Leaving a legacy gift case study: Stuart Palmer
Thanks to its tireless efforts supporting the physics community and promoting physics, it was a no-brainer to include the IOP in my will – a gesture that will help it to continue its life-changing work.
When my wife and I were writing the latest versions of our wills we first and foremost wanted to ensure that our three children and seven grandsons (no granddaughters, sadly) were well provided for. We then discussed what to do with the 10-20% that remained. There were many worthy causes that we considered, including health-related charities, universities that we had links to and professional bodies that we were members of.
As a physicist and a member of the Institute of Physics (IOP) from my student days, the IOP was high on the list. There were three reasons for this.
Firstly, the IOP has been enormously helpful to my career at all its stages, via the conferences it organises, the networks it offers and the opportunities it provides to become involved in the promulgation of the subject. Secondly, the IOP is so supportive of the physics community and the Bell Burnell Graduate Scholarship Fund is an excellent example. Thirdly, the IOP plays an important role nationally and internationally in lobbying and arguing for the future of physics and educating the general public about the importance of physics.
It was therefore a ‘no-brainer’ to include a bequest to the IOP in our wills. At the moment it has no strings attached and the IOP can use it as it sees fit. However the time might come when we want to direct the bequest in a particular direction.
As a former IOP honorary secretary, I played a role in the IOP’s move to its new freehold headquarters in central London, which provides it with a permanent home, and my bequest will play a small part in supporting the continuation of the IOP into the future.
Importance of legacies to the IOP
A gift in your will to the IOP is an excellent way to leave your own, lasting legacy. You will support lots more talented young people from underrepresented backgrounds in accessing an enjoyable physics education. Such gifts power the physics community of tomorrow in fulfilling its innovative potential – its unique capability to find the solutions we need to the most pressing global challenges.