Firstly, welcome to the new-look Fundraising Magazine. Ahead of our 200th issue next month, we thought we would revamp the publication to aid readability and modernise the look and feel to better reflect the dynamism of the sector that it serves. We hope you like it.
To mark Remember A Charity Week this month, the cover feature revisits the topic of legacies, examining how some charities are integrating digital and social media initiatives as part of their overall gifts-in-wills strategies. Organisations such as RNLI, Greenpeace and Brooke are leading the way with innovative campaigns that are reaching new and younger audiences. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and emerging platforms can all offer a conduit to new donors – now and for the future. They can also help explode the taboos around talking about giving and death, as they can be used more irreverently and openly than other forms of marketing such as direct mail or print ads.
For too long, legacy programmes have focused on older generations with the assumption that people only think about leaving gifts as they contemplate their own mortality in old age. But events of the last few years and continued uncertainty around geopolitics and the environment have brought the fragility of life into sharp relief, and people are considering legacies earlier. Moreover, all generations are now tech-savvy and engaged in social media in some form or another, so it makes sense to connect with your audiences in that space as much for legacies as for other types of ask.
As with all fundraising activity, it is taking place in a crowded market with only a limited pool of donors. Your cause has to stand out, so legacy campaigning needs to be bold, creative and integrated to break through the noise and be heard. If fundraisers can plant the seeds of legacy gifts now, then they will reap the benefits later and help sustain income for their causes long into the future.
@stevejcotterill is the editor of Fundraising Magazine
Related articles
