"Somewhere between finishing work and retiring, most of us write a will, or dig out the old one. It's usually about who gets the house and savings. But I've come to believe it's one of the most overlooked chances we have to shape what happens to our home, long after we're gone" writes Sophie Lane, CE of Northland Community Foundation.
New research commissioned by Community Foundations of Aotearoa New Zealand, carried out by BERL, confirms something I've suspected for years. Of more than 3,000 New Zealanders surveyed, a group who already give (90.5% donated in the past year), 52.3% were interested in leaving a charitable gift in their will; 17.4% already had, and another quarter were thinking about it.
What held people back wasn't reluctance, it was wanting to look after family first (72.6%), exactly as it should be. But a gift isn't either-or: you can provide for those you love and still support the causes that shaped your life in Te Tai Tokerau. Most surprising: fewer than one in five people who see a lawyer about their will are ever asked about charitable giving. When they are, the answer is very often yes, because it aligns with their values (69.3% said so).
I've seen this firsthand. We’ve partnered with local law firms who gently ask clients revising their will whether they've thought about a charitable gift, and the answer is often "actually, yes, I've been meaning to." People just need to be asked, and reassured their gift will go where they intend.
When you leave a gift through Northland Community Foundation, we don't spend it. We invest it permanently, and only the earnings go out each year to local causes. A $10,000 gift today becomes a fund that keeps giving. It's the gift that keeps on giving. And every dollar stays here: we're Northland's own foundation, not a branch of a national or overseas charity sending funds elsewhere.
Retirement is the season when that invitation matters most, as we consider what kind of Northland we want to leave behind. An estimated $1.6 trillion is about to pass between generations across Aotearoa; even a small share directed locally would transform what's possible here. This is already happening here: we now manage over $7.2 million in invested community funds, with $15 million in gifts in wills pledged for the future.
September is Wills Month, an annual nudge to make a will, or update one that's out of date. If you're retired or heading that way, treat this as more than paperwork: talk to your family, talk to your advisor, and ask yourself, is there a cause in Northland I'd like to still be supporting after I'm gone? You don't need to be wealthy to leave a meaningful gift, just to be asked, and to say yes when you are.
Sophie Lane is Chief Executive of Northland Community Foundation. To learn more about leaving a gift in your will visit: www.northlandcommunityfoundation.org.nz/gifts-in-wills
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