Legacy Futures: Working together to secure your legacy income
It goes without saying that 2020 has been one of the most challenging years in our lifetimes, especially for the charity sector we work in. The sector as a whole has been hugely impacted through loss of fundraised and trading income, resulting in significant job losses and restructuring. The pandemic’s impact is likely to be felt for several years to come, as the country recovers from the economic and social effects of a year or more of significant restrictions.
But legacy giving has been a ray of hope for the sector throughout this crisis – a real lifeline of secure, unrestricted income for so many charities, helping them keep afloat and deliver essential services.
In many ways, the start of 2021 feels more positive, even though we undoubtedly face a difficult few months ahead. The rollout of a vaccine promises that life and work will slowly return to a semblance of normality and allow us to begin to rebuild for the future.
And, assuming we get to grips with the backlog of probate applications and have the resource to manage the influx of gifts, gifts in Wills income could increase significantly this year, which is welcome news to the charity sector.
The big question that we face as we prepare to start this new chapter is, what kind of future do we want to create?
Not many people want to go back to the old ways and routines. There was so much about our old way of living and working that was broken and in need of fixing. And so many trends and changes that were already slowly happening have been accelerated.
As a business, we have been reflecting on how we work and how we can ensure that we best serve the charities we work with in the coming years and decades.
We know that the demographics and attitudes of donors are changing, and we need to keep in step with their expectations of giving.
Technology is changing and being adopted at a much faster rate. We need to harness this to improve the way we work and communicate, both within the sector and with legacy donors of the future.
People are changing too. As a business we have been working in the legacy sector for over 25 years and are incredibly fortunate to have a team of hugely experienced people. But we know we need to invest in future talent and leadership to ensure we have a business and sector that is fit for the future.
Which is why we are announcing the launch of Legacy Futures.
Legacy Futures is a new group of specialist legacy giving consultancies, including Legacy Foresight, Legacy Voice and Legacy Link.
Together we will help charities understand their place in the market, implement strategies to grow their giving and provide practical support to maximise the value of their income from gifts in Wills and gifts In Memory.
We have come together to because we believe legacy giving is full of so much promise and potential, and we want to play our part in supporting charities to realise this potential. We have some exciting plans afoot for legacy fundraisers and teams, which will be announced very soon.
We know that we need to adapt and change for the coming decades and we believe that working together will allow us to deliver more for the sector we serve.
Yes, to ensure as many donors as possible choose to leave a legacy gift of their choosing, which will raise a transformative amount of money for good causes worldwide.
But also, to meet a deep-rooted human need – to help a generation of donors to die happy – knowing that their life’s experience, memories and values, or that of a loved one, can live on and make a positive impact on the world they leave behind.
At Legacy Futures, our ambition is to become the global gifts in Wills and In Memory giving consultancy. Our purpose is to help charities, sectors and countries, harness the transformative power of legacy giving.
We look forward to working together to help charities grow their legacy income and secure their future. If you already have a project in mind that you’d like to discuss, please get in touch.
We look forward to working together with you on the next stage of our journey.
Ashley Rowthorn
CEO, Legacy Futures