Legacy and Gift Policy

Legacies

We welcome all legacies in wills, however large or small.

Information regarding legacies shall be available both on our website and in written form eg. leaflets.

The preference of the PCC is for donors to leave legacies to unrestricted funds, giving the PCC the flexibility to use the gift where it is most needed at the time.

We recognise that some donors may prefer for their legacy to be used for a specific purpose and where that is the case we can provide a list of funds that legacies could be left to: for example, music, buildings, children and youth, mission or aid, etc.

We will acknowledge gifts in whatever way the donor and/or their executors feel most appropriate.

Where anonymity is requested, this will be respected, subject to any statutory reporting requirements the PCC is obliged to comply with.

Gifts

St Mary’s relies on gifts from its congregation, visitors, and others using the building for its day-to-day running and for the payment of its Parish Share.  

Financial gifts are the most useful way to support the work of the church, as they can be directed to the place where the need is greatest.

Offers of gifts in kind will be considered by the PCC.  Full details (including pictures where relevant) must be provided.

In considering offers of gifts in kind the following considerations will be taken into account:

• need (Is the gift offered something that the church currently needs?  Is it something that the church can or will use?);
• faculty requirement (Will the gift require the church to apply for a faculty in order to introduce it to the building?  Generally, this will apply to something which makes a permanent change to the fabric of the building, rather than something which is temporary or removeable.)
• aesthetic considerations (Is the gift in keeping with the existing style and appearance of the church?)
• storage (If the gift is not to be on constant display or in constant use, how and where will it be stored? Does the church have space to do so?)

The PCC reserves the right to turn down offers of gifts, however well-meant, which do not meet these requirements.