide for a loved one during their lifetime, giving them the use of a home or other asset, with the capital passing to WFN after the death of the original beneficiary. Your solicitor will be able to provide you with wording for this form of legacy.
Make your gift to WFN go further
Every gift, of any type and size, is extremely valuable and always gratefully received.
If possible, we ask that you consider leaving your gift ‘unrestricted’, so that it can be directed to where the need is greatest. This flexibility is vital as our priorities, and those of our conservation leaders, evolve over time.
Write your Will
Having an up-to-date Will is important, and solicitors advise that you update it every few years to make sure it reflects your current circumstances.
If you don’t already have a Will, you can find a solicitor or professional Will writer in your local area using the Law Society of England and Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland.
Get in touch
We understand your Will is deeply personal. There is no need to inform us, but if you choose to, we would be honoured to thank you and keep you updated on the difference your generosity will make. Any information you give us will be treated in the strictest confidence, and any pledge you make does not place you under any legal or moral obligation.
To find out more about leaving a gift in your Will to WFN, please contact Heather Morris, Partnerships Manager via [email protected] or +44 (0)20 7221 9752.
We are proud to be registered with the UK’s Fundraising Regulator.
What type of gift most benefits WFN?
A residuary gift is the most beneficial because it is not lessened by the rate of inflation. A gift of residue is when you make a gift of the remainder or part of the remainder of your estate after all other specific gifts and costs have been deducted. You can leave part of the residue of your estate simply by stating the percentage or fraction of the residue that you would like to be left to WFN.
How often should I update my Will?
Solicitors advise that you should update your Will every few years to make sure that it reflects your changing circumstances. It is important to change your Will if your circumstances change significantly, such as through marriage, divorce, or through having children.
Can I save tax by leaving a gift to charity in my Will?
Yes. A gift in your Will to a registered charity is exempt from Inheritance Tax and is deducted from the net value of your estate before taxation. For example, if your estate is worth £10,000 more than the tax threshold (currently £325,000) and, assuming Inheritance Tax is 40% at the time of your death, there would be Inheritance Tax of £4,000 to be paid out of your estate. But if you made a gift to WFN of £10,000, the notional value of your estate would be reduced by that amount and there would be no tax to pay.
If you leave 10% or more of the net value of your estate to charity, then the rate of Inheritance Tax you pay on anything over the taxation threshold reduces from 40% to 36%.
