Legacy Giving: Encouraging Charitable Donations

If you’ve not heard of the Great Map of Willanthropy – you have now.

Launched for this year’s Remember a Charity Week (it ran in September), the map features many of the charities supported by the collective legacy giving of will-makers across the UK.

Alongside the ‘Great Map’ a new report A Nation of Willanthropists was also published, which highlights recent research which apparently shows only a third of adult in the UK have a will in place. The hesitancy in individuals to confront the inevitable prospect of death does not dissipate.

This, of course, means a huge untapped opportunity to encourage people yet without a will to consider making one; and to consider leaving a legacy to charity in their will.

The Legal Wills and Probate Consumer report 2024, published by IRN Legal Reports in May, concluded that the percentage of adults with a will remains static each (suggesting 36% - 40%), but as the population grows the volume of wills increases.

Most will-makers do not need a prompt to include legacies for loved ones; but a significant number of people do not think about leaving a gift to a charitable organisation. Wills practitioners have been actively encouraging clients to consider leaving a charitable legacy in recent years and this has undoubtedly led to a rise in volume of legacy giving.

The fact that a reported 900+ firms of solicitors and will-writers took part in the year’s Remember a Charity Week is evidence of the active role lawyers are playing in encouraging clients to ‘remember a charity’ in their wills.

Last year proved a record year for charitable legacy giving (more than 38,000 people in England and Wales reportedly leaving £4billion to charities, according to Smee & Ford).

Charities rely heavily on donations and legacy giving to continue their activities, but a solicitor’s primary responsibility is advising their client and to carry out their instructions. A significant charitable legacy or gift of the residue to charity may, for example, mitigate the potential inheritance tax liability – but the client may choose not to take that route in their will.

According to Remember A Charity, not far off three in four solicitors/will-writers (72%) actively raise the possibility of charitable options with clients. And it is probably having a tangible and positive impact on charities.

The latest Legacy Monitor release from Legacy Futures analysed data on the legacy market from 81 leading UK charities, including Cancer Research UK, RNLI and RSPCA. It found that for the year to June 2024, legacy income increased by a percentage point on 2023 to £1.83bn. This, the report says, has been driven by a 7% rise in the number of charitable gifts in wills (to 62,100 bequests), though the gradual improvement in the delays at the probate registry will have contributed to these increases.

Most if not all of us have a charitable cause close to our hearts – one that has supported us personally, or a loved one or a friend. An increasing trend, no doubt influenced by friends and family, is to forego birthday gifts and request donations for a favoured charity instead.

All private client practitioners can play their part in supporting charities: asking clients if they would consider leaving a charitable legacy or if they have the resources, establishing a charitable trust.

Whether or not there may be tax benefits – the wider benefits could be significant.

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Posted on 10.10.24