How to raise money
from legacies
presented for LPI
st
March 31 2010
by Richard Radcliffe FInstF Cert
Who am I?
• 30 years in fundraising.
• 15 years in legacies
• I have met over 15,500 donors volunteers and
users of charity services in legacy groups
• I have helped write over 500 legacy strategies
• And trained 1000s in how to make the ask for
legacies
• I work throughout the world including Ireland,
USA, Canada, all of Europe, Scandinavia,
Australasia, India, Israel, Singapore, Malaysia
Legacies are not to do with death
Giving a legacy is
joyful.
It is life driven
and only death
activated.
What works?
• What works for big charities does not work for small ones
• What works for mental health charities does not work for arts
organisations
• What works for the colleges will not work for hospices
• What works for Christians will not work for Muslims or Jews
• What works for women does not always work for men
• What works for young people does not work for old people
• What works for animal charities does not work for human
charities
• What works for rich people does not work for the “liquid poor”
• What works for national charities does not always work for
local charities
• What works for single people does not work for those with
families.
Legacy language
• Specific = an item
• Pecuniary = cash
• Residuary = share or percentage or
fraction of an estate
• Reversionary = legacy goes to charity only
after second death
• And don’t forget:
• Life insurance and death in service
schemes
How a typical Will with a legacy
works
• Specific and pecuniary legacies tend to be
distributed FIRST
• After these, 100% of residue is distributed
and any share or percentage or fraction
can be left to anyone or any charity (ie 1%
to your charity)
Legacy strategies
• Research competition, statistics, past legacies and then
attitudes, motivations through focus groups.
• Internal need and awareness
• External case for support and legacy/will making messages
• Strategy development aim, objectives, target audiences,
methods of communication
• Build relationships defining and fulfilling communication needs
• Set resources and budget
• Evaluation - is it possible?
The legacy marketplace England &
Wales
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1991
2001
2008
Population
51.1m
52.8m 53.7m
Deaths
569,000
529,000
509K
Intestacy
17%
13%
Legators
23,000
29,000 35,000
Legacies 65,913 84,750 109,000
Total value to charities: £1.9 billion
(incl Scot)
Wills and legator profiles in UK
• On average you die 4.1 years after your last Will
– this is changing and lengthening.
• Typical legator in UK:
female
puts legacy in at age of 68
well educated
Owns small property
estate value: £300,000
• They are giving to more charities and to a
broader range of causes
Republic of Ireland statistics
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2002
2008
Population
3,900,000
4,250,000
Population 65+
430,000
472,926
Deaths:
29,348
28,479
Legacies worth €12,000,000
(PCI research – top 20 charities)
• Irish legacy income should be €40 million
Irish Demographics
Demographics
• Number of older people (65+) will double
in 20 years
• Number of 85+ year olds will triple
• Number of 100+ will increase by 15 times
• Longevity threatens future wealth
• Security of families threaten legacies
• But deaths will go up to 33,000 within 10
years!
Legacy focus group agenda
• Establish rules (confidentiality, tape etc) and state objectives
• General charitable giving and knowledge
• Will making patterns and motivations
• Different causes and legacy values, entry times
• Influences (family, taxation etc)
• Legacy giving and preferred method of asking for legacies
• Language to be used
• Recognition
• Views on host charity and its priority as a cause
• Thanks
• Future communication/action
How do people want to be asked?
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Direct mail
Telephone
Website
Newsletter
Advertisement
Brochure
DVD
Event (legacy or general?)
One to one?
The answers
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Direct mail –
Telephone –
Website –
Newsletter –
Advertisement Brochure
DVD
Event One to one? –
68% say yes but why?
5% only for a follow up
15% extra information
100% but does it work
5% possibly
5% possibly
unknown but good!
95% but what type?
1%…… usually
Research results in general
• Nobody wants to be asked for a legacy – everyone is
happy to be made aware of the need
• They want a vision – it proves the need but might not
convert them
• They want to know you are cost effective – they can’t
complain when dead
• They like to come to events to be made aware of the
benefits of legacies
• They know they need an up to date Will – they are happy
to be reminded
When will you die?
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• On average:
Without a Will
At 69
With a Will
At 79
With a Will with a legacy to charity
At 87
Legacy vision
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Must be:
Fundable
Unique
Credible
Inspirational
Tangible
Best legacy campaigns can be
cash free
• PLEASE just think:
• Where can the following words and
phrases be used? On thank you letters?
On email signatures? On the back of
envelopes? Posters in church Halls?
Advertisements in parish newsletters? In
supporter newsletters? At community talks
and events?
Language
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Which do you prefer?
A bequest in your Will
A legacy in your Will
A gift in your Will
Remember us in your Will
Phrase development
• Imagine the difference a gift in your will would make to
secure our future for generations to come
• If or when the time is right for you to include a gift in your
Will please remember us.
• Our success relies on donations and gifts in Wills
• 20% of our income is from legacies
• 1 in 5 beneficiaries are helped thanks to gifts in Wills
• We get no legacy income so imagine the difference a gift
in your Will would make!
More phrases!
• After you have provided for your own family and friends
perhaps you would consider including our charity in your
will
• or
• We fully recognise your loved ones come first but
perhaps you could find room in your will for our charity
too.
• €50 or €5 million – any legacy will help however large or
small even if we prefer big ones!
• Every gift in every Will makes a difference
• Live eight years longer leave us a legacy!
• Pay as you go
• Die now pay later! (Only joking)
Objective setting –
the more advanced stuff!!!
• What are objectives when communicating
with committed donors?
• What is the objective of articles in your
newsletter?
• What is the objective of your legacy
brochure?
• Never set “make aware of legacies” as an
objective
Will writing advice and discounted
and free wills
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Are they worth it?
Would service users benefit from them?
What is a special offer?
Who would dislike it?
Is it worth the risk?
Our general guidance is that Will making offers
are “causally sensitive” and only acceptable as a
“user service” – ie in hospices or those with
learning difficulties/mental health
Legacy targets
• What are objectives for:
• Donors:
committed
regular
cash
occasional
Lapsed
Event attenders (challenge and social)
Major donors
Legacy targets
• What are objectives for:
• Volunteers:
service providers
administration savers
Fundraising
Event helpers
Legacy targets
• Service users and their families: are they
legators or promotors?
• Lawyers/writers of Wills: are they
interested? If so why and how can they
help
• Staff – what is their role?
• Trustees/board members – oh hell!
Key issues
• Direct Mail:
• to whom and why?
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Is it an appeal?
Length – is it an issue?
Who signs?
Integrate or separate?
Enclosures: what are they?
Response mechanism?
You must decide what is right for each target audience –
you cannot send everyone the same letter.
A possibly good DM idea
• Thanks you for your support – its been brilliant.
• One other way of supporting us is through a gift
in your Will. If this is something you might like to
do, then we enclose the wording for your Will,
and a codicil just in case you already have a
Will. All you have to do is send it to your
professional adviser or file it for when the time is
right for you. If this is not a way you would like to
support us then we fully understand. If you have
already done this then a huge thank you!
Response form
• Easy response:
I have already included charity x,
I might in the future ,
please contact me ,
Not for now thank you !
Key issues
• Legacy brochure:
• to whom and why?
• What information?
IHT? How to make a Will? Wording?
Wealth calculator? Legacy vision?
Technical data? Stories by whom and what
stories? Response mechanism?
Legacy brochure
• Answer
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Legacy vision 
Past legacy stories 
Wording for Will 
Tax savings?  (but not that important)
Glossary of terms? 
Response mechanism 
How to write a Will 
Wealth calculator 
Technical data? 
Website
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Legacies: separate from Donate button
What information - stories
What should be downloadable? Wording!
Which stories – past legacies and vision
Response? Personal email address
Legacy section of website
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• Answer
Legacy vision  (opening link on home page)
Past legacy stories
Wording for Will 
Explanation of different types of legacies 
Explanation of tax savings? 
Glossary of terms? 
Response mechanism 
How to write a Will 
Wealth calculator 
Technical data? 
Telephone
• Is it sales or relationship management?
• Should legacies be incorporated into an
upgrade call
• Who can be called?
• What happens next?
• Or do you just not do it!
Newsletter
• Strategic development:
• Stories:
past legacies (told by you);
Will writing (by lawyer),
vision (by CEO or other worker),
quirky legacy stories,
own stories of why you have a Will… or
don’t!.
• Response mechanism
DVD
• Short – max 5 minutes if shown in a
meeting. 30 minutes if played at home
• Story telling
Event
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Is it legacies only
Is it an AGM
Is it an open day?
Is it just a thank you
Best possibly a thank you to all
supporters?
• What is the call to action?
• What is the follow up?
Annual review ☺
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Thank you
Past year’s success
Current use of funds - prudence
Future ambitions and ways to make dream
come true (ie a legacy!)
• Response mechanism
Advertising
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Legal – only a reference
Local – ACE if free
National - expensive
Local newsletters ACE
Coupon please!
Publicity/PR and others!
• Press releases
• Local community development: buses,
shops, libraries, community halls
• Posters, email signatures, backs of
envelopes, prayer cards. Local churches
and places of worship, bookmarks!
Drip drip drop
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Branding is an issue!
Anaphora - repetition of key words
and
Epizeuxis – emphatic repetition
• (Please remember this word for scrabble)
Tasks
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Next of kin research?
Focus groups?
Information internally to get support?
Objective setting for each target audience
Objective setting for each method of
communication
Getting the right stories told
Integrating legacies into everything
Setting activity levels as a measure
Hope it works!!!
If you need me
• Richard Radcliffe
•
richard@theshed.vispa.com
• Mobile: +447771896680
• Office +441832 710 893
• The Manse, Main Street,
Bythorn Cambs UK PE28
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