A healthy future for cats
Leaving a gift to charity in your will is a final act of generosity which has a lasting impact.
With people living longer than ever before and many having to use their savings to pay for residential or nursing care, a bequest is a very welcome but not common contribution to FAB's funding.
This year we are fortunate to have been remembered by several generous benefactors, whose donations, totallying over £100,000 will be of enormous beenfit to us. Interestingly, many of these legacies have come from people who have not had any known links with FAB. They have not been members or attended any conference or events, but clearly they are cat lovers who have heard of and wish to support our work.
In several cases FAB has been left a share of a property and sometimes thic can take many months to materalise but just knowing that the charity is to benefit enables us to budget for future expenditure.
Losing a loved one is always distressing, however elderly or ill that person may have been, but knowing that their estate is being distributed in accordance with their wishes is one final act of friendship.
It is important that, if you plan to leave a gift to charity, you make your intentions absolutely plain. The easiest way of doing this is to draw up your will with a solicitor. Advice on leaving a legacy can be found here or in a leaflet which can be obtained from the FAB office by calling 0870 742 2278. If you wish to discuss any specific aspect of a legacy to FAB, Chief Executive Claire Bessant would be happy to hear from you.
Fundraising
Your membership of FAB plays a vital role in funding the work of the organisation but we are always looking for new ways to raise money. If you have any great ideas, we would be delighted to hear from you. Many people have asked us why we no longer produce a range of FAB branded gifts. There are a number of reasons - purchasing enough stock to make prices acceptable involves enormous capital outlay and requires storage space that we simply don't have. Processing orders and wrapping goods for despatch takes a huge amount of time and we don't have enough staff in the office to do this.
We have some low ley fundraising initiatives which have been ongoing for some time. These include the FAB pyramid-shaped cllection boxes, greeting cards, mog tags (still on sale in some veterinary pratices) and the pound coin tubes. Money also comes to FAB through website hits using Click Now, through the purchase of Petplan insurance policies, our FAB rose and publications like Essential Cattitude. In addition, donations are encouraged through our website and are now requested in exchange for providing answers to specific feline queries. And don't forget that committing to gift aid is one of the easiest ways to increase donations to FAB. If you are a taxpayer and sign the relevant documentation, FAB can claim from the government an additional 28 pence for every pound you give.
Providing information, working with vets to raise the standard of care for all our cats, improving cattery standards, bringing together experts in different areas, working with government and other charities, all costs a great deal and we need your help to continue with this work.
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