Leave a gift in your Will and help Girton College to thrive

Why leave a gift in your Will to Girton?

Gifts in Wills allow Girton to transform the life-chances, experiences and opportunities of talented scholars from around the globe.
 
On average over one third of the donation income received by the College each year comes from gifts in Wills which make a very real and vital contribution helping Girton maintain a world-class Fellowship, support outstanding undergraduate and postgraduate scholars regardless of their backgrounds, and helping the College to build for the future.
 
No bequest is too small (a 1% gift of an estate can make a difference) and all bequests are gratefully received and will be acknowledged.
 
As a registered charity, Girton pays no tax on gifts bequeathed and a legacy to the College may reduce your estate’s Inheritance Tax liability. Additionally, from April 2012, if a person leaves 10% of his or her estate to charity, Inheritance Tax will be charged on the estate at a rate of 36%, rather than the usual rate of 40%. Potential legacy donors who are already considering leaving a gift in their Will may find under this relief that they can leave more to charity with little impact on the amount left to their non-charitable beneficiaries.
 
The area of College life that your legacy supports is of course up to you. However, because legacies are realised over the longer term, the very best way to help is to leave an unrestricted gift. Should you wish to direct your gift to a specific area we would welcome having a discussion with you on how to ensure your generosity can have the greatest impact.

To discuss your legacy giving in complete confidence, please contact the Development Director or the Development Officer (Legacies). The Development Office team is also happy to work with your solicitor should you prefer.

Remembering Girton in your Will

We are grateful to all of those who remember Girton in their Will. A legacy gift can be written into a new Will, or added to an existing one using a Codicil form. We recommend that you seek professional legal advice when making or amending a Will.

There are several methods by which you can remember Girton in your Will:

• A residuary legacy is a gift of all, or a percentage of, your estate after other bequests, taxes and charges have been met. We ask you please to consider the merits of leaving a residuary legacy; it protects your gift to Girton against inflation, while insulating your other beneficiaries from the effects of deflation, as well as from any decision you may make to reduce the size of your estate for your own needs in older age. So this can be a win-win arrangement.
• A pecuniary or cash legacy is a monetary gift of a specific sum; to safeguard its future value it can be index linked.
• A specific or non-monetary legacy allows you to leave items to the College: for example, stocks and shares, property, furniture, paintings or other fixed assets, either to be used, or to be sold to generate funds.
• A reversionary legacy or life interest trust leaves your assets to named beneficiaries to enjoy in their lifetime. Upon their death the whole, or a proportion of what remains, could pass to the College.

As with any form of donation, gifts to the College for general purposes offer the most flexibility as they can be directed to the areas that require most support at any given time. Girton is naturally, however, also happy to receive gifts directed to specific areas of College life.

I give to the Mistress, Fellows and Scholars of Girton College, Cambridge (Registered Charity Number 1137541)[the residue of my estate] [_____ % of the residue of my estate][the sum of _________] free of tax for the General Purposes of the College and I declare that the receipt by the Bursar or other authorised Officer of the College shall be good and sufficient discharge to my Executors.

For USA donors

Alumni and supporters of Girton in the United States can make a planned gift to the College via Cambridge in America. For full information, please see Cambridge in America’s Planned Giving page. You should request that the Directors of Cambridge in America exercise their discretion and allocate your gift to support Girton College. Cambridge in America also runs the 1209 Society to thank US alumni who support Cambridge by means of Planned Giving.

For Canadian donors

The University of Cambridge is recognised by Revenue Canada for the purposes of charitable giving to the University and Colleges, and is authorised to issue receipts on behalf of both to enable Canadian donors to claim deductions when computing their taxable income. Where the gift comes via a legacy, the receipt is sent to the executor of the donor’s estate. If you are intending to leave a legacy to Girton, please make your executor aware of this procedure.

The 1869 Society

Leaving a legacy is a very personal matter and one that you may wish to keep private. However, by telling us about your Will to the extent that you feel comfortable, you can have an immediate impact. It will also allow us to fully understand your wishes and to express our thanks.
 
Everyone who has remembered the College in their Will is eligible to become a member of the 1869 Society. Named to recall the year of the College’s foundation, members receive a purple lapel pin and are invited (with a guest) to special events hosted by the Mistress.
 
There may also be opportunities to name Fellowships, scholarships, bursaries and buildings for certain gifts, so please do get in touch for more details.