The Gertie Freeman Society

In 1999 Bucks Mind benefited greatly from a substantial and quite unexpected bequest from a lady who had used our service in past years.

This bequest had two important effects. Firstly, it enabled us to pursue innovative service models that could not be funded from other sources. Secondly, it made us robust enough to carry the financial risks of accepting sizable contracts from the NHS and other statutory bodies. In summary, that bequest transformed the number of people we could help and the ways we could help them.

Following the recent arrival of a new Chair of Bucks Mind, we have reviewed our funding situation and have determined that increased fundraising is essential to our future plans. Without it we would be unable to continue to increase the number of people we help and the ways we help them, along the lines that Gertie Freeman's bequest made possible. One key strand of this new fundraising initiative will be to expand the number of legacies we can hope to receive in future years.

We have therefore formed the Gertie Freeman Society, of which the members are exclusively people who have included a bequest in their will or codicil or have given a firm undertaking to do so in the near future. We seek bequests of whatever size, and from supporters of any age. The aim is not to raise large sums tomorrow but, rather, to develop a gradually expanding flow of income over the course of the coming years.

This will make a major contribution to our providing a diverse range of services to meet the needs of our community into the future and give us the flexibility required to enable our charitable aims to be fulfilled sustainably.

• Patrick Phillips
• John Tyroll
• Anon
• Joanne Whitworth
• Anon
• Bronwen Davies
• Anon
• Anon
• John Newman
• Anon
• Derryn Sapsford
• Paul Proctor
• Nigel Lewis
• Rosemary Evans
• Nem Shah
• Mike Kershaw
• John Walker
• Greg Lovett