Leave a gift in your Will
A gift in your Will to SPCA is a very special last act of kindness that will make a positive difference to the future of animal welfare in New Zealand.
Why leave a gift to SPCA?
SPCA receives only a very small amount of government funding to help us in our essential animal welfare work through our 28 centres and 6 vet partnerships. Instead, we rely on the generosity of animal lovers to support animals through the precious gift they leave in their Will.
Our vision at SPCA is all animals lives matter in our community. From pets like cats, dogs, rabbits and birds; to horses, goats, and other farm animals. Each year our Inspectorate team handle over 13,000 animal welfare complaints and in the last year we have attended just under 8,000 ambulance jobs – taking an injured dogs to the vet, helping a cat stuck up a tree, or passing an animal to another agency like MPI.
Leaving a gift to SPCA is a fitting way to celebrate the love and companionship animals have brought you during your lifetime. By doing so you will have a lasting impact on animals in need and help to ensure that New Zealand’s most cherished charity will always be here to help animals.
Gifts in Wills are our lifeblood providing income for many years ahead and with the help of people that have left a gift in their Will, it will help SPCA future proof our work, so that we can always be there when we are needed.
SPCA’s ongoing work is far-reaching across many different areas but some of our key objectives and areas of focus are:
- Education – our team develop free education programmes for schools and people working with children, to help change the hearts and minds of the future generations
- Campaigning and advocating for animals – behind the scenes we work with ministers, government officials and industry to advocate changes to improve animal welfare
- Shelter, rehome and reunite – we provide a safe haven for sick, injured, abused, and abandoned animals
- Animal rescue – SPCA Inspectors and Field Officers are at work every day ensuring the protection of New Zealand’s animals
- Seek Justice – SPCA is the only charity with legal powers to help animals in need and bring animal offenders to justice. Our Inspectors are appointed under the Animal Welfare Act 1999 which provides powers to investigate cruelty, abuse, neglect, and abandonment
Making a gift in your Will
When preparing your Will, we recommend you seek the assistance of your family solicitor or a trustee company (such as the Public Trust or Perpetual Guardian Trust), to ensure your wishes are properly recorded.
You will also need to tell them what kind of gift you’d like to make. There are a variety of ways to leave a gift in your Will to SPCA, depending on what suits you best:
- Residuary Bequest – here you make a gift to SPCA of what is left over or a percentage thereof (the residue) in your estate after all expenses and debts have been settled and your loved ones have been provided for.
- Pecuniary Bequest – this means a specified sum of money in your Will is gifted to SPCA.
- Specified Bequest – this is where a particular item of value (for example stocks and shares, property or works of art) is gifted to SPCA in your Will
SPCA invites you to write your Will for free through GatheredHere, a leading online Will provider - it only takes 10 minutes. Leaving even 1% of your Estate will provide our sick, injured, and vulnerable animals with life-saving care.
To make sure the wording in your Will accurately describes your intentions, we recommend including one of the following clauses.
The Giving Hearts Programme
When you pledge a gift to SPCA in your Will, we’ll welcome you into the Giving Hearts programme - a special group of like-minded supporters.
Being a Giving Hearts member means we can say thank you in your lifetime and share our mutual love of animals together – and we can keep you informed with regular updates on our work.
You will receive invitations to exclusive events, regular copies of our Giving Hearts newsletters, in addition to personalised communication and phone calls.
In addition, we would also love your legacy to live on in a happy home – we will invite you to name one of our adoptee animals and tell us the story behind the name and we will share that with their new forever-family.
Meet our Giving Hearts members
“My favourite part is helping an animal recover from an illness and grow into their best selves, and then seeing them be adopted into a loving forever home. After 25 years of being involved, I still get a real feeling of joy each time I see an animal that I’ve helped go to their loving new home”
“I want to leave something behind for the animals. I know that if I leave it to SPCA, then all the animals that come along after I’ve gone will benefit from that. It’s knowing that I can do something to help, even when I’m no longer here…I know I’ll be helping them.”
“Animals can’t speak for themselves- they need us. Animals bring love and joy to our lives every day, but being able to give back to them even when you’re no longer here, can make a huge difference.”
“I want my legacy to go towards the ongoing care for deprived, sick and ill-treated animals; to education, publicity and training; the reduction of abandoned animals; the ongoing funding for animal rescues; as well as prosecutions and advocacy.”
Our heartfelt thanks
Leaving a gift to SPCA in your Will is a big decision, and we appreciate you’ll want to take your time to think it through first and share your thoughts with your family.
If you decide to remember us in your Will, we would be grateful if you could let us know. Then we can thank you for your kindness and give you the opportunity to benefit from our Giving Hearts Programme.
If you would like to remain anonymous, we will make a note of that and absolutely respect your wishes.
Contact us
Everyone is different, and so are their circumstances, so it’s important that the gift in your Will is right for you. If you would like to discuss our Giving Hearts programme further or if you wish to consider leaving that special gift during your lifetime, please do not hesitate to contact us on Givinghearts@spca.nz or 04 245 0105.
Nicola Atkin
Donor Relations Specialist - Legacy
Email: givinghearts@spca.nz
Phone: 04 245 0105 or 021 598 313
If Nicola is unavailable you can contact our Supporter Care – Legacies Administrator, Louise Dilly on 09 256 7300 (ext. 8807)
Lisa Scott
National Legacy Administrator & Legal Advisor
Please contact Lisa if you are a Lawyer or Trustee
Email: legacy@spca.nz
Phone: 021 0249 4893
If Lisa is unavailable you can contact our Supporter Care – Legacies Administrator, Louise Dilly on 09 256 7300 (ext. 8807)