About Include A Charity
What is the Include A Charity campaign?
The Include a Charity campaign is made up of some of New Zealand’s most-loved charities, all working together to encourage more people to include gifts in their wills to their favourite charities (after they have looked after their family and friends).
What is Include A Charity Week?
Include a Charity Week is a week set aside every September / October that is designed to bring together all charity members to help them raise public awareness of the importance of charitable gifts in wills.
By acting together charities can show just how easy it is to include charitable gifts in wills. Our goal is to help more people understand the huge impact that gifts in wills have on the good work that their favourite charities can do in the future.
Why is Include A Charity Week important?
Gifts in wills form the foundation of many New Zealand charities. Without them, many charities simply would not exist.
Fewer than 8% of Kiwis actually include gifts to a charity in their will, and yet we are generally considered to be one of the most generous countries in the support we give to charities.
By working together, Include a Charity’s member charities are aiming to change the way Kiwis think about charity giving. We aim to, over time, have more people talking about making gifts in wills. In time, including charitable gifts in wills can become commonplace and widely regarded as the best possible way to support people's favourite causes.
What happens during Include A Charity Week?
Throughout one week in September or October each year, Include a Charity encourages charities to try to get more people talking and thinking about gifts in wills. The Include a Charity TV and radio commercials, and online advertisements and articles run throughout September and we encourage Include a Charity’s members to reach out to their supporters and talk to them about gifts in wills.
By combining the efforts and resources of charities across New Zealand, we can work together to positively change the way people think about including charitable gifts in their wills.
Asking people to change the way that they have traditionally thought about donating and supporting their favourite charities is not an easy task and this change will not come about overnight.
There has been no one single charity that has been able to do it so far. By acting together, Include a Charity’s members can make a big difference and get many more people thinking about including charitable gifts in their wills.
What is International Legacy Giving Day?
Include A Charity New Zealand is a member of an international group of organisations committed to encouraging gifts in wills. Together we will celebrate International Legacy Giving Day around the beginning of September each year. Charities worldwide organise activities encouraging gifts in wills and inspiring action.