Legacies Bucking the Trend

The striking feature for me of the Charity Market Monitor report, published this month, was that legacy income for the top 300 fundraising charities grew by 8%, which was well above the 0.9% overall income growth reported for these charities.

While these figures are based on analysis of the top 300 charities' accounts for 2007 and 2008 by the Cass Business School (i.e. pre-recession), they still have a relevant massage in today's changed world - that legacies are different and do not directly follow the path of other fundraising techniques.

OK, so this year's legacy values may be affected by lower house prices and a fallen stock market, but even here we read today that house prices are growing again nationally (up 1.7% in July alone) and the FTSE is now nudging the psychologically important 5,000 threshold again - in other words, clear signs that legacy values will be soon back on the way up again.

Ultimately, of course, your legacy results are less reliant on fluctuations in the wider economy than are other forms of fundraising, because they do not depend on donors' current incomes. In fact, today's legacy results are driven far more by your marketing activity during the past 5 or 10 years than by how the high street or banking sectors are performing today.

The key learning point here then is that while you cannot control the economy (and therefore the values of donors' estates), you can control your own marketing efforts, which influence the volumes of legacies you receive. on the basis that results = volumes x average values.

So while the economy may fluctuate and legacy values go up and down in the short term, in the medium to longer term your legacy results depend far more on the way you market legacy giving. In other words, don't worry too much about the economy - just focus on what you can control and make sure you are getting your marketing right. Then your results will come.

Legacy Fundraising - Making it work for you

It's amazing how many UK charities could be raising significant funding from legacies but do not. Why is this? For some it may be not wanting to spend the time or money for others it may be just not knowing where to start.


To help charities like these, there is a very simple formula, which I call the 3 P's, consisting of:

• People


• Proposition


• Promotional channels

You can start by identifying the audiences or people that you will be targetting with your legacy message. List all the different groups (e.g. donors, members, beneficiaries, volunteers, trustees etc), then put numbers next to them. You'll probably be surprised just how many people you can reach!

Secondly, think carefully about the message or proposition you will use. Why should anyone leave a legacy to your cause? What is different or special about what you do? Try to come up with a compelling message which sums up the difference you could make with somebody's legacy. Then test this in a group which is representative of your target audiences.

Finally, you need to identify the ways you will get your message across. Chances are you already communicate with people in various ways (such as newsletter, website, displays, events etc). You don't need to reinvent the wheel and by integrating legacy messages into existing activities, you can save time and money on your campaign, although it will probably pay to develop some legacy specific materials.

So by following these three simple steps, most charities can make a start in legacy fundraising, without spending a fortune. It really can be a straightforward thing to do, so put it on your priority list today. It will be one of the best investments of time and money you will ever make for your organisation!