Remember A Charity in your Will Week launches

Remember A Charity in your Will Week runs from today (Monday 10 September), with over 200 charities and up to 1,400 legal advisers joining forces to showcase the impact and importance of legacy giving.

The campaign aims to raise the proportion of estates that have a charity named in the will, from the current 6%, adding to the £2.8bn-plus now generated annually for good causes through legacy giving. It highlights the critical role of the legal profession in making clients aware of the opportunity of leaving a donation in their will, in addition to provision for their family and friends.
This year’s consumer awareness drive features the launch of a new “charity-powered” search engine. The Human Search Engine enables the public to select from over 150 of “life’s biggest questions” – such as “How can we cure the deadliest common cancers?”, or “How do we ensure no one has to sleep rough?” – and to hear directly from charities, supporters and beneficiaries what they are doing in response.

According to Remember A Charity’s latest solicitor and will-writer benchmark study, six in 10 advisers sometimes or always mention the option of including a charitable gift to will-writing clients, but the potential is far greater. The campaign describes these conversations as “critical”, with research from the Behavioural Insights Team showing that the legacy giving donation rate doubles when solicitors ask clients if they would like to consider leaving a charitable gift.

Rob Cope, director of Remember A Charity, commented: “This campaign has been designed to showcase just how vital charities are in responding to many of the world’s biggest problems and how legacies can help combat those issues. It will encourage the public to think about their deepest concerns for the world we live in and to consider leaving a gift in their will.”