September 7–13 is Include A Charity Week, when more than 70 charities, including the Sisters of Charity Foundation, unite in a public awareness campaign to encourage more Australians to leave a gift to charity in their Will. While more than 80% of Australians donate during their lifetime, only 11% of donors over the age of 55 have included a charitable bequest, according to Include A Charity, part of the Fundraising Institute of Australia (FIA).

Asking the question

Include A Charity also works with the legal community to encourage solicitors to ask their clients if they would consider leaving a gift to charity in their Will. This year, they have partnered with Safewill, a well-regarded online Will-writing platform, to offer 50% off the writing of Wills during the month of September.

One of the myths the Include A Charity campaign is trying to debunk is that gifts in Wills are only for wealthy people. “Any gift, big or small, can be transformational to the work a charity does with its community,” says Director Helen Merrick. Most gifts in Wills are made by everyday hardworking Australians who have a personal connection to the cause they support.

Gifts in Wills are not just for the wealthy

Hope for future generations

After you have taken care of your family and loved ones, you may also wish to leave a gift to the Sisters of Charity Foundation. We offer free legal advice for people who are interested in writing or updating their Will to include the Foundation.

If you choose to support the Sisters of Charity Foundation, you will be supporting our mission of helping disadvantaged and socially isolated people, continuing the work of the Sisters of Charity of Australia, who landed here in 1838.

Your gift could:

  • Give the gift of education to a young person who has grown up in out-of-home care by allowing them to study at university or TAFE.
  • Help dozens of community projects around Australia that help families and individuals impacted by disadvantage and poverty.
  • Help provide safe accommodation for some of the most marginalised people in our community.

To learn how easy it is to leave a bequest, please phone the Foundation office on (02) 9367 1211. If you would like to learn more, you can also read our Bequest Booklet.

How We Help

Each year we’re able to make a difference to thousands of people across the country with funds generously donated by compassionate Australians. We support initiatives that focus on benefiting the disadvantaged, marginalised and socially isolated people in our community.

Find out more