During Remember A Charity Week 2022, Jayne George, Director of Fundraising Marketing and Media at RNLI, reflects on the part the charity has played as a founding member of Remember A Charity and its 20-plus years of membership, exploring the importance of collaboration for legacies.
When I look back and take stock of how far we’ve come as a sector in changing attitudes around gifts in Wills I can’t help but feel proud. Today, at the RNLI six out of 10 launches are only possible because of legacies. But we’re not the only charity benefitting, legacies are now a vital income stream for charities of all shapes and sizes, and a firm part of the UK giving landscape, raising £3.4billion annually.
It’s incredible how public attitudes have shifted so positively towards legacies and how much more open our conversation is in this space. But our work as a sector isn’t finished yet. There’s much more potential. And of course there’s more to do before we achieve what we set out to in the early 2000s when RNLI’s former Director, then Head of Marketing, David Brann joined forces with several other charity leaders to form Remember A Charity (then the Legacy Promotion Campaign).
Looking back to Remember A Charity’s inception, gifts in Wills were still on the margin of public consciousness and Wills themselves were rarely spoken about. But David Brann and others clearly saw the potential. They knew that the sector was only scratching the surface of what could be achieved and that by coming together they could grow legacy giving.
The figures we see today - one in five donors now including a gift to charity in a Will - couldn’t have happened without the sector’s collective approach to changing public behaviour. Through Remember A Charity, we’re able to do what no one charity can do alone. Not only are we 200 charities working together to tackle the barriers and grow understanding, but we’re paired with a network of Will-writers and solicitors who help us to maximise the messaging. The strength and insight from such collaboration empowers us to speak to the wider public as well as to the government.
It’s not just about talking to our existing supporters, and as part of the consortium, the consumer reach we can achieve collaboratively is far greater than what we can do alone. And while speaking from a consortium gives weight to the importance of charitable gifts in Wills, that neutrality makes the message softer and more palatable for the public. It’s this voice which can address topics such as the impact of families dying intestate, challenges around the probate backlog and that can help to educate the public and break down any myths. In working together, we can overcome barriers, inform the public and challenge taboos, to grow understanding and inspire further behaviour change.
Over the years, the sector’s understanding around Wills has changed, and so too has the way we communicate. I think all fundraisers understand that legacies are a unique, personal choice. It's not a snap decision like buying a lottery ticket or tapping your phone to donate a couple of pounds. It takes time; it’s a considered and emotive decision. And while Remember A Charity lays the foundations, it’s then up to each charity how they choose to engage with the public.
For us at RNLI, our legacy programme has evolved into a continual drip-feed approach, we live and breathe legacies, celebrating them at every step of the way. Everyone in our organisation can now talk confidently and clearly to people about how our achievements are only possible thanks to public generosity. Our legacy programme is a life-line to our success and we will continue to nurture it by engaging consistently with our supporters and communicating throughout their journey with us how much they are valued. We feel that when a person leaves us a gift, they aren’t simply a donor. We are theirs; one of their charities – and we treasure our role in their lives.
Together we can help educate and inspire the disproportionately high number of people (60%) who don’t write a Will, let alone leave a legacy, and encourage positive behaviour change for a more sustainable future.