Leave a lasting legacy

As New Zealand's largest charity supporting the Armed Forces community, support is at the heart of everything we do. The generous gifts left to us in wills help us to improve the lives of current and former serving personnel and their families.

If you have any questions about leaving a gift in your will, please contact us: bequests@rsa.org.nz or 04 894 9187. We are happy to help, including arranging a home visit if required.

If you have already chosen to leave us a gift in your will, we would love the opportunity to thank you for thinking of us, so please get in touch. We treat this information in complete confidence.  

How to make a bequest to RNZRSA 

Contact us 

While you don’t have to ask us to leave a bequest, we can help with the process.  We are also happy to meet or call you for a confidential, no-obligation chat about how your bequest can make a difference. We can discuss how your generosity will allow us to continue our work supporting New Zealand's veterans of military service and their whānau.

Speak with your lawyer/trust company 

Making a Will can help your family deal with a difficult time so we think everyone should make a Will.  Speak to your lawyer, the Public Trust or another trust company about making a Will, or changing your existing Will to include a bequest to RNZRSA as a charity you want to support. 

Decide whether to tell your family and friends 

While you do not have to consult anyone about how you want to arrange your affairs, speaking to your family and friends about your decisions might help them give effect to your charitable goals.  

It is up to you whether you tell us. We know this is a very private matter, but we would like the opportunity to thank you and talk with you about how your money might be used.  

Bequests FAQs 

Why should I leave a charitable gift to the RNZRSA? 

We change lives every day and can only do this through our benefactor's generosity. We have limited funding, and the more donations we receive the more we can help veterans, current serving personnel and their families.

How do I make a gift in my will?

See your lawyer, the Public Trust, a trustee company, your local Community Law Centre who can advise you how to do this. 

 There are various options.  You can make:

• A residual gift – once you have looked after your family and friends, you can leave the residual of the estate to the RNZRSA. 
• A percentage –you may choose to gift all or a percentage of your estate to the RNZRSA. This way if the value of your assets increases or decreases, so does your gift. 
• A specific gift – you decide a specific gift, this could be a set amount of money, shares, real estate or such other assets as you choose. 

Possible wording for a bequest is:

To give [set out the amount/nature of the gift] free from all charges and duties to the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services Association Inc, incorporated society number 215442 howsoever called now or in the future (hereafter called “RNZRSA”) or its successor to use for the welfare of those who serve or have served in New Zealand’s Armed Forces, whether as part of the Defence Force or earlier, and/or their families or any of them in need. 

A receipt from the Chief Executive or such other duly authorised officer of RNZRSA shall be full and sufficient discharge to my trustees for all property given under this gift and my trustees shall not be bound to see to the application of the gift.

This wording might not be suitable in all circumstances and we encourage you to seek advice from a lawyer, the Public Trust, a trustee company, your local Community Law Centre before creating or making changes to your Will to include such a bequest.

RNZRSA’s Charity Services registration number is CC20275.

Don't have a lawyer or a will?  

The Law Society has a list of lawyers in your area who will be able to help. Search for lawyers in your area here.

Alternatively you can contact your local Community Law Centre, the Public Trust,  Perpetual Guardian or another trust company.

Do you need to tell RNZRSA about your bequest? 

That’s your decision. However, should you decide to discuss your gift, rest assured we will treat this with the strictest of confidence.  We would like the opportunity to recognise your generosity, to thank you, and discuss how we would see your gift being used in the future. 

Can I direct how I want my bequest to be spent? 

Yes, it is entirely up to you. 

The only restriction is that it must be something we can actually do.  The fluid nature of our organisation means that requests for support from veterans can be very random and unplanned.

Sometimes we won't know the level of support needed until we hear from the veteran or their family member. 

By not directing how your gift is spent, it allows us the ability to be able to manage and direct your money appropriately. Rest assured, your money will be used wisely and will directly support someone in need.  

 Questions? 

Feel free to contact our team: bequests@rsa.org.nz or 04 894 9187