The Living Legacy Community are valued supporters who have kindly included a gift to ACF in their will. Thanks to the incredible foresight and generosity of Living Legacy Community members, gifts in wills have sustained and enabled the work of ACF for over 55 years.
From protecting nature to addressing the dangerous threats posed by climate change, everything we accomplish has been with the support and dedication of you, the ACF community of more than half a million people.
How to join
Step 1. Include a gift in your will to ACF
Step 2. Let us know
Every member of the Living Legacy Community will receive:
- An exclusive ACF pin
- Invitations to events and hear directly from ACF experts about critical issues, updates on our campaigns and initiatives
- A copy of our Annual Report
- A subscription to our bi-annual issue of Habitat magazine
- A place on our Legacies Living On page
Find out more about leaving a gift in your will to ACF.
Meet some of our Living Legacy Community members
ACF's Living Legacy Community recognises those who have decided to extend their giving after their lifetime. We thank everyone who has included a gift in their will to ACF ensuring a living legacy of a beautiful natural world.
Jenny Grundy
I can't describe how lucky I feel every day to live here beside nature. I can't imagine not having some sort of natural area in my backyard. It's great for the soul but there's also obviously science to it — we need fresh air, we need animals, and everything else that goes along with having access to nature. In the last seven years, I've seen the giant kelp on the Tasman Peninsula totally disappear, which is very devastating and a huge impact in that short time.
After the last election, I was disappointed that climate change did not factor in the results as I had expected. I decided it was time I needed to do more. It's important for the next generation to have access to nature, to recharge, to breathe, to relax, to get away. The reason I left a gift in my will to ACF is to support leaving this amazing nature for the future generations.
"It's important for the next generation to have access to nature, to recharge, to to breathe, to relax, to get away."
Doreen and Graham Burge
Our generation has had the best of a lot of things. Growing up with this sort of bushland around us, gave us a real love of nature from a young age. We used to walk along the river and swim down at Pound Bend. This sort of surrounding is very special for future generations. We've been extraordinarily lucky to have it and now, we feel it is under threat.
Climate change is happening very rapidly and we have come to realise we don't have very much time. We should all be doing whatever we can to protect this type of environment, for generations to come. Leaving a gift to ACF is very important. We as individuals can do so much, but ACF can do so much more. We know ACF has a long history of working towards saving places like this and looking after the environment. And to be able to provide something at the end of our lives to hopefully continue that work is very important.
"Leaving a gift to ACF is very important. We as individuals can do so much, but ACF can do so much more."
Helen Fischer
My go to place in nature is the local beach for a swim or a walk along the rocks to see the little animals in the rock pools or to look out over the water. I've been lucky enough to see some very beautiful, natural environments and I would like future generations, including my daughter and other family members, to have the opportunities I've had. There's a lot of work that needs to be done now more than ever with pressure on the environment, more people and more pollution.
My family's very happy that I've set everything out very clearly in my will. They know what I've asked for. And when the time comes, they know exactly what to do and how to do it. People don't need to be that wealthy to donate to causes when they pass away. It doesn't have to be a huge amount, every little bit helps because there's so much work that needs to be done out there. I trust ACF to use the money I've put aside in my will wherever it's needed in the future.
"I would like future generations, including my daughter and other family members, to have the opportunities I've had."
Hedley Thomson
From the age of around five, my family holidayed on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, so school holidays were spent exploring the beach, the sea, the foreshore, and taking in wonderful views from the bush hinterland. I started supporting ACF in the early 1970s as it was the pre-eminent national environmental organisation and one that was concerned with the care and management of the environment in its broadest sense.
As a town/land use planner, this broad, integrated view of nature and our relationship to it made sense to me. I now believe climate change is without any doubt our most critical environmental issue. I decided to leave a gift in my will to ACF because I believe it’s good to leave even a small contribution to the ongoing work and functioning of this very important organisation.
"I started supporting ACF in the early 1970s as it was the pre-eminent national environmental organisation and one that was concerned with the care and management of the environment in its broadest sense."
Laurel Tsang
I was born in Shanghai and arrived in Sydney in 1951 when I was 10. I was rescued from the surf almost immediately — my mother had no idea about surf or the rip at Maroubra. Still, I fell in love with the beach. In the 1960s we joined ACF. I decided to make ACF a beneficiary of my will decades ago and it's even more important now than ever. I am often reminded of how fragile natural beauty is and that it requires constant vigilance.
"I am often reminded of how fragile natural beauty is and that it requires constant vigilance."
Barbara Briggs
Over my career I have named 80 new species in several different plant groups and reclassified many others. Also, DNA data have revealed the evolutionary relationships of organisms with greater certainty and detail than I ever expected to see; it has been exciting to have a tiny part in that. Because my time and energy mostly went into my botanical work, I've been very glad that there are others more active in communicating and making public the need for conservation.
Seeing how ACF engages with politicians, communities and others to present the case for conservation and sustainability, I'm proud to be a member. A strong voice from ACF will continue to be needed into the future, so leaving a bequest will continue this support. The more we know about nature, the more we realise that we are part of it. All organisms are derived from a single origin of life, so that in preserving other living things, we are preserving our own extended family.
"Seeing how ACF engages with politicians, communities and others to present the case for conservation and sustainability, I'm proud to be a member."
Are you interested in becoming part of ACF's living legacy community? To speak with us personally about leaving a gift in your will, please contact us on 1800 223 669 or [email protected]