A donation given in a Will can be many times larger than that which people can give in their lifetime and the effect of it can be terrific. The RSN has just been notified of a new legacy gift from a longstanding Life Friend. She has left us 5% of the residue of her estate. We do not yet know how much that will be but if the estate included a house then that would certainly be more than a person could give in their lifetime.

The RSN has received many different percentages from 5 per cent to 100 per cent and the amounts differed greatly, but each one has been truly appreciated and we put it to the best use at the time. The benefit of a percentage is that you do not have to think about the actual amount. It is just in proportion.

Some legacy gifts are specified for education, but most are left open because the time between writing the will and it coming to fruition may be many years and the titles of programmes may have changed, so to avoid difficulties for your executors, it is easiest to leave it to the RSN to decide on how it will be used.

Through a legacy your name will live on and will forever be remembered by the RSN. We talk about those who have given legacy gifts to the RSN with great affection because it really makes a difference to us, knowing that people have supported our work in this way.

Legacies so far have helped us to start programmes, finalise programmes, underpin premises hire, and continue to support students through bursaries and course costs every year. If you would like to be part of the future of hand embroidery and invest in future RSN programmes and students then leaving a legacy in your will is a great way to do this.

We would always advise taking professional advice to make a will that will effectively represent your wishes, with no loop holes, but this need not be very expensive and some firms will waive the costs if they will be the executors of the will when it comes to be acted upon.

If you do include the RSN in your bequests, do let us know as we will be inviting benefactors to events in the future.

Thank you.

If you would like to find out more about leaving a legacy, please click here.