New study looks into public attitudes towards legacies
Over a quarter (27 per cent) of charity donors are preparing to leave a charitable legacy, or have already done so, according to new tracking figures from Remember A Charity – a four per cent rise from March 2009 when the consortium’s study began.
The new figures also reveal only nine per cent of those who took part in the research reject the prospect of making a legacy donation. In 2009 that figure stood at 13 per cent.
Along with a rise in people considering and actively leaving legacies, the awareness of the option to do so is growing. Only 12 per cent of those surveyed said they were unaware of the option of donating to charity through their Will (down from 17 per cent in 2009).
The research, carried out by nfpSynergy, looked at the attitude and awareness to legacy giving among 1,000 UK charity donors aged 40+ on a scale ranging from rejection to action.
One in six (16 per cent) of the over-40s questioned said they have written a charity into their will and 11 per cent say they are preparing to do so (up from seven per cent in 2015 and nine per cent in 2016). A further 13 per cent say they are contemplating it.
Rob Cope, director of Remember A Charity, said: “Legacy behaviour and attitudes are really starting to change. While we are likely to see some fluctuation year-on-year, now with nine years of comparable data, we can see a sustained shift in public attitudes towards legacies.”
“This echoes findings from Legacy Foresight and Smee and Ford, showing longer-term growth in the number of gifts in wills and charities benefitting, as well as the amount given.
“Bearing in mind that only six per cent of people that die currently leave a legacy, even a small percentage increase can make a big difference in terms of charitable returns.
“It’s an exciting time for the sector, but with more and more charities coming into the marketplace, there is even greater need for organisations to invest in this area of fundraising and ensure they can continue to rely on such a vital income stream.”
As referred to by Cope, figures released in February by Legacy Foresight, covering the 12 months to December 2017, show a 5.1 per cent rise in total legacy income for the year.
According to their Legacy Monitor, its 83 charity members received £1.5bn in legacy income in the year to 31 December 2017, while total bequests reached 53,775 – a 3.2 per cent rise from 2016.
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
Archives
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- November 2020
- September 2020
- July 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- February 2017