“The global pandemic has seen UK charities face critical funding shortfalls, making gifts in Wills all the more important for the sector’s recovery.”
· Law firms, financial advisers and charities report surge in Will-writing enquiries during pandemic year
· Remember A Charity Week launches today offering a campaign toolkit to help advisers open up conversation around including charitable Will-writing
· 100 people across the UK leave a gift to charity in their Will every day (research by Smee & Ford)
MONDAY 07 SEPTEMBER 2020, LONDON, UK – With law firms, financial advisers and charities reporting a surge in Will-writing enquiries during the pandemic1, Remember A Charity in your Will Week (07-13 September 2020) launches today, offering a campaign toolkit designed to help advisers open up conversation around Will-writing and the option of including a charity.
Over 100 people across the UK currently write a gift to charity in their Will each day, raising £3 billion for charities annually, but charity consortium2Remember A Charity says there is far greater appetite for donating in this way. While 17% of Wills that go through probate include a donation3, four in ten (40%) of the over 40s say they would be happy to leave a gift in their Will4.
Remember A Charity Week is the nation’s annual public awareness campaign, which sees 1,200 legal professionals collaborate with almost 200 charities to celebrate and inspire gifts in Wills.
Rob Cope, director of the UK charity consortium Remember A Charity, says:
“The global pandemic has seen UK charities face critical funding shortfalls, making gifts in Wills all the more important for the sector’s recovery. We’re seeing greater appetite for legacy giving across the country as people choose to use their Will not only to support loved ones, but to shape the world they leave behind.
“At a time when people are feeling even more closely connected to their community and the good causes they care about, Remember A Charity Week can be a great platform to encourage clients to consider writing a Will. We’re urging advisers to get involved and ensure everyone has the opportunity of including a gift in their Will after taking care of their family and friends.”
The campaign toolkit includes a promotional video featuring The Wombles, social media toolkit, Will-writing posters, images and information sheets.
Around 10,000 charities are named in Wills each year, with over 1,600 organisations benefitting for the first time in 20195. Gifts in Wills fund 6 out of 10 RNLI lifeboat rescue launches and almost one third of Macmillan’s income, while sustaining an increasing number of smaller and community-based charities.
To request a free toolkit or find out more:
Follow @RememberCharity #RememberACharityWeek
1 Increases in Will-writing enquiries have been reported in recent months by The Law Society, Talbot Law, deVere Group, Irwin Mitchell, Remember A Charity and others.
2,3,5 Smee & Ford (2019 /2020). 37,896 charitable Wills passed through probate in 2018, equating to an average of 104 charitable Wills per day.
4 One Poll (2019)