Help needed now more than ever
Charities took a huge financial hit during the Covid crisis, making legacy giving vital, writes Sarah Devine
Charity fundraising usually conjures up adventurous scenes of abseiling, bungee jumps and marathons – but during the pandemic such activities were halted, causing financial implications for the many organisations that provide crucial, and often life-saving, services across the country.
With charity shops temporarily closing their doors, scientific research on pause and healthcare services interrupted, Scotland’s good causes are experiencing financial hardship at a time when their valued support is most required.
“For many charities, demand for their services is going up at a time when money has gone down as they have not been able to organise fundraising activities or massparticipation events,” says Rob Cope, director of consortium Remember A Charity. “It has been a time of real crisis for both the money they raise to keep services running, and demand for those services being at an all-time high.”
Thankfully, there is something everyone can do to ensure the 24,000plus registered charities in Scotland can continue their important work.
Remember A Charity works with good causes, solicitors and professional Will writers to encourage more of the general public to consider leaving gifts in their Wills once their loved ones are taken care of. The organisation says legacy gifts result in more than £3 billion for charitable organisations every year.
Its UK Legacy Fundraising Market 2019 report focused on trends in the legacy fundraising market over the last decade and found that Welsh and Scottish charities outperform legacy income growth in other parts of the UK.
Research by Remember A Charity – which represents almost 200 charities – also claims one million legacies will have been left by people in the UK during that time. And there has been a significant rise in those leaving a gift in their Will since Remember A Charity began in 2002.
“The real focus for us has been seeing that gifts in Wills continue to grow in those two decades,” explains Cope.
“People have worked hard to build the wealth that they have and that will be passed on to the next generation, so many are thinking about how they can continue the things that they value in life.”
The annual Remember A Charity Week ran from 6 September and was supported by former Strictly Come Dancing judge Len Goodman. It brought charities together to raise awareness of the importance of legacy giving and to inspire people to start having the conversation of leaving gifts in Wills, something Cope says is all too often put on the back burner.
“We are all so terribly British about it and we find it hard to have that conversation but having everyone else talking about it [during Remember A Charity Week] is a brilliant thing because it makes it easier to have that conversation.”
The process of gifting through a will to a good cause is quick and simple. There is no minimum amount required and gifts can be made to multiple charities – gone are the days of it being solely an opportunity for the rich and wealthy.
In Scotland, about 50 people a week leave a gift in their Will, which amounts to appoximately £90 million annually for the sector, with 42 per cent of people north of the Border claiming that they would be happy to do so.
Cope emphasises that there is room for growth and is also encouraging employers to kick-start the conversation of legacy giving among their staff. He maintains: “All employers should be having a conversation with their staff about the importance of having a Will in the same way that we think about pensions.
“We work hard for the things we gain in life and everyone should have a Will to protect those things and to ensure they are protected once we are gone.”
Cope concludes: “We can take care of the things that really matter to us that have been there for us in our lifetime, so we can pass that baton on to the next generation. We must remember that the work charities do is not outside of the things that impact our families.
“We have seen in the pandemic that nothing is certain in life and the importance of protecting the things we care about most is coming into sharp focus.”
To find out more about how to gift a legacy, go online and visit www.remember acharity.org.uk
The importance of protecting the things we care about most is coming into sharp focus