Sponsorship
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Legacies and bequests
Making a will represents a personal statement about what has been important in your life.
Leicester Museums & Galleries owes its very existence to legacy gifts given by the Leicester Literary & Philosophical Society members, who donated their personal collections to the people of Leicester which enabled the Town Museum, latterly known as New Walk Museum, now known as Leicester Museum & Art Gallery to open, becoming one of the first publicly accessible museums in the country back in 1849 and we have been free for all ever since and we have continued to benefit from bequests and legacies ever since forming an important role in the development of the collections. Read about the history of Leicester Museum & Art Gallery.
Gifts and bequests support our work, they help us to protect, conserve and add to our existing collections; educate and entertain our visitors; produce award winning exhibitions and cutting-edge on-line content, so please do consider helping others to discover something amazing via a legacy gift.
Leicester Museums & Galleries is not a charity but is treated as such when it comes to Inheritance Tax and Legacy Gifts by virtue of Section 26A, Schedule 3 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984.
There are three types of gift you can leave to us in your Will:
A Residuary Gift
This is a gift of all or part of the value of your estate, once all your other commitments have been settled. This is the most flexible way of supporting Leicester Museums & Galleries, as the value of your gift will adjust with the value of your estate and it ensures that your other commitments are also supported.
A Pecuniary Gift
This is a gift of a specific sum of money (e.g. £1,000). You may wish to protect this gift against the effects of inflation by asking your Solicitor to ensure that it is index linked. So if you choose a value now it will be worth the same inflationary equivalent value in the future.
A Specific Gift (of an object)
If you are thinking of leaving an object to Leicester Museums & Galleries in your Will, please do let us know in advance of preparing your will so that our collections team can advise whether we will be able to accept your gift.
This is because Leicester Museums & Galleries has a responsibility to protect and preserve for all time the objects that are accepted into the collection and so all objects entering the collection need to meet our Collecting Policy, which has specific areas of interest such as being made or owned in Leicester. You can find out more on our Collections Enquiry page.
If you are planning to bequeath an accepted object in your Will to Leicester Museums & Galleries please consider whether you might also be able to leave an accompanying financial donation in order to support us in this endeavour, to assist in the future conservation, storage, cleaning and display costs of your gift.
All legacy enquiries are treated in strict confidence unless requested otherwise.
Your Gift, Your Choice
Unrestricted legacies are especially valuable to museums as they enable us to use your gift where the need is greatest. For example, your unrestricted legacy donation could be used to support: Conservation and research of our existing collections, the creation and promotion of our interpretation and educational programmes, supporting the development of our award-winning exhibitions programme and object acquisitions to support them, or by improving and preserving the collections we already hold.
Historic legacy donations have expanded our Egyptian Collection our Picasso Ceramic Collection and recent legacy donations have enabled us to add artworks to the German Expressionism Collection and our Contemporary Art Collection; the Albert Henry Findley Bequest and the Leslie Farquhar Bequest.
We are extremely grateful to any support you may wish to make. The generous support from those who have had the foresight to leave a legacy, have made a lasting impact in helping Leicester Museums & Galleries continue to do what we have been doing since 1849.
Making a Will
Solicitor
We always recommend that you speak to a Solicitor when writing or amending your Will; they will be able to ensure that your wishes appear just as you want them; can advise you about how your gift can reduce your Inheritance Tax.
Will Wording
You may find it useful to give your solicitor the following suggested wording when preparing your Will:
For Residuary Gifts
"I give [state proportion e.g. one third] of the residue of my estate to Leicester Museums & Galleries, Leicester Arts & Museums, Leicester City Council, 115 Charles Street, Leicester, LE1 1FZ absolutely for its general purposes. My Trustees shall have no further duties relating to this benefit if they obtain the written receipt from the appropriate officer of Leicester Museums & Galleries."
Pecuniary gifts
"I give the sum of [amount in words] (£______ [amount in figures]) to Leicester Museums & Galleries, Leicester Arts & Museums, Leicester City Council, 115 Charles Street, Leicester, LE1 1FZ absolutely for its general charitable purposes. My Trustees shall have no further duties relating to this benefit if they obtain the written receipt from the appropriate officer of Leicester Museums & Galleries."
Charitable Status
Leicester Museums & Galleries are not a charity but does rely on public support. As a regional museum service, we are exempt from registration with the Charity Commission under Schedule 3 of the Charities Act 2011, and we do not have a charity registration number. However, by virtue of Section 26A, Schedule 3 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984. ”- any museum or art gallery in the United Kingdom which exists wholly or mainly for that purpose and is maintained by a local authority or university in the United Kingdom.” is considered to have Charitable Status.
As such, all donations bequeathed to Leicester Museums & Galleries are exempt from inheritance tax, therefore a gift in your Will to the Leicester Museums & Galleries may reduce the tax on your estate.
Our registered address: Leicester Museums & Galleries, Leicester Arts & Museums, Leicester City Council, 115 Charles Street, Leicester, LE1 1FZ.
There are many ways in which your legacy donation can help; and we are happy to show you some examples and discuss how a gift in your Will can have a lasting impact for future visitors and generations of Leicester.
Please get in touch by email or by calling 0116 252 4900.
Bates & Wallace Legacy Group
If you are considering leaving a gift to Leicester Museums & Galleries in your Will, we would love to hear from you, so that we can help you with any information you need and thank you personally.
Everyone who can confirm that they have included a donation to Leicester Museums & Gallery in their Will is invited to join the Bates & Wallace Legacy Group. Members of the Bates & Wallace Legacy Group receive VIP invitations to our exhibition launch events, free tickets to some of our regular lecture programme events (number of tickets subject to size of donation), as well as receiving regular updates about Leicester Museums & Galleries via our newsletter.
To tell us about your intention to support us in your will, please contact us by email or call 0116 225 4900.
All legacy enquiries are treated in strict confidence.