Leave a gift in your Will to The Farming Community Network (FCN) and leave behind a strong, resilient and thriving UK farming community.
Your gift will make a real and lasting difference by helping to ensure that everyone in need can access our services when they need it most – improving the health and wellbeing of farming generations to come.
We help thousands of farmers and farming families each year with a wide variety of issues and challenges. From succession planning and mental ill-health to animal disease and financial concerns, we are here every step of the way to ‘walk with’ our farming community. We have been called a ‘lifeline’ by those we have helped.
What is a legacy?
A gift in your Will, also known as a legacy, helps to support British farming and to give back to the work of our committed volunteers. Legacies help us to plan for the future with confidence, allowing us to thoroughly prepare for the challenges that British farmers face – both now and in the future.
How will my legacy help farming people?
No matter the size of the legacy you choose to leave, your kindness and generosity will make such a difference to British farmers. Your gift will help to:
- Ensure that our volunteers can always be there to support farming families when they need it most.
- Support the running costs of our helpline so that confidential support is always available to farmers and their families.
- Help our volunteers reach more people in our farming community who are in need of a helping hand.
- Encourage and support farmers to build strong and sustainable businesses, ensuring the continuation of our farming heritage.
- Assist us in continuing to conduct leading research to represent the wellbeing interests of farmers to policy and decision makers.
- Organise events that bring farming people together to build connections and combat isolation.
- Produce information, literature, publications and campaigns to help people stay healthy and resilient – and aid in the development of our FarmWell website.
- Contribute to our work helping to address health inequalities in farming and rural communities – for example our UK-wide partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support.
How can I leave a legacy to FCN?
Making a Will and keeping it up to date is essential in making sure that your loved ones will benefit in the way you intended after you die. After providing for your loved ones, please consider leaving a gift to The Farming Community Network.
Legacies to registered charities in the UK like FCN are tax exempt. If you leave money to FCN in your Will, it will be paid out before inheritance tax is deducted, reducing the total amount of tax paid on the estate.
There are four types of legacy to choose from:
- Pecuniary – a fixed sum of money.
- Residual – all or part of your estate after debts, funeral expenses, certain other costs and tax, and any other legacies have been deducted.
- Specific – an item of value such as jewellery.
- Reversionary (or Contingent) – a legacy that is dependent upon an event which may, or may not, happen. For example, a legacy that applies only if other beneficiaries named in the Will die before the person who wrote the Will does.
How can I update my Will?
If you have already made a Will, but would like to change it to include FCN, you can update it by writing a codicil.
A codicil is a legally binding document that allows you to make amendments to an existing Will instead of completely re-writing an already written version.
What is the next step?
We always recommend that you speak to a solicitor when making or amending a Will.
If you need to find a solicitor, The Law Society can put you in contact with a reputable solicitor who will incorporate your wishes:
The Law Society
Telephone: 020 7320 5650 (Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm)
If you choose to leave FCN a legacy in your Will, please ensure that you use our registered address and charity number:
Address
The Farming Community Network, Bragborough Hall Business Centre, Welton Rd, Braunston, Northamptonshire, NN11 7JG
Registered charity number
1095919
Acknowledgements
FCN acknowledge Beviss & Beckingsale Solicitors and their offices in Chard, Honiton, Axminster and Seaton for their assistance in helping to write this information.
Roger’s Story
A lifetime advocate for UK agriculture and the farming community, Roger Jefcoate CBE DL has decided to leave a legacy to FCN in his Will. This is essential, he says, in helping to support the future of British farming, and to build further sustainability into a charity that provides vital support to farmers and their families during difficult times and periods of change.
Roger said: “It is a privilege to be leaving a legacy to FCN. FCN is a charity very close to my heart. Farmers are the salt of the Earth. We have been surrounded by farmers throughout our lives. Society must value our farmers and everything they do. FCN volunteers do incredible work.
“Leaving a legacy allows you to help and support individuals and organisations you are passionate about long after you are gone. It lays a seed and implants a memory that will last a lifetime.”
Read Roger’s story here: Roger Jefcoate CBE DL: Supporting the future of UK farming by leaving a legacy to The Farming Community Network (FCN) – Farming Community Network