What’s unique and brilliant about the charity legacy community is its willingness to collaborate to inspire more people across the country to consider leaving a legacy. Through Remember A Charity and our collective mission, we are able to do what no charity can do alone: to grow the legacy market. And that’s never been more important.
Each year, Remember A Charity Week acts as a stepping stone to a wider conversation. It opens up the floor for people to explore leaving a legacy to the charity they support and understand the impact this could have for their favourite causes. It’s the one time of year when the public and our sector see hundreds of charities coming together with solicitors, will-writers and our growing network of partners to celebrate and promote the impact of legacies. This united, collaborative action allows us to truly engage with the public and champion powerful legacy messaging. While we work all year round to champion legacy giving, Remember A Charity Week is an opportunity to shine a spotlight on the importance of legacy giving and the massive positive impact this form of giving can bring.
Overcoming challenges
Legacy income was crucial during the pandemic but challenges are again on the horizon, with the cost-of-living crisis and inflation rates soaring to their highest levels in 40 years.
No one has a crystal ball to see what will happen throughout what’s predicted to be a tough time to come. But it’s important to remember the resilience of our sector, and the great difference that legacies can make for charities in their provision of services, advice and comfort to those in need.
Long-term funding through legacies is key in sustaining charities now and into the future, helping so many through times of crisis. If the sector can come together, to raise awareness of gifts in wills, we can make the necessary ripples for a huge change in behaviour.
A lasting impact
For over 20 years, we have worked with charities of all sizes, helping them to grow their legacy programmes in different ways. And Remember A Charity Week is the time we can all come together with a united voice. We provide campaign tools and resources for our members to utilise and make their own, talking about legacies in many different and unique ways, and all helping to inspire behaviour change and encourage legacies.
Today the campaign is a collective of almost 200 charities, each bringing their own voice to the legacy market. Many have been with us for well over a decade, and six founding members for more than twenty years – RSPCA, RNLI, RNIB, British Red Cross, NSPCC and Cancer Research UK. As legacy champions, they set out to grow the legacy market and they continue to play a key role in growing the legacy market.
Legacy income is a strong story of long-term growth, but it’s an increasingly competitive space. This makes it all the more important that we continue to collaborate together – and with the legal sector, government and other partners – to maximise our impact.
Will you?
This year’s ‘Will you?’ campaign from Remember A Charity highlights the essence of Remember A Charity Week. And of our mission to encourage conversations around legacy giving through collaborative action. The video shines a light on a wide range of causes, asking the audience: ‘Will you make a difference’ by remembering a charity in your will?
Watch the Will you? video here.
We’re also kicking off our year-round digital advertising campaign. The campaign theme, ‘tomorrow’s science today’, is based on iconic science programmes of the 70s and 80s, of which many baby boomers have fond memories. A series of films, teasers, GIFs and images will be promoted on social throughout the year, encouraging more of the will-writing public to visit the Remember A Charity website, featuring our 200 members.
Remember a Charity Week runs 05-11 September 2022. Find out more and take part at: www.rememberacharity.org.uk
Allan Freeman is chair of Remember A Charity
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