Leave a Legacy

Through its library and collections, publications, meetings, website, education programmes, medals, awards and grants, the Linnean Society of London seeks a world where nature is understood, valued, and protected. Will you help us?

Please consider leaving a gift to the Linnean Society in your will. In the UK, only one in three people makes a will, of which only one in eight leaves a legacy to charity. Leaving a legacy is one of the best ways to support work that you care about and ensure that it continues. Any gifts you leave to charity will be free of inheritance tax, and could help mitigate your inheritance tax liability overall.

Your legacy could be given to the Society as a single “lump-sum” specified within your will, or as a proportion of your estate, or as stocks and shares, or as property or as a gift in memory of a family member, friend or colleague. Potential donors should seek professional advice when undertaking inheritance planning.

Professor Irene Manton left a legacy with the wish that some of her money be used to provide an annual prize for the best PhD thesis in Botany

"I'm leaving a legacy to the Linnean Society because I know I can trust them to use it sensibly for things that I consider important and worthwhile."Ro Lowe-McConnell FLS

"My husband, Dr John Marsden was Executive Secretary of the Linnean Society from 1989-2004. I am so pleased that his passion for the Society and his desire to promote scientific diversity and debate lives on in a fund supported by a gift from his estate." Hazel Marsden

"The Linnean Society has an illustrious history and an international reputation for engaging with a wide range of scientific issues, not least taxonomy, which underpins so much of our biological knowledge. A legacy to the Linnean Society will help them develop this work and offer opportunities for many more people to learn and discover more about the natural world." Sir David Attenborough Hon FLS

If you are interested in leaving a legacy to the Linnean Society, or wish to add the Society as a beneficiary to an existing will, please contact us. We can provide a form of words. If you have already made provision for a gift to the Society in your will, we are most grateful. If such a provision exists, please remember to inform the Society so we can ensure our records are accurate.

Any legacy, however small, is very gratefully received, and will help the Society and its work.

For more information, or to discuss any aspect of your gift, please email our Head of Finance or call +44 (0)20 7434 4479 Ext. 220.