Four tips to improve your legacy fundraising

Did you know that charities in England and Wales are left approximately 3.5 billion pounds from people’s wills each year?

This figure comes from the Legacy Trends Report 2021 from legacy experts Smee & Ford, and they predict it’ll keep growing.

And it’s not just the big charities that are benefitting. One in five charities mentioned in a will is community-based.

Is your charity lacking in legacy income? It might be time to rework your strategy.

Here are four top tips.

1. Consider your phrasing

Legacy asks are tough for three reasons.

• People don’t like to contemplate their own mortality

Sure, legacies are technically about dying, but they’re also about our lives, values, and the impact we want to have on the world. That’s the message to focus on sending.

• Many of us associate ‘legacy’ with a grand gesture

Although ‘legacy’ means ‘an amount of money or property left to someone in a will’, people tend to associate it with substantial amounts of money.

This is why a growing number of charities are using the word ‘gift’ instead.

A ‘gift’ doesn’t have to be particularly big or life-changing.

Change your wording and you may well see an influx of smaller but equally as valuable gifts.

2. Be sensitive

No matter how you cut it, legacy fundraising involves you benefitting from the death of an individual.

That;’s not to say it’s bad to accept or ask for legacies. But it does mean you need to be sensitive with your marketing.

Messaging that’s perceived as celebrating someone’s death, for instance, is going to come across as insensitive.

Focus on celebrating the individual’s generosity and commitment to your cause.

3. Drip feed your message

Legacy marketing can be triggering, particularly if it catches people off guard.

Legacy Voice suggests the best way to tackle this is to ‘drip-feed your legacy message’.

The purpose of drip-feeding is to gradually help people move through the stages of consideration until they’re at a place where they’re ready to take action.

For example, rather than overwhelming donors with big, flashy annual legacy campaigns, incorporate subtle asks in your regular comms on a more regular basis.

4. Foster emotional attachments

This applies to all fundraising efforts, but it’s especially important for legacy fundraising. After all, people can support your charity next Christmas if they’ve already chosen one for this year, but they only get one Will.

If an individual is considering leaving you a legacy, chances are they’re invested in your cause. But that doesn’t mean you can sit back and relax. A legacy donation is a big commitment from donors, so it requires a big commitment from you.

Find out what those connections are and build your communications around them.

Research from the University of Bristol shows that people are more likely to donate if there’s an emotional attachment.

Fostering that attachment may help swing their decision in your favour.

Final Word

Legacy fundraising can be challenging, but it’s well worth the investment.

If you’re looking for an experienced legacy fundraiser, we can help. Give us a call on 0203 750 3111 to get the ball rolling.