Small charities need to invest to benefit from legacies growth | Charity law

Thursfields Solicitors has advised small charities to invest to make sure they benefit from an increasing trend of legacies to the charitable sector.

Katherine Ellis, a Senior Associate Solicitor at Thursfields’ Kidderminster office, was commenting after a new report revealed a 4% growth in the people’s willingness to leave gifts to charities in their Wills.

The Legacy Potential Premier League Table 2019-2020, produced by the marketing data company fastmap, also found that animal charities were currently the most likely to benefit.

However, while the Cats Protection charity topped the table for the second year running, rankings changed for other charities, with Cancer Research UK, the RSPCA, Macmillan and the RNLI dropping and The Donkey Sanctuary and Blue Cross animal charity among several new top 20 entrants.

Katherine, who has spent many years dealing with complex probate issues and contested legacy disputes, said smaller charities in particular needed to up their game to benefit from the growing trend and competitive market.

She said: “This report shows not only how legacy consideration has increased but also highlights the highly competitive nature of the legacy market.

In short, people are more open to leaving a gift in their will to a charity, and this has created a prime opportunity for smaller charities to invest in legacy marketing so they don’t fall behind others who are increasing their shares of this growing income stream.”

Katherine added: “As well as marketing, charities will need to make sure they are fully up-to-date with the legacy administration process, and this is where Thursfields can help with advice and support.”

Anyone wanting to discuss charity legacy advice can contact Katherine Ellis on 0121 647 5419, extension 5419, or at kellis@thursfields.co.uk

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