Building a Legacy Programme for your Arts and Culture Organisation

Because it is a great source of income…the average UK charity legacy is equivalent to £5 a month (from the month they are born) for 416 years…(that’s £25,000). Legacies to arts and cultural charities are often higher than the average and there is set to be a £5bn wealth transfer in the coming decades.

And because legacy pledgers are some of the nicest supporters - they really love and care for your organisation. If you are ever having a bad day a conversation with a legacy supporter will recharge your fundraising batteries as they just love what you do so much.

I love this video for Sport Club Recife - it channels the passion that football fans have for their club with an organ donor campaign. This really speaks of the lifelong impact we make on the lives of our supporters, how they are our most passionate fans and want to give something back for the future of what they care about

Flock Associates - Recife Sport club: Immortal Fans. Integrated Campaign by Ogilvy Brazil - YouTube

Talking about death and money are two things that British people struggle with culturally.

Talking about death and money are two things that British people struggle with culturally.

When you hear the word ‘death’ or ‘legacy’ your subconscious goes to your own death and your first reaction is avoidance - a head in the sand mentality. Dr Russell James III talks about the forms of avoidance as

• Distract - ‘I’m too busy for that right now
• Differentiate - ‘it doesn’t apply to me’
• Deny - ‘these worries are overstated’
• Delay - ‘I definitely plan to think about this’
• Depart - ‘I’m going to stay away from that reminder’

So, thinking about legacies as fundraisers - these reactions are triggered in our own minds. They are also there in the minds of our donors and supporters.

But as one donor said to me ‘its not a myth - we do actually die’ and after we overcome the avoidance stage, we move on to how we want to be remembered. The things we leave behind in our will are like a eulogy - how we want to be remembered and thought of and sum up our life story. As a parent, grandparent, friend, fighter for justice, lover of arts and culture. Wills allow this ultimate self-expression and described as ‘visualized autobiographies’.

Most people are not writing their will or thinking about legacies. Most people make three wills in their lives - at key life moments buying a house, having children and retirement. So, when they do they need to think about your charity and cause as a recipient of a gift and as something that has meant something to them.

The best way is to drip feed the legacy message through communications that you have with supporters, including:

• Promoting legacy giving in programmes
• Articles in membership magazines about the impact that legacy gifts have made to your organisation.
• Testimonies from current legacy pledgers about why they have made a gift and what your organisation means to them in newsletters or in person at events
• Having the information on your website that allows someone to find out more with details of a named person to speak to about it
• Adding it to surveys with supporters asking if people have done it, might consider it or want to know more
• Hosting events so people can see more about the impact of a legacy and know more
• Direct mail campaigns to long standing supporters asking them to consider making a gift

When they shift from talking about your organization as ‘the venue/theatre/gallery’ and say ‘we did this show’. That shift to ‘we’ shows their connection with you and what you mean in their life.

Long-standing members and supporters offer great potential to become legacy supporters as they have benefitted from a lifetime of inspiration and connection. But don’t forget those of whatever duration who are your most passionate fans. The average age of a first will is 38 - so don’t exclude people based on age.

Volunteers and staff are often great legacy prospects as they see the work of your organisation first hand. But internal teams face the same barriers that we do about talking and thinking about death. Talk to them about why it matters to your organisation and why it is important.

• Thank them and think of others in the organisation who can express their thanks.
• Ask them their ‘why’ - knowing how your supporters talk about their decision will make you better at talking about it. Ask them if they would consider sharing their ‘why’ in the newsletter or at an event.
• Think about how you can keep saying thank you to them and stay in touch. Some people don’t want special treatment and continue to be friends and engage as they did before. For others the opportunity to learn more and stay connected is really important - you could have a regular newsletter for legacy pledgers or run a legacy pledgers’ events where you get to say thank you to them in their lifetime and continue to inspire them with the mission that they will continue.

Marina has over 20 years’ experience in fundraising. Marina spent 13 years at the Royal Opera House working on campaigns, supporter engagement, legacies and trusts and foundations. She also worked at Polka Theatre, the Lyric Hammersmith and the Orange Tree Theatre. Marina leads Rogare’s History of Fundraising project and is also Trustee of Tunbridge Wells Puppetry Festival and Pusey House. She completed an MA with Distinction in Philanthropic Studies with a dissertation on legacy giving. Marina is a keen behavioural scientist experimenting and writing on how to use decision science in fundraising.