A new report has highlighted a recent growth of legacy donations to arts charities, outpacing an increase elsewhere in the sector.
The Art of Legacies, published by Remember A Charity, includes data from consultancy Legacy Foresight, which listed 34 arts, culture and heritage organisations in its top 1,000 charities for legacy income in 2022-23.
It says that in 2022-23, these charities received £30m in legacy income, which has grown by an average of 10% per annum in the last 10 years.
The report says that the average growth for legacy income in the arts is nearly twice as much as the 5% annual growth seen by the top 1,000 charities overall.
However, it notes that there are “peaks and troughs in legacies with some years bringing unusually large gifts”.
Kathryn Horsley, senior consultant at Legacy Foresight, said: “The fast growth of the arts, culture and heritage sector over the past 10 years reflects a trend we have seen across the whole sector – a shift from people leaving gifts to the largest well-established charities towards smaller, niche and often local charities.
“We would expect this trend to continue in the future, as the boomer generation seek out charities that they have a personal and emotional connection with, and this is something charities in the arts sector can take advantage of.”
‘People don’t realise arts organisations are charities’
The report features case studies on arts centres, galleries, museums and dance and music charities and offers advice to charities on how to create a successful legacy fundraising strategy.
“It takes time to build a flow of legacy income, but an established legacy fundraising programme can secure a charity’s future, building a resilient foundation on which to plan and build,” the report reads.
“This has become even more essential in recent years of uncertainty, with arts organisations facing cuts in funding, the pandemic limiting a wide range of income generation activity, and the rising cost of living making fundraising all the more challenging.”
Speaking at a webinar launching the report last week, Emma McCormack, head of legacy giving at V&A, said: “Something I often hear is that people don’t realise that arts organisations are charities, and therefore don’t think of them when writing their will.
“If, together, we can all work towards promoting the message that arts, culture and heritage organisations are indeed charities that need and value gifts in wills, then collectively, we will all benefit. Because all boats rise with the tide.”
Remember A Charity chair Anaish Yilma-Parmar said: “We know that arts, culture and heritage organisations have a really special place in people’s hearts.
“They’re loved in life, and they can be loved and supported in death too. There’s a huge opportunity here for us as organisations to inspire people to support us in this way, building that long-term sustainable income for the impact that we all deliver every day.”
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