'Include a Charity' Campaign
18 December 2006 at 10:38 am
Four major charities have created a new campaign to highlight the importance of updating a Will and including a bequest to charity.
The Cancer Council has joined forces with the Australian Red Cross, Mission Australia and the Heart Foundation to launch the ‘Include a Charity’ campaign with a website and community announcements in the media.
The charities say that many Australians wrongly believe that only the very wealthy or those without family leave bequests in their Wills. The ‘Include a Charity’ campaign is aimed at making the inclusion of charitable bequests or gifts a normal part of Will-making and a widely recognised and respected way of giving.
The campaign slogan asks Australians “do you have the Will to change the future?” Martin Paul, that spokesperson for Include a Charity says it’s currently estimated that around 8% of Australians make charitable bequests, equating to over 10,000 bequests per year.
He says every year bequests may provide such things as research, information and support for the 3.5 million Australians affected by cardiovascular disease, the 88,000 people diagnosed with cancer, 100,000 homeless Australians and the 40,000 people affected by disasters such as bushfires and floods.
Paul says “Include a Charity” wants people to know that leaving a bequest is not about depriving your family and friends.
It is about assisting the charities that have shaped your life to continue their work for future generations.
He says charities are becoming increasingly dependent on bequests or gifts in Wills and they want people to know that
anyone can leave a bequest. Bequests are not necessarily left by the very wealthy, but by people who want to support one or more causes thereby leaving the world a better place.
The campaign website also offers information to solicitors advising clients about donating to charity in their Wills.
