Meet Madeleine...
How long have you worked at BibleLands?
Well, I’ve been here for 17 years full-time but I’ve been involved with Bible
Lands (working at home and part-time) for 25 years.
What does your role involve?
I’m the accounts administrator, and a big part of my role is looking after legacies.
What sort of things have people left as a legacy to BibleLands – anything unusual?
We’ve had loads of stuff left to us – jewellery, stamp albums, an entire estate – land, property, and shares, as well as the contents of the house – even down to what’s in the fridge!
The most common legacy we’re left is a residue (or percentage) of the estate, after family and friends have been provided for. Once, we received a proportion of an estate, seemingly made up of an entire village – the lady’s bungalow and a piece of land, plus the butchers, opticians, and dentist!
Why is it important for BibleLands to be left legacies?
Legacies go into our General Fund, which allows us to send money where it’s most needed. Legacies are a lasting gift – investing in children’s lives and their futures.
What difference can a legacy make to the work of BibleLands?
Every legacy we get in makes a difference. And having a ‘legacy pledge’ can help us to plan for future years, knowing that we’ll be getting money in for General Funds. BibleLands sees the needs different projects have, but sometimes we’re unable to help, due to insufficient extra funds. However, if we have money in the General Fund (for example, from a legacy) we are able to respond appropriately by giving money to the projects most in need of our help, and where we know the money will be spent wisely.
People who leave us a legacy are written in our Book of Remembrance, which is kept at our head office, as well as their name appearing in the annual review, and they are also remembered in our prayers at the annual service – we really appreciate everyone who gives so generously in this way, and want to acknowledge their contribution.
And finally, what’s the best thing about your job?
I think it’d probably be the unexpectedness of getting a cheque in from a legacy, and knowing it’ll be put to good use. It’s also nice to chat to people on the phone – rather than just sit in front of a computer! An example is a friend of someone who left us a legacy, who rang me to say we’d be getting money from a collection at the funeral service. We chatted about her friend and this lady decided that she would like to be kept updated with what we’re doing.
