The milestone has been reached as Remember a Charity Week gets underway

A landmark goal for legacy giving has been reached with over one million gifts in wills donated to charities over the past decade.

The figures have been released to coincide with the launch of Remember A Charity Week (6-12 September).

 With over 100,000 charitable bequests left in wills each year, more than one million gifts were donated from 2010/11 to 2019/20, data from Smee and Ford shows. Over that time, cumulative legacy income to UK charities exceeded £23 billion.

This news comes as Legacy Foresight upgrades its forecast for legacy income over the next 10 years to £43 billion (previously estimated at £40 billion). The years ahead are expected to bring an exceptional period of growth, fuelled by the intergenerational wealth transfer from baby boomers. Appetite for legacy giving is growing and, despite recent delays at probate, the number of charitable bequests is predicted to rise by 30% over the decade.

Celebrating this landmark moment for legacies, Rob Cope, director of Remember A Charity, said: “Legacy giving can be transformational for UK charities and it’s wonderful to see such scope for growth. Donations have long been on the rise, but the global pandemic has accelerated that growth, shining a spotlight on the critical role of charities in our communities and the importance of will-writing. This funding will be vital for the sector as we strive to build back and strengthen resilience for whatever the future brings.

“Remember A Charity Week is a great opportunity to build on that momentum and for all charities to use the week as a springboard to open up conversation about gifts in wills. These conversations are so important for driving change, normalising legacy giving and generating crucial income for the years ahead.”

The UK consortium Remember A Charity is launching its week-long public awareness campaign today (Mon 6 Sept), encouraging people to consider leaving a gift in their will. This year, the campaign centres on a simple but powerful ask: ‘Will you?’. Promotional activity includes targeted marketing, social media and an animated video starring the Wombles, who featured in last year’s campaign, which drove record levels of engagement among the target audience of people aged 50+. Head judge of Dancing with the Stars, Len Goodman, is supporting the campaign for the fourth year running, having altered his own will to include a charity.

Charities within the consortium and its partnership network of campaign supporters (professional advisers, solicitors and will-writers) are equipped with a suite of resources to help them raise the topic of legacy giving with supporters and will-writing clients alike.

The consortium’s promotional activity for legacy giving continues throughout the year, including national newspaper supplements celebrating legacy giving scheduled to run in The Daily Telegraph and The Scotsman this October.

2021 marks the 12th year of Remember A Charity Week. A collaborative initiative, the campaign brings 200 charities together with 1,300 legal professionals to champion legacy giving across the UK. Find out more online.