• March 29, 2024
 Farewill raises £600m through legacy giving since 2015

Farewill raises £600m through legacy giving since 2015

Farewill has announced that they have raised over £600m in pledged legacy gifts to charitable causes since 2015. 

The Haggerston-based start up is redefining legacy fundraising through innovative technology, sector-leading insight platforms and a first-class partner and supporter experience.

Dan Garrett, CEO and co-founder of Farewill, explains:

“As the UK’s largest will writer, we have the most comprehensive view of data across our charity partners and D2C customers to be at the forefront of legacy giving trends and insights. Through our sector leading platform, legacy fundraisers have access to real-time stats that allows them to tailor supporter marketing activity and optimise legacy gift inclusion in wills. It is an enormous privilege to work with so many outstanding organisations across the UK, and be able to support the phenomenal work they do.”

Farewill works with 245 charity partners, from the largest charities in the UK to small local and community organisations.  Macmillan Cancer Support were a flagship partner, working with Farewill to test new approaches and help bring the most value to charity supporters and charities themselves.

Lynda Thomas, Chief Executive of Macmillan Cancer Support, said:

“We’re proud to have been part of Farewill’s journey since the start and congratulate them on this milestone achievement. Gifts in wills are Macmillan’s biggest source of revenue and currently fund almost a third of our services. With the number of people living with cancer expected to increase to 4 million by 2030 and the ongoing disruption of the pandemic impacting cancer patients, Macmillan’s services have never been more needed. Leaving a gift in your will is free and easier than ever, and these generous donations from supporters are crucial to futureproof Macmillan’s ability to continue doing whatever it takes for people living with cancer now and in years to come.”

Farewill’s recent consumer research revealed that 25%* of people have or plan to leave legacy gifts to charities in their will.  Gifts to cancer charities now account for 41% of all charitable gifts written in wills through Farewill, compared to 28% in 2019, amid the backlog in cancer treatment.

More than one in ten (11%) say that the pandemic has made them more likely to donate to a health charity or NHS trust, with over half feeling motivated by witnessing the extra hard work organisations do in times of need (56%) and to help cancer treatment delays (54%).

Farewill were crowned Will Writing Firm of the Year 2019, 2020, 2021 at the British Wills & Probate Awards, along with awards for the “Hottest Use of Social Innovation” at the Europas and ‘Best use of Data” at the Third Sector Awards in 2020.

Most popular causes in legacy giving: 2019 vs 2021
2019 2021
  1. Cancer (28%)
  2. Animal welfare (9%)
  3. Homeless and housing (5%)
  4. Children and young people (5%)
  5. Disabled people and access (4%)
  6. Military (4%)
  7. Environment & sustainability (4%)
  8. Humanitarian aid (3%)
  9. Health (3%)
  10. Campaigning (2%)
  1. Cancer (41%)
  2. Animal welfare (6%)
  3. Health (6%)
  4. Military (6%)
  5. Disabled people and access (4%)
  6. Mental health (4%)
  7. Homeless and housing (3%)
  8. Environment & sustainability (3%)
  9. Children and young people (2%)
  10. Humanitarian aid (2%)

This article was submitted to be published by Farewill. The views expressed in this article are those of the submitter and not those of Today’s Wills and Probate.

Farewill