how we can help
a total marketing solution which will increase legacy income for your charity
  • Charities depend upon the generosity of the public for the majority of their income. Legacies can represent over half of a charity's income.
  • 67% of the population are regular lifetime supporters but do they have any objection to leaving a gift on death?
  • 70% of the population simply never get round to making a Will, this is probably why the percentage leaving money to charity is so low.
  • 13% of those Wills going to probate contain a legacy - this is a constant rather than an increasing percentage.

Comments from our research into why legacies are not growing:

"Legacies used to come from war widows and quite obviously these are now reducing in number. Perhaps we need to look for a new way to encourage a new generation of legators... the internet is the new way for a new generation."

"Legacies left in wills written years ago have not kept pace with inflation. Add to that the fact that equity portfolios and savings values are going the wrong way we are experiencing a dual attack on legacy values"

"I would welcome any new initiative that helped me to reduce the acquisition cost of a legacy without creating a cost burden on the testator"

"Recent national campaigns are trying to promote awareness but are they changing public behaviour and assisting supporters in making wills?"

"Whilst generic campaigns highlight the need for charitable giving, they do not specifically address the needs of individual charities and singularly fail to co-ordinate the action which will achieve the legacy - the making of the Will"

"We are concerned at being seen to 'sponsor' or 'recommend' any one will writer service but other charities do not seem so concerned. Perhaps we need to review our stance?"

"Our view is that will writing sits quite naturally with legacy marketing as it provides the means to fulfilling the desire prompted by that marketing - in commercial business terms it is simply providing a choice to the potential testator. Whether they use that service or not is entirely their own choice"

Many charities encourage legacy giving, but how many offer a cheap, easy and integrated solution to members, donors and supporters? Some may point the donor in the direction of a solicitor, or rarely an online will writer, but none offer a true bespoke branded solution attached to their website. Effective legacy marketing, in our opinion, needs to embrace the internet as a fully integrated marketing tool.

We accept that many charities have steered away from technology, believing that their supporters and donors in the main are not computer literate, or simply lack access to a computer. For this reason, we also offer our service by a more conventional route be that mail or telephone. In all cases customer service, and care, is the priority.

Legacy Marketing is focused on working in partnership with Legacy Officers and marketing teams to help them increase income to their charity. The biggest potential exists in tapping into the 70% of people who do not have a Will by creating an easy way for people to leave bequests. We also want to access the 30% who do have Wills by encouraging them to review their Wills upon the happening of a major "lifestyle" event or at least every three years. As this review service will automatically catch any new entrants we can start to build 'quantified' legacies allowing charities to 'track' their future income - online! We also recommend an indexation clause to protect the value of legacies.

LEGACY MARKETING COSTS YOU NOTHING AT OUTSET OTHER THAN A COMMITMENT TO HELP US AND ULTIMATELY YOUR CHARITY

MARKET WILLWIZARD TO PEOPLE WHO WANT TO HELP YOUR CHARITY - take a look at Marketing!