Size and age of charity need not be a barrier

Fundraisers often equate success with legacies in part to the age, size and profile of the charity. In other words larger, older and well known charities tend to be well placed to raise legacy gifts.

However, I have recently been advising a small charity that is less than five years old, is certainly not a household name and has no supporter database, but which has already received a dozen legacies, including several large residuaries. So how have they achieved this?

The glib answer is more by luck than planning. In fact, until recently, they did not ask for legacies at all. They do not even have a legacy pack and have never run adverts or done legacy mailings - but the gifts still come in.

One thing the charity does have on its side is publicity. It is a benevolent fund and when support is given to someone in need, the local media often pick this up around the country and gifts seem to follow in part from these locations.

The secret I suspect is that the charity makes a very direct and visible difference to the lives of its beneficiaries and people respond well to this. Donors no doubt like the direct link between donated funds and individuals in need. They can imagine the difference the support will make. Maybe they also like the fact that the charity is small and uses volunteers and is therefore not "wasting" money on overblown administration. All these factors seem to combine to make a powerful case for legacies.

The really exciting thing is to imagine the potential when the charity starts to promote legacies effectively. My belief is they have the scope to increase legacy income significantly, just by putting in place some basic soft sell promotion and drip feed. Certainly the strategy we are developing will be aiming to do this, based on their strong case for support.

The key learning point for me is that even small and new charities can soon start to see legacies if they get their case right (even by accident!) and communicate it effectively.

Donor Recognition Pays

On holiday in Devon recently, I visited the Donkey Sanctuary, famous for its legacy income. Two things struck me. Firstly, entry was free – a great way to attract new donors from around the country. Secondly, on the walls around the site were huge boards naming their legacy donors, year by year.  They were unmissable and listed the many hundreds of people who have remembered this charity in their wills. So what can we learn from this?

The Donkey Sanctuary calls these boards its Memory Wall and, although it does not make a big play of it in its legacy promotion, it must be having an effect, as legacies account for over £18 million of its £27 million income.

This got me thinking again about how we thank and recognise our legacy donors. Charities do this in many different ways, from the traditional books of remembrance, to plaques on the wall, tree planting, lists in annual reports and, more recently, on their web pages.

What struck me at the Donkey Sanctuary was this very public form of recognition and how it no doubt also functions as a prompt to visitors to leave a legacy. So a combination of free entry, a good visitor experience and public recognition has been very effective in securing donations, including legacies, for this charity. No doubt there are other factors (strong case for support, effective communications programme etc), but this high profile recognition must be significant.

The question then is whether your charity is making the most of its opportunities to thank and recognise its special donors. You may not have any fluffy donkeys or even space for a memory wall, but maybe you have some other opportunities you to be developed? Maybe it is time to review this aspect of your legacy campaign and consider some imaginative ways of thanking and recognising donors?

Developing a Legacy Culture

Legacy marketing can be a bit "us" and "them" can't it? We the charity asking them the supporters for a donation. We use marketing techniques to overlay and crunch the data. We segment and target prospects that match the best profiles and have the greatest propensity to give. It can all seem a bit one way, impersonal and data driven. But there is a different way.

Some of the most effective legacy fundraising I have seen is based not so much on these techniques (although we cannot abandon them entirely), but on developing a strong legacy culture, in other words where leaving a legacy to a given cause is the normal, natural thing for supporters to do.

200 years agao, it was a very normal thing to leave a legacy to your local parish church. Look in many older church buildings and you will still see the plaques remembering these donors. They did it because it was expected and just "what you did". But we have got out of the habit, which is why charities invest so much in persuading people it is a good idea and why Remember a Charity has been seeking to normalise legacy giving again.

There are examples though of charities in recent years that have successfully established legacy giving as the norm, from trustees and major givers downwards. Take a look at the Acorns Childrens' Hospice campaign as a good example. This charity has massively increased its legacy income and also created a deep culture of legacies. The two are clearly connected. So what are the secrets to achieving this?

Firstly, leadership. From the top of the organisation it needs to be made clear that serious supporters are expected to leave a legacy. Trustees can take the lead here.

Secondly, openness. Successful legacy fundraising charities talk about legacies at every opportunity, in a natural and unforced way, whether this is in conversation, in literature, at events or on websites.

Thirdly, consistency. Legacies are not just promoted occasionally when the latest appeal is out of the way or fitted into a mailing schedule. Rather they are given priority and mentioned regularly, so that everyone in the community associated with the charity gets the message.

Fourthly, internal marketing supports the external. By making sure all your staff, trustees and volunteers "get" the importance of legacies, you are creating a large sales force of ambassadors that can extend its influence far beyond the reach of the fundraising team.

Creating a legacy culture is not a quick fix. It takes time and persistance, but for those charities that achieve it, the results are the holy grail of fundraising.