27% of people are prepared to include a charitable legacy in their will

Out of the 1,000 aged over 40 charity donors they contacted, 15% of respondents said they have already “written a charity into their will”, 11% said they are “preparing to do so” while 12% they were “unaware of the option of donating to charity through their will”. But what could this mean for charities across the UK?

If more people donated money in their will and throughout their lifetime, then charities would have more funding to accomplish their goals and help people in need. Following the news that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have asked for donations to charities instead of presents, hopefully, this decision will increase the awareness supporting smaller charities across the globe. A Kensington Palace spokesperson stated, “The couple have chosen charities [that] represent a range of issues they are passionate about, including sport for social change, women’s empowerment, conservation, the environment, homelessness, HIV and the armed forces. Many of these are small charities, and the couple is pleased to be able to amplify and shine on their work.”

Rob Cope, the director of Remember a Charity quoted, “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 6 percent 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 an 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.”