Will Aid is a British charity will-writing scheme designed to reinforce the need for everyone to have a professionally drawn-up will and to raise funds for their partner charities. Will Aid was founded in 1988 following the example set by Band Aid and Live Aid and continues to run each November.
 | |
| Founded | 1988 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Graeme Pagan |
| Type | Charity partnership established by Deed |
| Location |
|
Area served | United Kingdom |
| Method | For the month of November, participating solicitors waive their fee to write a basic will or a pair of mirror wills. In return, they invite clients to make a voluntary donation to Will Aid. |
Key people | Jonathan Jacques (Chair), Peter de Vena Franks (Campaign Director) |
| Website | willaid.org.uk |
Scheme operation
editWill Aid recruits solicitors all over the UK who agree to waive their usual fee for writing basic wills during 'Make a Will Month' in November.[1]
Supported charities
editWill Aid is a partnership of nine charities: ActionAid,[2] Age UK,[3] the British Red Cross,[4] Christian Aid,[5] NSPCC,[6] Save the Children,[7] SCIAF,[8] Sightsavers[9] and Trócaire.[10]
Fundraising
editWill Aid has raised over £21m since its launch and many tens of million more has been pledged as legacies by people making their Will through the scheme. The 2020 campaign raised over £600k in donations.[citation needed]
Will Aid and the legal profession
editWill Aid is the largest scheme of its kind in the UK and is a major charitable contribution from the British legal profession. Hundreds solicitors firms take part each year. In the 2020 campaign, over 450 solicitors took part. Since the scheme was launched, participating solicitors have drawn up wills for over 310,000 people.[citation needed]
Publicity
editWill Aid has received press coverage in the UK in both national and regional press and consumer magazines.[11][12][13][14]
References
edit- ^ Will Aid
- ^ ActionAid
- ^ Age UK support Will Aid
- ^ British Red Cross
- ^ Christian Aid
- ^ NSPCC
- ^ Save the Children
- ^ SCIAF
- ^ Sightsavers
- ^ Trocaire
- ^ Rogerson, Lindsey (2010-09-11),"Slashing the price of leaving a legacy" The Herald
- ^ Atherton, Mark (2010-11-06), “Make a will or your loved ones will pay” The Times
- ^ Hampshire, Susan (2002-11-13), “A cheap way to make a will” Daily Mirror
- ^ (2010-10-31)"Write a cut-price will and support nine charities"The Independent