Legacy Fundraising

  • This year, around £1.8 billion will be left by donors in their wills to UK charitable causes.
  • Average legacies to charity are around £4,000 for cash sums and £30,000 for shares of estates.
  • With typical returns on investment of 50:1, legacy fundraising is probably the most cost effective way to raise money.

So are you making the most of this opportunity?

Legacy fundraising is a specialist area. We have particular experience of start up campaigns and working with small and medium sized charities to develop or renew their strategies. Over the years, we have worked with numerous charities to develop their legacy campaigns and can help you with:

  • Legacy strategy development
  • Identification of target audiences
  • Legacy focus group research
  • Campaign concept development
  • Drafting of legacy materials
  • Communications plan
  • Implementation Support
  • Training / mentoring
  • Monitoring and evaluation of campaigns
  • Using new media in legacy fundraising
  • Fresh thinking for existing campaigns

A good example of what can be achieved with legacies is the campaign we designed for Headway, the brain injury association. This campaign, which launched in Spring 2002 had raised £3 million by the end of 2009, at very low cost. Using a combination of communications channels, including legacy literature and the charity's website, the campaign featured some volunteer legacy pledgers who invited supporters to join them in leaving a gift to Headway in their will. This is a great example of the cost effectiveness of legacy fundraising. Could it work for your charity too?

Please call us today to see if we can help you with your legacy fundraising campaign. You can also follow our legacy fundraising blog.