Charity Legacy Wills
£3.4 billion annually or 16% of all fundraised income, legacies have become a fundamental part of the UK giving landscape.
Almost 65% of UK charities identify legacies as a top fundraising priority, with over a third say it brings in more than 30% of their annual voluntary income. The average return on investment from legacy fundraising is 40:1.
The substantial uplift in demand for Will-writing coupled with the scale of inheritance due to be passed on from the baby boomer generation is bringing significant longer-term growth for legacies. Charitable bequests are expected to grow by 23% in the next decade with legacy income set to double by 2050.
100 people a day write a charity into their Will and 2020 was forecast to be a record year for Will-writing. Legacy giving can offer arguably the best return of any fundraising channel.
Enabling your charity to plan ahead and ensure a sustainable future, the longer-term nature of legacy income is seen as an asset within any fundraising portfolio. The largest intergenerational transfer of wealth will see around £5.5 trillion passed down from baby boomers to the next generation between now and 2055 the biggest wealth transfer in history, offering significant potential for legacy giving.
How legacies help charities survive uncertainty
A significant reliable income stream with potential for a significant and sizeable income stream, legacy income can any charity manage cash flow and make it through periods of instability where more immediate income streams may fail. Longer-term income streams enable your charity to budget for the future and plan ahead, bolstering reserves to ensure the longer-term vision can be met.
Taken from: legacyresiliencereport_2020
10 Legacy Myths
You don’t need to ask
Legacies will come.
As with all forms of fundraising, it’s the relationship and the ask that inspires the gift.
Talking legacies is just for fundraisers
Legacies need whole organisation support; it’s everyone’s job.
Legacies are only for the biggest charities
More than 10,000 charities benefit from legacies each year.
It’s only of interest to older people
Legacies tend to be written into people’s Wills from their late 40s onwards
Leaving a legacy means people won’t give to you in their lifetime
Research indicates that lifetime giving actually increases for legators
Legacies take decades to come through
The latest data shows that 20% of charitable Wills going through probate were written just 2 years prior to death.
We can’t reach older legators through digital channels
More than 8 in 10 people aged 65-74 are active on social media9
Once a charity is in a Will, it will stay there forever
People do change their Wills. On average, only 50% of pledgers ultimately leave a gift.
You can’t predict the return on investment for legacy income
Legacy returns vary from one organisation to another depending on a range of factors, the survey reported returns of between
10:1 to 50:110
The main role of legacy fundraising is to persuade people to write Wills
Most legators already have a Will,
it’s about inspiring them to remember
your charity within their Will.
CreateWills Offering
To provide either our fully compliant Sterling Conventional UK Will or our unique Al Yusra Islamic Will.
Every Will is checked by our legal team and covered by SRA & SWW with over £2 million of liability coverage. Then printed bound and posted to a UK address.
CreateWills provide a client portal with full real-time reporting features
Each charity is given a unique link that when a charity partner uses the link the charity is automatically added as a beneficiary. Allowing for the option to leave a legacy gift of either:
A RESIDUARY LEGACY (a percentage of the legator’s estate)
A PECUNIARY LEGACY (a fixed sum the platform will allow the option)
Createwills have a range of flexible payment options for charities to allow for adequate cash flow in these testing times.
For more information on how Createwills can partner with you to offer legacy gifting for zero commitment.
Use our contact form and a member of our team will contact you to discuss the options.
