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Leaving a gift in your Will
What it costs and what it raises
Charities find it very difficult to assess the effectiveness of the promotions they run to encourage gifts through Wills.
Unlike much other fundraising activity, it is usually impossible for the charity to know what triggered a particular gift. It may have been a fundraising communication, but it could equally have been a personal connection to the cause, or just a very personal feeling that it was the right thing to do.
Unlike much other fundraising activity, it is usually impossible for the charity to know what triggered a particular gift. It may have been a fundraising communication, but it could equally have been a personal connection to the cause, or just a very personal feeling that it was the right thing to do.
The position is also complicated by the fact that the bequest gift will not be made for some considerable time after the decision to give has been taken. Hopefully we will all live for a very long time and the charity won’t receive the money for a number of years.
It is therefore very difficult for a charity to judge how effective its legacy promotions are and charities have no choice but to work on the sensible assumption that if they don’t ask for gifts of this nature we are unlikely to offer them.
Remember, only 5% of us will leave a legacy gift while 80% of us will give in our lifetime.
More on Leaving a gift in your Will
- Leaving a gift in your Will
- Gifts in Wills - the tax advantages
- How does 'legacy fundraising' work?
- What it costs and what it raises
