Community pilot targets legacy giving
A community in the north-east of Glasgow is set to benefit from a new will writing income scheme, run as part of a pilot launched by Development Trusts Association Scotland (DTAS)
The Cranhill Development Trust is one of nine local organisations across the country to be selected for the Local Legacy Giving pilot.
DTAS created the scheme through its Democratic Finance Scotland programme, working alongside digital will-writing platform WeWill.
The Local Legacy Giving pilot scheme will provide one-to-one support for nine local development trusts across Scotland, with workshops and access to the WeWill platform to encourage people to consider a legacy to their local trust in their will.
The idea is to help communities access some of the £136 million in legacy income that is generated annually for Scottish charities.
Marie Ward, CEO of Cranhill Development Trust said: “People in Cranhill believe in helping each other to build a better future for themselves and their community. Our team works hard to meet the changing and diverse needs of the people who live and work here – but we rely on support to do it.
"The Local Legacy Giving pilot scheme will help us build a stable and resilient source of income which is embedded in the very community which we support. It's a fantastic project and we are delighted to be part of it."
Established in 2002, Cranhill Development Trust supports around 3000 people annually and aims to promote resilience, tackle poverty and address social exclusion through a holistic range of programmes, opportunities, and events.
For Cranhill Development Trust, the income generated will directly support vital services, including improving community health and wellbeing, providing employability support, delivering digital inclusion programs, and addressing food insecurity.
The trust also offers education and training opportunities, helps individuals navigate social security and public services, and runs a vibrant program of social and recreational activities.
Additionally, the group has exciting plans to refurbish and extend its community facilities in the former Cranhill Parish Church, enhancing accessibility, expanding learning and interview spaces, upgrading the community café and shop, and creating sustainable, multi-use spaces to better serve the community.
More and more people are leaving charitable legacies in their will. Over the past 30 years legacy incomes in the UK have gone up from £0.9bn in 1993 to £4.1bn in 2023/24.
While larger charities receive the bulk of legacy income, the DTAS Local Legacy Giving scheme will help local trusts in harnessing this income source, directly helping to improve the quality of life for local people in urban, rural and island communities across Scotland.
Morven Lyon, head of democratic finance at DTAS said; “Local legacy giving is a relatively untapped source of income for community led organisations, including development trusts. We currently have over 350 members and our goal with the pilot is to demonstrate its success so that we can roll it out across our network.
"Community led organisations are operating in an increasingly difficult funding landscape and there is a clear need to move away from grant dependency towards more innovative income sources. The aim of our local legacy pilot is to give Scotland’s communities more financial resilience and power.”
The Democratic Finance Scotland programme has been designed to support communities to be ‘agents of change’ by unlocking local wealth and control through democratic finance sources and tools.
WeWill’s mission is to bring easy and affordable, online will-writing and legacy giving for charities to Scotland. Due to differences in the law, Scotland is overlooked by the wider market. WeWill aims to offer a trustworthy and simple option for individuals to make a will, and for charities to target unrestricted Scottish legacy income.
Allan Currie, founder and CEO of WeWill commented; "We see a significant need for a legacy partner to support charities targeting Scottish supporters.
"The Scottish market has often been overlooked, and we aim to change that. Our partnership with DTAS brings essential will-writing services, management tools, and legacy marketing to empower development trusts in engaging their communities and beyond.
"Collaborating closely with each trust has been a rewarding experience, and we're excited to see the pilot take off."
Legacy income is becoming increasingly important for charities as it provides resilience during challenging economic times. While Scotland’s legacy market is less developed than that of England and Wales, it is now seeing considerable long-term growth, with £1 in every £5 donated to Scotland’s charities being given through gifts in wills.
Some 42% of Scots aged 40 and over say they would be happy to leave a gift in their will, with half as many (21%) saying they have already done so.
Democratic finance models in Scotland have raised over £20million from 18,000 citizen investors over the last 10 years, by using community shares and community bonds. These funds have been used to finance a host of community and social enterprises including shops, pubs, community hubs, community renewable energy, arts, tourism and sports initiatives.
The three-year Democratic Finance Scotland Programme will expand the range of tools and sources of local finance, supporting more communities to understand and utilise all the available democratic finance methods to realise their community aspirations.
