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?
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