How a gift in your Will could help Blackfriars Priory, Cambridge
The Impact of Legacy Giving
Gifts left in Wills give Blackfriars’ finances a big boost and can enable us to undertake vital building works or other large expenditures without having to draw money away from our day-to-day mission.
When providing for the needs of family and friends in your Will, please consider making a bequest to Blackfriars.
So Important
Legacies are essential for supporting the friars’ mission. However, in the 10 years since 2012, less than 1% of the money left in Wills to the Dominican friars in the UK was given specifically for Blackfriars Cambridge. We must increase this to safeguard the priory’s future!
What your donations help us to do
Legacies and other gifts are essential to our mission in Cambridge.
- Supporting the community of friars and their ministries – preaching, teaching and pastoral care for local people. It costs around £8,500 a year to provide for the basic upkeep of each friar here.
- Celebrating public Mass and Divine Office every day.
- Sustaining the wider preaching and writing work of the friars
- Hosting regular groups and public talks.
- Maintaining the chapel and priory buildings, the shared home of our community. The annual cost of this is now typically £80,000 to £90,000.
Your Legacy
Giving through your Will offers a unique way to have a lasting impact on the charities that matter to you, such as Blackfriars Cambridge.
Legacy gifts to charity can also help you to reduce the tax burden on your next of kin (see below).
Your Choice
If you would like to leave a gift to Blackfriars in your Will, you might wish to consider supporting one of these specific areas of need:
- General support of the friars at Blackfriars Cambridge
- The Priory’s Fabric Fund which provides for the maintenance and improvement of our buildings. This is becoming increasingly costly as our buildings get older.
You can consult with the Prior or the Bursar if you wish to discuss what to support.
Ways to Give
In making a bequest, you have a choice of three ways to give:
- Percentage of your estate – a portion or the whole of what is left once debts and funeral expenses have been paid, and other bequests made.
- Fixed amount – a specific sum of money
- Property or goods – a building you own, or other things such as stocks and shares, or pieces of jewellery
In drawing up your Will, your solicitor will need exact details for each of these three ways.
UK Tax Benefits
Gifts to charity made in your Will are not taxed. Furthermore, giving in this way lets you reduce the burden of inheritance tax on your next of kin. Inheritance tax is currently (2022) payable on estates valued at £325,000 or over, with tax set at 40% on the amount over this threshold. However, if you donate 10% or more of your net estate to charity, the rate of tax is reduced to 36% on non-exempt gifts.
You should seek the advice of solicitors when drafting a clause to benefit from this reduction in the rate of tax.
Getting Advice
Making a Will is easy. All you have to do is consider how you wish to divide up your property, and make sure these wishes are clearly communicated. You can also use your Will to give clear instructions about your funeral.
It is, however, advisable to get a solicitor (lawyer) to help you to draft it. The same is true if you have made your Will already, but want to revise it.
If you wish to discuss any of these matters, the Bursar or the Prior will be pleased to meet with you. We can also provide information to your solicitors should they need it.
See Contact Details, below.
Essential Information to Include in Your Will
If you wish to leave something to Blackfriars, please remember to state this clearly in your Will, and include the following details:
Charity name
- The English Province of the Order of Preachers
Charity registration No.
- 231192 (England and Wales); SC039062 (Scotland).
Charity Registered address
- Blackfriars, St Giles, OXFORD OX1 3LY.
Funerals & Mass stipends
It is advisable to leave money to cover your funeral expenses. You may also wish to leave ongoing stipends for priests to remember you or your loved ones at Mass. Please speak with the Prior if you would like advice on this.
Contact details
Blackfriars, Buckingham Rd, Cambridge CB3 0DD
cambridge.bursar@english.op.org
01223 741251