Gifts in Wills
Legacy Beyond the Lab - A kinder future for people & animals
Legacy Beyond the Lab is Animal‑Free Science Advocacy’s program for supporters who choose to leave a gift in their Will. A bequest is one of the most powerful ways to help create a future where scientific progress no longer relies on animals. Your legacy ensures your values live on and continues the work to end animal experimentation in Australia.
As a charity with no government funding, AFSA relies entirely on donations. Gifts in Wills are essential to sustaining our advocacy, expanding our research, and strengthening national campaigns that protect animals and advance modern, ethical science.
When your arrangements for family and friends are settled, you may wish to consider leaving a gift to AFSA through Legacy Beyond the Lab. Whether made in honour of a special person or animal, or simply as an expression of your values, your legacy will have a lasting impact.
Why leave a gift in your Will?
A bequest to AFSA helps:
- strengthen public scrutiny of animal research
- develop resources on the risks of relying on animal‑based data
- promote ethical, scientifically‑valid research methods
- advance campaigns to end primate research and increase transparency
Every future gift, no matter the size, helps build a kinder, more innovative future for animals and humans.
How to include AFSA in your will
After providing for your loved ones, use the following wording in your will to leave a gift for AFSA:
“I give, free of all duties and taxes, ……% of the residue of my estate / the sum of …… dollars to Animal-Free Science Advocacy Inc (ABN 17 208 630 818), after the payment of all my just debts, funeral and testamentary expenses, for the general purposes of Animal-Free Science Advocacy. An authorised receipt from Animal-Free Science Advocacy will be a sufficient discharge for the executor(s) or trustee.”
We recommend speaking with a solicitor when writing your will.
Free Will Writing
AFSA has partnered with EveryWill, a leading Australian online Will‑writing platform, to offer supporters a free, legally‑binding Will with unlimited updates for life.
This service makes it simple to create or update your Will from home, at your own pace.
In Lieu of Flowers
Many families choose to honour their loved one by supporting a cause close to their heart. AFSA gratefully accepts donations in lieu of flowers at funerals.
If you are considering donations to other organisations, the Humane Charities List can help ensure your loved one’s memory is honoured without supporting animal experimentation.
Why supporters choose Legacy Beyond the Lab
"I hope that by leaving a bequest in my Will to Animal-Free Science Advocacy, I am ensuring their existence into the future. While I would like to think that animals will no longer be used in research, this is my way of supporting this cause that is so close to my heart."
"I would urge all animal lovers to consider supporting Animal-Free Science Advocacy and to consider a gift in their Will so they are able to raise public awareness and continue to expand their inspiring work towards phasing out unnecessary and cruel experiments on animals."
"Anyone who knows me understands that my love for animals and the natural environment is strong. For this reason, I ask friends, family and acquaintances to donate to charities that will benefit animals and/or the environment somehow. However, I need to lead by example and naturally, I donate money whenever and wherever I can to these causes. As the truth about the use of animals in research is extremely important to me, I have left a gift for Animal-Free Science Advocacy in my will and will be asking all friends and family left behind, to donate to Animal-Free Science Advocacy in lieu of flowers or any other form of expression of grief."
"If you are leaving a gift to an organisation that produces suffering in animals, for the ultimate good of humans, it makes no logical sense to me. Why not give a gift to a charity that doesn’t cause any suffering at all? It may produce the same good that you were hoping for, but in the process also doesn’t produce suffering to anyone—animals or humans."
"I am especially pleased to support Animal-Free Science Advocacy because when I was a school student 60 years ago I was horrified that frogs and rats were dissected in our science classes. The boys were tasked with catching the unfortunate creatures. I still remember the horror of a frog who had each of his four legs pinned down with drawing pins on a board and who was supposedly anaesthetised with chloroform. The memory of that poor frog waking up and trying to lift his legs one by one remains with me to this day. I rescued as many of the collected frogs as I could. To think schools are still allowing students to conduct such ‘experiments’ all these years later is horrifying, because it achieves no purpose. So I am grateful Animal-Free Science Advocacy is encouraging schools to end these sorts of cruel acts. Animal-Free Science Advocacy has a terrific website with the latest information on alternatives to using animals for testing. When next updating my will, I will be certain to include Animal-Free Science Advocacy as a beneficiary."
"A lot of the research that goes on with animals is not transferable to humans. Not only is that pain and suffering going on, but billions of dollars are being wasted every single year on something that's useless."
A message from our CEO, Rachel Smith
Every bequest is an act of hope. It reflects a belief in a kinder future and helps ensure our work continues long into the years ahead. If you decide to include AFSA in your Will, please let us know. We would love to thank you, keep you updated on our progress, and share how your future gift will help get animals out of laboratories.
We're here to help
Thank you for considering the plight of animals in laboratories in your Will. If you have any questions about arranging a bequest for AFSA, please do not hesitate to contact us.
We are profoundly grateful when someone chooses to leave a gift to AFSA in their Will, and we regard this trust as a privilege. When given consent, we acknowledge Legacy Beyond the Lab supporters in our end‑of‑year communication to honour their future contribution.
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