Remember A Charity

Remember A Charity is a consortium of 200 UK charities, working together with government and partners across the legal sector to inspire people to consider leaving gifts to charity in their Wills.

More than 800 solicitor firms and legal advisors are signed up to our Campaign Supporter scheme, committing to make Will-writing clients aware of the charitable option available, and providing impartial information about how they can support good causes as well as loved ones in their Wills. We provide free resources, template news items and imagery for supporters to share with their client base to get charitable Will-writing conversations started.

Addressing the disconnect between the desire to give and action

Our research shows that 40% of the UK want to leave a gift to charity in their Will after taking care of loved ones, but only 7% currently do. Remember A Charity exists to help address this disconnect by raising awareness and increasing understanding of legacy giving amongst the public.

Why is it that people that wish to give so often don’t? Our research shows that one of the most prominent reasons people give is simply that they didn’t think of it at the time. However, research from the Cabinet Office Behavioural Insights Team has found that simply mentioning the charitable option during Will-writing will double and, in some cases, triple the likelihood that a client will leave a donation.
We provide guidance and support to advisers about how to approach such conversations, along with background information about just how crucial this form of giving is to UK charities. Raising almost £4 billion for good causes a year, gifts in Wills are the largest single source of voluntary income in the UK.

Empowering clients

The good news is that charitable Will-writing is becoming more popular year-on-year. 20% of over 40s have chosen to leave a gift in their Will, up from 14% ten years earlier. But how do you get the conversation started?

Often, legal advisors highlight that many of their other clients like to include a charitable gift in their Will, conveying that this is a growing and popular way of giving. For clients whose estates will likely face inheritance tax, highlighting the tax incentives of giving can be very powerful. Charitable gifts in Wills are tax-free. So, not only can donations reduce the total taxable value of an estate, but if the client chooses to leave 10 per cent or more to good causes, IHT on the taxable portion of the estate is reduced from 40% to 36%.

By letting your clients know that they have the option of including a gift to charity in their Will, you can enable and empower them to support good causes for generations to come.

See all titles in partnership with Remember A Charity.