Leave a Legacy
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Including Brasenose in your Will is a simple and meaningful way to make a lasting difference to the College and its students. Every legacy is carefully invested to support scholarships, student opportunities and College buildings, helping Brasenose continue to thrive as a centre of world-class learning for future generations.
Discussing Your Legacy
We would be delighted to discuss your plans confidentially and without obligation, please email us at donations@bnc.ox.ac.uk or call 01865 287275. If you have already made, or plan to make, a provision for Brasenose, we would be grateful to hear from you.
We are also happy to work with you if you wish your gift to support a particular area of the College. Our aim is to honour your intentions while ensuring your legacy has the greatest possible impact.
Tax and your Will
Many donors also find that leaving a gift in their Will can provide relief from Inheritance Tax, though this varies by country, so we recommend consulting a qualified financial advisor.
Types of Legacy Gifts
There are several ways to include Brasenose College in your Will. The following definitions explain the different types of legacy gifts, helping you decide which option best reflects your wishes and intentions.
This type of gift is all or part of the value of your estate, after debts, other legacies and liabilities have been met. The benefit of this type of legacy to a charity like us is that it automatically increases with the value of the estate and keeps up with inflation. If you decide to make a residuary legacy in your Will, please use, or advise your solicitor to use, the following wording: “I give to the Principal and Scholars of the King’s Hall and College of Brasenose in Oxford the whole (or a percentage share) of the residue of my estate to be used for the general purposes of the College. The receipt of the Bursar of the Collage shall be a good discharge of the Executors.”
A pecuniary legacy specifies a sum of money. Whilst the value of this gift can be depleted over time due to inflation, you can arrange your legacy to be linked to Retail Price Index. It is best to discuss this wording with your solicitor should you decide to go down this route.
If you decide to make a pecuniary legacy in your Will, please use, or advise your solicitor to use, the following wording:
“I give to the Principal and Scholars of the King’s Hall and College of Brasenose in Oxford the sum of £ __________(in figures and words) to be used for the general purposes of the College. The receipt of the Bursar of the Collage shall be a good discharge of the Executors”
This type of legacy has the advantage of providing for your family first and then giving to the College. So, when the original beneficiary dies, the gift in your Will reverts to Brasenose. Your solicitor or legal advisor will be able to provide you with wording for this form of legacy.
Legacies can also take the form of a non-cash related gift of value such as property, jewellery, books, works of art or stocks and shares. The wording for this type of gift can be the same as a pecuniary legacy but the exact gift is specified instead of the cash sum.
Specific legacies of all types are gratefully received. Sometimes the items may be kept by the College and sometimes (unless you specify otherwise) the College may sell the asset to release the monetary value of the gift.
The Alexander Nowell Circle
The Alexander Nowell Circle celebrates alumni and friends who have chosen to support Brasenose through a gift in their Will. Every legacy, no matter the size, helps safeguard the College’s future and reinforces its role as a place of academic excellence for generations to come. Membership of the Circle is our way of expressing gratitude and recognising the lasting impact of these thoughtful commitments.
Forget not the College of Brasen-nose, where we were brought upp in our youth; and yf yow wolde procure any thyge to continue, with my money, yow shall doe it beste and moste surely in the Quenes name, whose poor officer I have bene
– Robert Nowell, as recorded by his brother, Alexander, in 1596
