Top Tips for Legacy Fundraising

If you have always meant to launch a legacy campaign but did not know where to start, here are some effective tips we have developed over many years of legacy fundraising:

1. Think first about your legacy proposition – why should anyone remember your charity in their will? It is a competitive world out there, so it is worth spending some time and effort to get this right.

2. List all the groups of people you can reach with a legacy message – not just donors, but volunteers, trustees, beneficiaries, merchandise buyers etc. Then put numbers on them – you may be surprised at how many people you can reach.

3. Think about all the ways you can communicate a legacy message, in newsletters, email, web pages, events, direct mail etc

4. When planning your legacy communications, ensure you are using all the free and low cost ways to ask for legacies before spending significant sums.

5. Integrate legacy messages into everything else you do – this is the most cost effective way to ask.

6. Mention legacies gently and often – people need reminding before they will act.

7. Think about who is the best person to front a legacy campaign and be the voice of legacies for your charity. A staff member? A volunteer? A beneficiary?

8. Test your ideas out before you implement them, e.g. in a focus group of supporters, volunteers etc

9. Make sure all your supporters know you need legacies and remind them regularly. Give them examples of legacies received or of projects that could be funded by legacies.

10. Ask if you need help to develop or implement your strategy.