The Fryer Library at the University of Queensland is one of Australia's most prestigious academic resources, containing hundreds of thousands of volumes of publications, manuscripts, rare books and research theses.

It is visited by hundreds of researchers and students from around the world each year and is an iconic institution in the study and promotion of Australian literature.

A library of its size and reputation is worth millions, but the building and the collection it holds was started with just a five-pound bequest back in 1927.

The bequest, made to UQ by the Student Dramatic Society to honour its late vice-president Jack Fryer, was last month on a list of the 50 bequests that helped build Australia and highlights the ongoing impact a bequest can make to any organisation.

That small gift of five pounds has over 87 years helped thousands of students, academics, researchers and lifelong learners and continues to provide a source of inspiration.

Bequests used to be something associated with eccentric old spinsters or grumpy, antisocial bachelors who left their million-dollar estates and all their worldly goods to obscure charities that looked after abandoned cats.

However, according to a study completed in 2013, more Australians are leaving gifts in their wills to charities and not-for-profit organisations and bequests are becoming one of the major resources of groups and institutions that rely on donations to operate.

James Isabella, principal with Williamson Isabella Lawyers in Wollongong, said there had been a creeping trend of people donating to charities in their wills over the past few years.

"Generally when people leave a bequest to a charity or organisation, it is usually because of a personal connection like cancer, guide dogs or multiple sclerosis," he said.

"Bequests can be from $100 to half an estate. Those with no children often leave it all to charity, or like one bequest I had that left $1000 to 15 different charities.

"Some people see what they have left over after allocating everything and then bequest the remainder to a charity. It is usually older people that are now making bequests. Younger people are more concerned about making sure their partners or children are looked after and often when they're younger it is not the right time to donate to a charity."

Not-for-profits have recognised the value of bequests in planning for the future. A few years ago the group Include A Charity, which was at the time compromised of four charities - the Heart Foundation, Cancer Council, Mission Australia and the Red Cross - came up with the strategy to encourage supporters to think about leaving a bequest in their wills.

Include a Charity, which now has 140 member organisations, found that while 70 per cent of Australians support a charity in their lifetime, only 19 per cent of people currently consider making a charitable bequest, and just 12.5 per cent of people actually do.

Include a Charity Director Jo-Anne Reeves said: "Gifts left to charities in wills are made from people in all walks of life, not just the wealthy. Even a modest gift can be life-changing for someone in need. And when you choose to leave a gift in your will, it benefits the whole community."

Ian Williamson, National Bequest Manager for Red Cross, was part of that initial campaign to raise awareness about bequests and in nine years with Red Cross, he has seen a change in the way people now see bequests.

"We piloted that message with the aim of trying to raise the level of awareness and so that the community would consider leaving a gift in their will for charity," he said.

"In a couple of years, we have seen there is a definite trend of increased bequeath awareness.

"A couple of years ago the Red Cross won an award for excellence for fund-raising for its Wills For Life campaign. We have been at the forefront of changing people's perception and making them more aware of how bequests can make an ongoing impact.

"Twenty per cent of our fund-raising income now comes from bequests, but we need to drive that to 30 per cent for us to be able to deliver the services that people expect of us.

"Bequests are the most cost-effective fund-raising tool that every organisation can use, from universities to hospitals, and charities across the board."

Charity burnout is becoming an increasing problem among fund-raisers as large and small not-for-profits vie for the ever-shrinking disposable income, which is why bequests can help in planning for future events and activities especially if they are made in perpetuity.

A bequest made to Wollongong University by Winifred Bullot Smith in 2011 provides $5000-a-year scholarships to two nursing graduates for the second and third year of their studies.

The bequest of $400,000 that Smith made to the university was only part of her estate but its ongoing benefit will be felt for decades to come, said Monique Harper-Richardson, the director of advancement at the university.

"Bequests to higher education have been a long and proud tradition for Wollongong University - the university was built on community bequests.

"We have had two major bequests to the university since it was founded - the Janet Cosh Herbarium and Winifred Bullot Smith's bequest for nursing. This bequest has helped train more nurses who then have an impact on the wider community. The act of generosity has a huge ripple effect.

"The Winifred Bullot Smith bequest is also an example of how a bequest can transform a region or area. Winifred was the head of the nursing program when it came to the university and now every year, her scholarship is able to support nursing students who then go out to help hundreds of lives in our community. That's why it is called a legacy."

Not all bequests have to be in the form of money, though. The Janet Cosh Herbarium is one example of this, as is the donations of books that Lifeline receives for its annual, and now much anticipated Giant Book Fair.

Grahame Gould, director of Lifeline South Coast, said that although the organisation doesn't get many monetary bequests, it does get a lot of bequests of books which are turned into financial support during the book fair.

"We have had a few bequests in the past, and people are taking more interest in finding out how they can make bequests," Gould said.

"We have had one substantial bequest of about $50,000 but we rely more on donations at the moment and what we make from our Book Fair, which gets a lot of support. People like coming to the book fair and buying from us because we are Lifeline. In that way donations of books are like a bequest.

"When we ran out of books at a recent Book Fair, we called for more donations and we received 30,000 extra books. We also often get calls from families who have had loved ones that have passed and have had a significant study which may have up to 1000-2000 books on a particular subject and that's what people come to our Book Fair looking for. So although it may not be cash, the bequest of these books is just as important."

Williamson said most people make bequests to organisations with whom they have personal link or with whom they have made a "journey".

"Often times it is a wonderful journey as well. We get stories from people who have witnessed philanthropy in their own lifetime and want to do the same. It's not the charity or organisation to whom the bequestor is making the gift - it is for what that gift can provide to others.

''I believe there is a shift happening in Australia where people are saying they don't need to leave all their money to their kids any more. Bequests don't have to be big - there are the sweet little fish and those little fish all join together to make a huge difference to charities and not-for-profit organisations."