A record number of people in England and Wales are supporting charities with gifts in wills, says the Remember A Charity consortium, with one in five wills now reportedly including a donation to charity.
10,670 different charities received a gift from a will last year and 37,242 charitable estates were identified – a 10.7% increase on the previous year. This reflects the growing appetite for legacy giving and the key role the legal sector plays in providing impartial information for clients about how to go about it, while ensuring that people’s wishes for family and friends are met.
This news comes at the start of RememberACharity Week (5th –11th September 2022), the nation’s annual public awareness campaign for charitable gifts in Wills. It echoes recent research showing that more than one in five wills handled by UK legal advisers (22%) now include a donation to charity.
The public supports a wide spectrum of charitable causes, from researching treatment for cancer and dementia to supporting vulnerable children and adults, taking care of pets and animals, mental health support, rescue services and many others. Over a third (37%) of charitable Wills named just one charity, but more than one fifth (21.7%) contained two.
Gifts in wills are a critical source of funding for charitable services across the country, raising more than £3 billion for good causes annually.
Lucinda Frostick, Director of RememberACharity, said:
“Legal advisers play a crucial role in helping the public understand all the options open to them when they write a will. Our research shows that even the simplest of references to the option of leaving a gift in a will to charity can double the chances that a client will choose to do so. And those gifts really can be transformational for UK charities. Today, that income is more critical than ever.”
The consortium works all year round to normalise charitable will writing across the UK by raising awareness of legacy giving among legal professionals and the public. Through its free Campaign Supporter scheme for solicitors and will writers, it offers promotional resources and useful guidance for referencing gifts in wills with clients.
