Giving reached £136million in 2020/21. 

The growth and breadth of the Scottish legacy market for charities underlines the importance of investing long-term in this fundraising stream, a new report has claimed.  

The Scottish Legacy Market Report 2023 was produced by Remember A Charity, a consortium of UK charities working to promote charitable gifts in Wills amongst the British public, and Legacy Foresight, the UK’s legacy and in-memory sector specialist analysis firm. 

The report brings together key statistics on the Scottish legacy market, as well as insights and recommendations from legacy experts at charities, such as CHAS, Worldwide Cancer Research, Children in Scotland, Cancer Support Scotland and SCOTLAND: The Big Picture, to help those at the start of their legacy fundraising journey. 

Legacies account for one 5th of all money donated to Scottish charities, with almost 50% of all Scottish charities’ legacy income goes to Scotland’s top 50 charities – a total of £66m in 2020/21. 

The report shows the connection supporters feel to good causes continues to grow along with a rising interest in legacy giving. 

Research also found that 42% of Scots aged 40 and above say they would be happy to give in this way and 21% have already done so. 

Legacy giving to Scottish charities is showing a year-on-year rise, with the latest data from SCVO showing that it reached £136m in 2020/2021.  

Some 500 Scottish charities of all sizes are named in Wills each year. 

Lucinda Frostick, director at Remember A Charity, said: “In the cost-of-living crisis, money is tight for charities and supporters alike. But in many ways, this brings us all closer together, with people being acutely aware of the need for charitable services and wanting to support the causes they care about. 

“As legacy giving has little or no upfront cost while offering the potential to achieve a better future, we’re seeing appetite for giving in this way reach record levels. Legacies offer a huge growth opportunity for Scottish charities.”