Legacy fundraising: Creative marketing
11/18/2021
Recent research from Remember A Charity found that found that 40% of people say they would be happy to leave a gift to charity in their will. Researchers at Legacy Foresight have forecasted that income from gifts in wills over the next 10 years could be £43bn.
For many smaller charities, legacy fundraising can be difficult to include in their portfolios because of the uncertainties about return on investment (ROI). Communicating a sensitive but impactful ask and stewardship of potential donors can also be hard to get right. But legacies can bring sizeable donations, which for a small charity will have big impact.
Here are three examples of organisations who produced low-cost promotional items to get people thinking and talking about legacies.
Blythe House
Blythe House Hospice care and Helen’s Trust support people with life-limiting illnesses through services delivered in their community hub and at patients’ homes in High Peak, North East Derbyshire and Derbyshire Dales. The two charities officially merged in September 2020.
Zoe Woodward, Income Generation Lead said: “Our organisation exists because of legacies. Reverend Betty Packham founded Blythe House after receiving a £1,000 legacy from her parishioner Stan Blythe who she cared for at the end of his life. In 2016 our Hospice at Home service was established with funds received from a legacy, enabling us to deliver end of life care in patients’ homes for the first time. So as an organisation, we know the value and importance of gifts in wills.
“We have five shops across the region all of which have a high footfall. Books are very popular so we came up with the idea of producing a bookmark to connect with customers. We decided on a sunflower image rather than a picture of our carers or patients. Sunflowers are bright and positive which we thought would encourage people to use the bookmark, rather than something which might provoke sadness.
The current design has two sides. One side is headed “For today…” and explains that by committing to a regular donation, their gift has an immediate impact on patients and carers of people with a life limiting illness.
The other side is headed “…and tomorrow,” highlighting that support and making a difference is just as important in the future, and that leaving a legacy is a means to do this. The wording on this side of the bookmark evokes connectivity and continuity – their legacy gift means they make a difference for years beyond their years and will always be with us.
Our retail team was more than happy to pop them inside books for sale, understanding that this helps to spread the word and reach more people. They also saw it as an added-extra to the book being purchased – a freebie!
There are challenges in measuring the impact of this activity. The bookmarks have only recently been distributed and supporters are naturally private about their wills. We see the bookmark as part of a “drip feed”, subliminal approach to messaging. We may never know if the bookmark solely prompted a gift in a will or regular donation.”
Children’s Hospice South West
Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW) has been inviting supporters to ‘Plant a seed for the future’. This is part of the organisation’s 30th anniversary campaign encouraging people to think about remembering the charity in their will.
Wildflower seeds were given to potential supporters at in-person events along with an information card about the impact of gifts in wills.
Rob Emery, CHSW’s Legacy and Remembrance Officer, said: “We wanted to do something different with our marketing. Gifting a bag of 26 native British wildflower seeds seemed fitting. It was intended to encourage people to think about how leaving a gift in their will could make a real impact on the number of families we are able to care for now and into the future.
“We launched the wildflower seeds campaign in the summer of 2021 as a way of highlighting the significant impact legacy gifts has had on the charity. Supporters have been very keen to take the ‘legacy seeds’ information away but it is too soon to tell if the campaign has been a success.
We sourced the seeds at cost and the booklet was designed in-house. The design was on-brand and included photographs of children supported by one of CHSW’s three hospices.
In addition to the seeds, we offer branded bookmarks with messaging about leaving a ‘smile for the future’ with information about leaving a legacy gift. We find that this is a simple but effective way to spread the word about legacies.”
Remember A Charity
Cross-charity campaign, Remember A Charity, raises awareness of the importance of gifts in Wills. The organisation works with solicitors, financial advisors, charities and government to normalise and promote gifts in wills as something everyone can do. The campaign was launched in 2000 and now brings together 200 large charities who use the annual week in September to be loud about legacy fundraising. For the past few years both The Wombles and Len Goodman from Strictly Come Dancing, have appeared on TV, radio, print and social media to talk about gifts in wills, reaching millions of people.
Rob Cope, Director said: “In the twenty years, the campaign has been running, we have used lots of different methods to inspire people to talk about legacies. In 2010 we produced branded tea bags which we gave out at locations across the country. The message was 'between sips, start a conversation with someone about leaving a gift in your will to help keep our charities alive'.”
Useful links
- Legacies – Chartered Institute of Fundraising
- Why the sector can’t afford to drop the legacy baton now – Civil Society
- Forecasting legacy income for small and emerging charities – Legacy Foresight
