Legacy and bequest giving is the gift nobody asks for

Aug 29
3 min read

Updated: 3 days ago

Introduction

The largest single gift most small charities ever receive arrives in a will, from somebody who was never asked. It transforms a year, funds something that had been impossible, and nobody at the organisation had any idea it was coming.

Legacy giving feels awkward to raise because it involves talking about death with people you like. So it goes unmentioned, and supporters who would gladly have included the organisation simply never think of it. The awkwardness is almost entirely on the charity's side.

1. Legacy and bequest giving is usually absent rather than declined

Understand why the gifts are not there.

Very few people refuse when asked thoughtfully. The overwhelming reason charities receive no legacies is that they have never mentioned the possibility to anybody, in any material, at any point.

2. Recognise who actually leaves legacies

The profile is not who most people assume.

Long-standing modest donors, volunteers, and people who used the service or whose family did. Not necessarily wealthy supporters. Someone giving a small amount monthly for fifteen years is a far likelier legacy donor than an occasional large giver.

3. Mention it consistently and gently

Frequency matters more than eloquence.

A line in the newsletter, a paragraph on the website, a sentence in the annual report, an option on a form. Repeated quiet mentions do the work; a single dramatic campaign generally does not.

4. Explain what it makes possible

Give the idea something to attach to.

Legacies fund the things annual income cannot: a building, an endowment, a service secured for years. Describing that gives supporters a reason beyond generosity, and it distinguishes the gift from an ordinary donation.

5. Make the practical information easy to find

Remove the friction from the intention.

Your registered name, registration number, and address, in a form somebody can hand to a solicitor. Supporters who intended to include you and could not find the correct details are a real and avoidable loss.

6. Never give legal or financial advice

A firm boundary for the charity.

Encourage people to take independent professional advice and to make a proper will. A charity guiding somebody through the drafting of a gift to itself is in an obvious conflict, whatever the intention.

7. Handle the conversation with care

This requires judgement rather than technique.

If someone raises it, listen, thank them warmly, and do not press for detail or amounts. Some will want to tell you and some will not, and pursuing information can turn a generous impulse into discomfort.

8. Thank people who tell you, and stay in touch

The relationship continues and matters.

Someone who has included you has made a significant decision and should hear from you afterwards, for years, as a valued supporter. Charities that record the pledge and then treat the person no differently lose some of these gifts quietly.

9. Be prepared to administer it properly

The gift arrives with obligations.

Legacies can be complex, may be restricted, may involve property, and can take a long time to settle. Take proper advice when one arises, and make sure your trustees understand what has been left and any conditions attached.

Record everything you are told, with consent. Legacy intentions surface in conversations years before they take effect, and if the person who heard it leaves the organisation the knowledge disappears with them.

Conclusion

Mention legacies at all, because these gifts are missing through silence rather than through refusal.

Recognise that long-standing modest supporters and service users are the likeliest legacy donors, mention it quietly and repeatedly across your materials, explain what a legacy makes possible that annual income cannot, publish your registration details in a form a solicitor can use, refer people to independent advice and never draft anything yourself, handle disclosures gratefully without pressing for detail, keep in touch with those who tell you for as long as they are supporters, and be ready to administer a legacy properly when one arrives.