Legacy giving is likely to be particularly affected by Brexit. Yet, as Hugh Radojev learned at the last Fundraisng First Thing event, how this will manifest is hard to pin down.
At the last Fundraising First Thing event, held in central London last Tuesday, legacy fundraisers from around the sector gathered, to listen to three experts in legacies and finance issues discuss the Brexit-shaped hole that may, or may not, descend on legacies in the future.
The central question of the day was, will the current value of legacies fall when Britain does eventually leave the EU? In short: nobody really knows.
However, the answer is not necessarily black and white. There are many shades of grey, that speakers Andrew O’Brien, head of policy and engagement at the Charity Finance Group; Chris Farmelo, from Legacy Foresight and Alex McDowell, head of community development and growth at the RNIB, elaborated on for the audience.
The central thrust of O’Brien’s presentation was that the overall financial future for the United Kingdom looked pretty bleak. He said however that legacy values, particularly in the short to medium-term, weren’t a huge concern of his.“We’re seeing one of the most generous generations ever,” said O’Brien of the Baby Boomers, and the tail-end of the generation that preceded them “and the majority of those people voted for Brexit in the first place”.
O’Brien also said that the current “concentration of wealth” in the UK was positive for legacies in the short and middle-term. The over 65s have over 20 per cent of the total wealth in the UK, said O’Brien. In the next few years, this could rise to up to 35 per cent.
He was less positive on fundraising in general, saying that stagnating wage growth, declining EU grants and upcoming battles over VAT and budget cuts would be more damaging. “We can’t be meek, it’s going to be a bunfight,” said O’Brien, rallying the troops. “Everyone will be looking out for their personal interests”.
While Chris Farmelo promised to be “quite positive”, his opening gambit wasn’t laden with joy for legacy fundraisers. “There’s no getting around the fact that, over the next five years, legacy values will be less than they would have been if we’d remained in the EU”. He also said that legacy growth was expected to slow over the next 5 years from a predicted 4 per cent, to around 2.6 per cent.
Happy days…
Armed with Legacy Foresight data and projections, Farmelo did have some good news for legacy fundraisers however. He said that as more and more Baby Boomer’s begin to die, their total legacies are set to increase in total percentage out to 2050.
More deaths means more legacies; no-one can say that this last Fundraising First Thing didn’t deliver on cheery prognostications.
Finally, Alex McDowell who, alongside his day job at RNIB, also chairs Remember a Charity, gave arguably the most practical working advice to the gathered legacy fundraisers of the morning. He said that changing demographics will be helpful in the long run, and pointed to an increased awareness of, and changing attitudes towards, legacy giving as a real plus.
“It’s not about future proofing our income, it’s about helping people to do good things with their money,” said McDowell. He also said that any legacy fundraising campaigns ought to enhance, not compete, against their organisation’s wider fundraising efforts.
Finally there was a call for fundraisers to make a friend, rather than a foe, of their finance director. “Make allies internally,” said McDowell, a statement that was, not altogether surprisingly, warmly received, particularly by Andrew O’Brien.
What exactly is going to happen when the UK does finally (if, indeed, it will ever) trigger article 50 and begin the process of leaving the EU remains an unknown. The uncertainty around the future has cast grave shadows over everything and the future value of legacy fundraising is no exception.
So, what will the effect of Brexit be on legacy fundraising in the future? We’re still not entirely sure, but we’ve got one or two reasons to be slightly more optimistic… and also pessimistic.
The next Fundraising First Thing 'Society lotteries: a bet worth taking?' will be held on 8 November. Those interested in attending can book here.
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