Legacy Giving: The Income Stream Most Charities Haven't Structured

Gifts in wills are, by any measure, one of the most significant sources of charitable income in the United Kingdom. Research consistently finds that a meaningful proportion of supporters who would consider leaving a gift in their will to a charity they care about have never been asked, and have never been given the guidance that would make the process feel straightforward. Most charities are not in the habit of having this conversation — and most are therefore leaving a substantial income stream untapped.

Why the conversation does not happen

Asking supporters about legacy giving feels, to many charity professionals, like an uncomfortable subject to raise. There is a sense that it is presumptuous, or that it requires a level of trust and relationship depth that takes years to establish. In practice, the evidence suggests the opposite: supporters are more likely to respond positively to the conversation than charities expect, and many report that they appreciate being told how to give in this way — because they had not known how.

The other barrier is structural. Legacy giving requires a level of programme design that many smaller charities have not had the resource to build. Who has the conversation? How is it initiated? What information does a supporter need? What happens next? Without a clear process, the conversation tends not to happen at all.

“Most supporters who would consider a legacy gift have never been asked. The barrier is almost never reluctance on their part — it is the absence of a structured programme on ours.”

What a structured legacy giving programme involves

A well-designed legacy giving programme begins with identifying the right moments and channels for the conversation — which will vary by organisation and by supporter relationship. It provides supporters with the information they need: what a gift in a will involves, how it can be structured, what proportion of their estate they might consider, and what the practical steps are. It connects them, where appropriate, with the guidance of an independent financial planner who can help them think through the planning involved — not to sell them a product, but to ensure the process feels achievable.

The Charity Wellbeing Service can help charities introduce a legacy giving programme within the context of its wider engagement framework. Where appropriate, Aetas in the Workplace’s financial planning network can provide the one-to-one supporter guidance that makes a gift in wills feel concrete rather than abstract.

The income case

Legacy giving is not a short-term income strategy. The gifts realised in any given year reflect decisions made years or decades earlier. But the charities that have invested in structured legacy programmes over time consistently find that this income stream becomes one of their most reliable and significant. For a charity that depends on fundraising for its financial sustainability, building legacy giving into its income strategy is not an optional extra — it is a governance responsibility.