Leaving a Legacy to Christ Church

From the great endowments of Cardinal Wolsey and Henry VIII in the 16th Century, Christ Church has benefitted from the generosity of alumni and friends who kindly included the College in their Will. These gifts have provided Christ Church with financial stability, for which we will always be grateful.

We invite you to become part of this ensuring tradition by pledging a future gift to Christ Church in your Will. Your legacy gift, however great or small, will create a meaningful and lasting impact on the College and help us to plan for the future with confidence.

In an era of increasing financial barriers to higher education, legacy-funded scholarships and bursaries have become more important than ever. Your future gift can provide access to funding that can transform lives by enabling talented students from all backgrounds to study at Christ Church, regardless of their financial situation.

You can also choose to help us safeguard Christ Church’s treasured buildings and grounds that are integral to our identity. Our magnificent buildings require ongoing preservation and sensitive modernisation to serve the needs of current and future generations. Your legacy may contribute to elements of Christ Church that make it so special, such as the Picture Gallery and Library, and the Cathedral Choir and its music programme.

Thank you for considering leaving a gift to Christ Church in your Will.

Your Future Gift

Legacy gifts, by their nature, provide financial support to meet a future need. 

Our four legacy-focused funds, which you may wish to consider, represent the core aspects of Christ Church that we seek to underpin for future generations. They are designed to ensure they meet current and future unknown expenses and are not limited by specific restrictions. You may also choose to designate your gift towards a specific area of Christ Church or subject. We would be delighted to discuss these possibilities with you.

General Endowment Fund

Christ Church’s General Endowment Fund helps to underpin all aspects of College life. Funding is used to support scholarships, chairs, professorships, fellowships, basic research, and academic programmes. This fund covers all of our subject areas. The flexibility of this fund enables the College to support our existing teaching and subjects but also be able to respond to future needs.

The Tutorial System

Over 450 undergraduate students thrive at Christ Church, benefitting from the generous grants, exceptional facilities, and support from more than 50 specialist College tutors.

Student fees are not sufficient to meet the costs of the tutorial system. The generous support of legacy gifts helps to bridge this funding gap.

The General Endowment Tutorial Fund is also used to invest in developing the next generation of academics, their teaching and ground-breaking research. This financial support allows us to move into new subject areas. Our most recent additions include Computer Science and Biomedical Science.

We strive to protect the Tutorial System and fund the entire cost in perpetuity. Legacy gifts to The General Endowment Fund are crucial to achieving this.

Buildings and Grounds

Christ Church is home to seven Grade I and twelve Grade II sites within the College, including the Cathedral, Library, Picture Gallery and 46-acre Meadow.

Our buildings and grounds serve a wide range of purposes on a daily basis. Whether used for study, research, prayer, catering, accommodation, art or music-making, the collection of buildings which make up Christ Church provide an environment that is truly unique and inspirational. 

Maintaining and modernising our facilities is an ongoing priority to ensure our buildings meet the needs of our current and future students. We are also committed to the conservation and preservation of our Meadow, gardens and grounds.

The Cathedral Music Fund

Gifts to the Cathedral Music Fund have ensured that a 500-year tradition of musical excellence at Christ Church continues to thrive.

One of the major aims of the fund has been to give children from all walks of life the opportunity to become choristers through the provision of scholarships at Christ Church Cathedral School. Support over the last decade has meant that we continue to welcome new choristers to the Cathedral every year.

Christ Church Cathedral Choir occupies a unique position in the collegiate music, distinguished by serving both the College and the Cathedral simultaneously. This is reflected in the considerable opportunities to learn a vast amount of musical repertoire and to participate in many concerts, recordings, broadcasts and tours.

Support given to the Cathedral Music Fund enables the purchase of new instruments a music programme of the highest quality to continue.

Leaving a Gift to Christ Church in your Will

After your loved ones have been provided for, you can leave a gift to Christ Church in your Will in one of the following ways:

·       A pecuniary gift specifying an amount of money that you will leave to Christ Church. This may be index-linked.

·       A legacy of a specific asset, such as a painting or collection you wish to gift.

·       A residuary legacy, where Christ Church may receive the residue of your estate, or a share of it, after other bequests and liabilities have been paid.

The following wording may be helpful for your legal adviser:

“I leave to Christ Church, Oxford (charity number 1143423) [details of gift/amount/percentage of estate] and I direct that the receipt of The Treasurer or other authorised officer of Christ Church shall be a full and sufficient discharge to my executors.”

Gifts of possessions, such as artwork, property or investments, are gratefully received. Occasionally, non-monetary gifts can be more complicated, especially if an item has specific wishes attached.

We would be pleased to discuss special items you plan to gift to Christ Church to ensure we can accept your generosity as you intend.

Adding a Codicil to an Existing Will

The simplest way of including Christ Church in an existing Will is to add the College as a beneficiary using a Codicil. This simple form requires two witness signatures, and can be sent directly to your solicitor.

Leaving a Pension

We can receive workplace or private pensions as legacy gifts. You will need to complete an ‘expression of wish’ form with your pension provider to inform them that you would like to include Christ Church as a beneficiary of your pension plan.

Tax Benefits

You may reduce your personal Inheritance Tax bill by leaving money to charity in your Will.

As Christ Church is a registered charity, any gift left to the College is not subject to Inheritance Tax and will reduce the total amount of your estate on which Inheritance Tax in payable.

Furthermore, donating 10% or more of your UK taxable estate to charity may qualify for a reduced Inheritance Tax rate of 36% instead of the standard 40%.

It is important to seek independent financial and legal advice if your charitable gift forms part of your personal Inheritance tax planning.  

1546 Society

All those who generously make provision for Christ Church in their Will are invited to become members of the 1546 Society.

The 1546 Society is our way of thanking our legators, for the significant and lasting impact that a gift will have on the future of the College. Members are invited to join for our annual 1546 Society lunch and on Patron’s Day. Spouses and partners are welcome to these events.

Members of the 1546 Society who leave a gift to Christ Church in their Will have an option to be included in the annual Commemoration of All Souls Cathedral service. Names are read out and prayers offered during the Commemoration of the Departed. We include names in the year a gift to the College is received.

Letting us Know

If you would like to discuss your legacy gift, please contact us at: development.office@chch.ox.ac.uk. We would be delighted to arrange a private meeting or phone call.

A copy of our Legacy brochure can be found here which includes example wording for a Will or codicil.