Leave the gift of sight in your will

By leaving a gift in your will to Sightsavers, you can help protect sight, prevent avoidable blindness and create opportunities for generations to come.

Gifts in wills, known as legacy gifts at Sightsavers, have enabled us to transform millions of lives for the past 75 years. Together, we can do even more.

On this page

Learn how a gift in your will can have a huge impact
Download our free guide
Ten-year-old Mary from Malawi after cataract surgery. © Jason J Mulikita

On this page

Your legacy can live on through your will

The lives you’ve touched and the causes you’ve cared about during your life can continue to make a difference for years to come. After providing for your loved ones, leaving a tax-efficient gift in your will is a meaningful way to support a future you believe in.

By remembering Sightsavers in your will, you’ll help prevent avoidable blindness, support inclusive education and strengthen communities for generations to come.

Have you seen our TV ad? Watch our video to learn more about the impact of leaving a gift to Sightsavers in your will.

Our free legacy guide includes:

  • Practical steps to writing a will or updating it if you already have one
  • Answers to common questions about legacy giving and wills
  • Information on the different types of gifts you can leave
  • Guidance on inheritance tax
  • How a legacy gift could help Sightsavers change lives around the world

Luyando smiles as a health worker removes a bandage from her eyes. She's wearing a blue hospital gown.

Imagine a future where you play a part in saving the sight of hundreds of children, or help an entire community to no longer live in fear from blinding disease.

By leaving a gift in your will, you can help build a brighter future where more people are protected from avoidable sight loss.

Luyando smiles as a health worker removes a bandage from her eyes. She's wearing a blue hospital gown.

How a gift in your will can make a difference

A girl with her hair in pigtails tilts her head towards an open book. She is sitting at a desk in a classroom.

Your gift could fund surgery to stop children losing their sight

Thanks to funding from legacies like yours, children such as seven-year-old Luyando can have vital eye surgery. Without treatment, cataracts could so easily have stolen his sight.
Read Luyando’s story

Eye surgeon Samson Lokele inspects a patient before her eye surgery.

Your gift could train staff to treat people for blinding eye conditions

With your help, we could train more eye specialists such as Samson, who travels to remote communities in Kenya to treat patients who have no way to get to hospital.
Read Samson’s story

Student Sallay, who has a growth on her left hand, sits with two female friends around a desk. One of the girls is holding Sallay's right hand. They're all wearing school uniform.

Your gift could enable education for children with disabilities

Your legacy could fund work like our inclusive education project in Sierra Leone, which made schools more inclusive and accessible, especially for girls and children with disabilities.
Read about the project

1 / 3

Why leave a gift to Sightsavers in your will?

Since 1950, Sightsavers has worked to prevent avoidable blindness, tackle debilitating diseases, promote equality and create opportunities for people with disabilities. 

With the support of our partners, we’ve helped to restore the sight of more than 9 million people through cataract operations and have distributed more than 2 billion treatments to protect people from diseases that can cause blindness and disability.

For more than 75 years, supporters like you have helped make this possible. Today, gifts left in wills are helping ensure this life-changing work continues by: 

  • Protecting people from sight-threatening diseases 
  • Supporting eye health services in underserved communities 
  • Improving access to education for children with disabilities 
  • Advocating for a more equal and inclusive world 

By leaving a gift in your will, your support could help protect sight, promote equality and transform lives for generations to come.

A black and white image of children having their eyes checked, in front of a van labelled Mobile Eye Unit.

You may not know much about Sightsavers’ history, but you’ll be amazed at what you’ve helped us to achieve in the past 75 years. See what we do

A black and white image of children having their eyes checked, in front of a van labelled Mobile Eye Unit.

Malawi, 1965: local children have their eyes checked as part of our outreach work in the country.

Frequently asked questions

Leaving a will can make a difficult time that much easier.

Finalising the affairs of someone who has passed away without a will causes delays and complications. During this time, your loved ones will be unable to access the money you intended for them, and legal costs could reduce the value of your estate.

Making a will also enables you to leave a gift to other causes or charities such as Sightsavers.

The cost of a straightforward will is often less than £200. This is money well spent to ensure your wishes are followed and your loved ones are looked after.

Sightsavers has partnered with will writing service Farewill to enable you to make a will for less: read about will writing services.

You’ll also need to keep your will up to date as your circumstances and family can change over the years. Minor additions can be made using a document called a codicil, and this is also an easy way to leave a legacy gift to a charity. You can download our codicil form (PDF) to make a bequest to Sightsavers.

Once you have calculated your estate, you can draw up a list of people you wish to benefit and in what way.

At this point, you may also consider leaving Sightsavers a share of the assets that are left over – your residuary estate. A residuary gift is by far the most effective way of remembering us in your will, as the value tends to adjust in line with inflation, meaning we receive the level of support you intended.

Absolutely. Most supporters choose to provide for family and loved ones before leaving a gift to charity.

Yes. Your will can usually be updated if your circumstances or wishes change. 

Contact us for more on leaving a life-changing gift

Christopher smiles whilst looking at his daughter, Shamim after her cataract operation. Shamin is looking up at her father's face smiling.
© Sightsavers/Thoko Chikondi

We know writing a will is a big decision, so please do get in touch if you have any questions – we’d love to hear from you.

Email [email protected]