In mid- April, Remember A Charity released its 2015 general election legacy manifesto. Remember A Charity, which is a consortium of over 140 charities, aims to change the perceptions of the nation towards charitable legacies; so that legacy giving becomes the norm for the majority, rather than just the few.
In its manifesto, the consortium is encouraging the new government to devise and implement a match-funding scheme for charitable gifts left in wills.
According to the manifesto, if the new government match-funded the first £2,000 of all legacy gifts, the annual cost to the treasury would be around £187m; and if the number of estates increased from the current rate of 7% to 11%, this would result in a further £1bn per year for the sector.
The consortium asserts that this could prove an inexpensive way to create a “significant step-change in legacy giving rates and the capacity and sustainability of the UK’s non-profit sector”.
Chair of the consortium, Alex McDowell, stated: "Incentivising charitable wills for supporters of all levels of wealth would help to socially norm legacy giving. It would also give charities an even greater incentive to promote gifts in wills as a form of donating."
Remember A Charity also encourages the new government to promote wills and legacies to private sector firms and incentivise the legal sector to inform customers of the options of leaving a charitable gift in their will.
Do you think the new government is likely to implement a match funding scheme?
