Want to start a conversation about legacy giving?

Gone are the days of…

Legacies often come from people outside of the donor pyramid Asking people to tick a pledge box is

much debated

‘People die and simply give you money’

Stephen George, PF nov 08Legacies are a more integral part of

the supporter experience

What we do know is…

• Market is becoming more crowed– not just competing with charities– but other organisations such as the arts & museums.

• This crowed legacy market place is full of the same messages– Help this good cause by leaving us a bequest

• Dorothy is becoming more and more promiscuous and therefore engaging with her to leave a legacy is becoming harder.

• Wills are a complex subject and having a personal point of contact will help to make potential legators feel comfortable

• Legacy marketing is difficult to evaluate

What we do know is… • Recession is impacting legacies

– But more about the value of legacies rather than the number of legacies – Nationwide predict a year-on-year decrease in house prices of 16.9%*– The Legacy Monitor 2008 predicts the average residuary legacy value will fall

from £55,900 to £53,500 in 09/10* – But on the more positive note they predict a rise to just over £57,000 in

2012/2013*• Numbers could be effected though by the death rate declining

– By 2032, people over 65 will number 16.1 million in the UK (or 1 in 4)*– Opportunity or threat for legacy fundraising?

• Legacy marketing should be integrated in any supporter experience (financial giver or otherwise).

• We are talking to two different groups – one of which will already have a will and those who haven’t yet made one. What we offer these two groups of people will be very different.

*PF, March 09

Awareness &

Education

Acceptance DecisionAction –

make a will Gift = £

Engagement

Conversation

Inspiration

What we do know is…

The journey to leaving a legacy isn’t a simple one

Legacy Marketing

Research is at the heart of any legacy marketing campaign

Understanding your donor

Understanding your potential legator

So where if you cannot afford to research your donor can you get the information to drive your campaigns

Data

External organisations

Consortiums

A few key facts• Together we can provide consistency of message to change people perceptions and

therefore behaviour

• People have a fear about talking about death.

• Those most likely to leave a gift in their will are those who are charitably minded

• Over arching message for all should be - Family and Friends first – Charity second

• Need to change perception that leaving a gift in a will is for the rich or eccentric, it is truly people like us!

• Any size gift is gratefully received!!!!

• Asking someone to pledge does not mean they have/will of done so, so why ask

• Finally – spend 40 minutes talking about leaving a gift in their will and they will consider it

We believe the legacy market is moving to…

Legacy conversions Multiple audienceswith

Engagement

AICR case study

Background

• Legacies made up 23% of income of top 500 charities*• This rose to over 30% for health related charities• Previous legacy activity had received a low (and sometimes

negative) response– Needed to engage supporters outside of premium-heavy warm

programme• AICR receive just 6% of their income from legacies = a HUGE

opportunity

*CAF charity trends 2007

Targeting

• Built a targeting model that identified legacy prospects from existing file of 1.7m records:– Age & gender– Longevity, frequency and type(s) of support– Value– Relationship with the cause

• Leading donors to self-select– Building a base of cause-led donors whose motivations we understand

→ Who are receptive to talking about legacies→ Who will then leave a legacy

Creative Strategy

Engage and inspire potential legators

Starting a conversation

Reinforce the legacy message

Gathering stories

Sharing stories

Changing the cancer story

Response

• We received over 500 responses to the first mailing

• As of the end of stage two, we have received 118 pledges and 61 requests for more information

• This could equate to >£6.3m!

What next?

• Stage three• Continuing the conversation• Cementing personal relationship• Reinforcing legacy message

arc case study

Big opportunities at arc:

• Rebranding to engage more audiences• There is significant investment in fundraising• Legacy income is currently 85% of voluntary income (without

any investment in marketing legacies)

However: Notifications are going down. Therefore there is the need to be proactive with marketing to

potential legacy audiences

Our strategy

2 routes to carefully promote legacies:

1) The easy route – spending in charity choice etc

2) Develop multi audience and channel communication to maximise opportunities.

Because we are playing catch up we have to look at both routes.

The supporter journey

• Each supporters journey is an individual experience• There are three main entry points • Cold (so why do they leave a gift if they are not supporters?)• Through the donor base• Through volunteer network

Different audiences

Arc donors are self selecting

No legacy messages to

date

Relationship with condition

The Donors The Volunteers

Warmest audience

Comms on a 1to1 through key staff as

well as supporter

comms

The Researchers

Indirect legacy giving

audience

Advocates – help to make

the ask

Desire to give something

back

The Arthritis Sufferers

Lack of engagement

with organisation

But relationship

with condition

Likely to be a much longer

journey

The Staff

Advocates for legacies

Not an easy task but

people are behind it

Need to make them feel

comfortable with talking

about ‘death’

Key message priorities:

• Make arthritis and research relevant• Emotional engagement with the cause• Who does the asking• Tangibility

Key things to digest with your breakfast:Think wider than just your donors and ‘cold’ legacy audiences.Think about your audiences connection with the cause. Some will be warmer

than others so think about how you can deepen that connection and what journeys you need to take people on.

Think about who makes the ask. Think about how you can integrate legacy messages into the different

journeys for different legacy audiences (drip feed messages with a mix of direct messages).

And think about a mix of channels. Think about the messages to help build trust e.g. family first, charity second.The legacy conversation is continuous dialogue until you have received your

gift.

Thank you

Any questions…