The RAF family is made up of all those who are serving in the RAF, all those who have previously served, and their wives, husbands, partners, and dependants. Being part of a family means that there is always someone to turn to whenever you need a helping hand. That is where the RAF Benevolent Fund (RAFBF) comes in.
They have been here for nearly 100 years, looking after RAF personnel, past and present, and their families. They provide assistance with a wide range of issues, from childcare and relationship difficulties to injury and disability, and from financial hardship and debt to illness and bereavement.
Gifts from wills
In 2012 the Fund spent almost £22m supporting over 68,000 people, including elderly veterans – many of whom have complex and long-term care needs – as well as personnel injured serving in conflicts around the world today and their families. To continue to make sure that no member of the RAF family goes without the help they need – now or in the future – the Fund needs gifts from wills.
In 2013, the RAF Benevolent Fund received over £7m from generous gifts in people’s wills. On average, these gifts account for 70% of the voluntary income they receive every year, without which much of the work they do would simply not happen.
One in three people who turn to them for help owe the support they receive to the kindness of those who left the RAFBF a gift in their will.
Your generosity could strengthen their ability, as the leading RAF welfare charity, to provide help in times of trouble to all those who have given so much to their country. Supporting each other to come through life’s challenges is what family is all about. In the fullness of time, your gift could come to the rescue of a veteran in desperate need, someone who has been disabled in the line of duty, or a young family struggling to cope after the loss of a loved one.
Increasing in demand
An aging population, coupled with the tough economic climate, is placing unprecedented demands on the Fund’s welfare support. With local authorities facing cuts in funding, many elderly veterans are turning to the RAFBF for help with care-home fees and mobility support. Often they have nobody else to turn to.
Donations the RAFBF receive through gifts in wills enable them to continue helping veterans and serving RAF personnel. They ask that you please consider the RAF Benevolent Fund in your will.