Shortlist for Legacy Campaign of the Year
Leukaemia UK's Thank You campaign
The primary objective of the legacy campaign was to increase the number of legacy enquiries by driving requests for the will guide. Additionally, the campaign aimed to raise awareness of our mission among Baby Boomers and Generation X, broadening the charity’s outreach and increasing donor acquisition to grow legacy income.
Through a powerful DRTV advert and supporting digital activities, Leukaemia UK’s legacy campaign highlighted the vital and transformative role of legacy giving in advancing leukaemia research.
The campaign achieved remarkable outcomes, including a 3% increase in brand awareness, a 37.6% rise in organic web traffic, and significant growth in legacy enquiries. Notably, the campaign also inspired large in-memory donations, a surge in regular giving sign-ups, and positive references of the film from supporters to LUK’s Supporter Careline.
Grounded in insight and bold storytelling, “Thank You” exemplifies a groundbreaking approach to legacy fundraising, making a lasting impression on both its audience and the future of leukaemia research.
The judges said: "Deploying research and intelligence on how important brand is to legacy fundraising, they created a powerful TV ad and assets that increased awareness among two age-groups and grew web traffic resulting in success not just in legacy leads but more broadly. They developed strong supporter journeys to steward enquirers on the longer-term legacy journey."
Canal and River Trust's Events that Inspire campaign
The Canal & River Trust gifts in wills event series is a legacy campaign with a difference.
From January 2023 to July 2024, we have held 19 events – inviting supporters to come see for themselves the difference their gift could make.
The events themselves are truly unique taking place across the country at venues including canal boats, lock gate workshops, impounding stations, boat lifts and fish passes. Each event is bespoke and provides a memorable experience for our supporters. Working with a wide range of colleagues and volunteers across the Trust we inspire supporters with examples of our current work and ambitions for the future that could be achieved with ongoing support through gifts in wills.
Feedback and results have been exemplary with over 90 confirmed pledges in the period, 130 people actively considering a gift and 3 major donations from people choosing to give in their lifetime.
The judges said: "This young charity used supporter insight to deliver a successful, repeatable and sustainable legacy campaign deploying visits to tailored locations to inform and build trust via engagement, in a cost-effective way. Creatively deploying cross-organisation staff and volunteers, it forged emotional connections with the audience and built internal engagement with fundraising."
Christian Aid's Faith Will campaign
A game-changing Legacy innovation, launched in June 2023 by Christian Aid brought together key faith partners: The Church of England, The Church of Scotland and The Quakers in Britain to launch a joint legacy campaign called Faith Will. With strong partnership at the heart of the campaign, they broke new ground in the sector, coming together to ask congregations to consider leaving a gift to both their church and to Christian Aid, addressing both local and global need.
In their pilot year, they engaged more than 200% of their target number of churches, kickstarting legacy conversations across the UK. They successfully tested a partnership campaign model and have since grown to an incredible seven denominational partners for Faith Will 2025. The campaign is evolving and starting to build a movement. Faith Will 2025 will see the introduction of ‘Faith Will Week’, building momentum for even more partners to get involved.
The judges said: "Research indicated that residuary legators to Christian Aid also left larger legacies to their own churches and yet clergy were uncomfortable asking for legacies. In this innovative ‘win-win’ campaign, Christian Aid developed powerful resources for use in congregations, supported by volunteers, to encourage church members to leave two legacies, to their church and to Christian Aid."