Will-writing around the globe rocketed in 2020-21. Legacy giving is rocketing around the globe and will continue to do so for another 30 years. But, the implementation of legacy strategies has been stumbling and still is.
Resources are stretched and the mental health of many fundraisers is worrying.
Many Boards are pandemic panicking. “Get money in now,” is their focus.
This combination is a real threat to keeping the best fundraisers working effectively and healthily. The combination of exhaustion and short-term panic to get money now, will have long term disastrous effects.
Income from Trusts/Foundations and corporates almost exclusively fund specific projects. Statutory income is often contract-linked and just maintains a service for a year or two. It is individual giving that enables nonprofits to survive. Legacies are the only source of income to help a nonprofit thrive. They also offer protection against future emergencies. They are the best vaccination for financial health.
A sampling of recent emails from my clients:
“I am so sorry Richard but everything is on hold [legacy activity]. I have no idea when we will be allowed to advance our legacy strategy.”
“I am leaving after seven years. I don’t want to, but burnout has drained me 100% and I do not think anyone realises how long it takes to recover. I hope we meet again.”
“Hi Richard, I am so sorry not to have been in touch since your last email [which was nine weeks earlier]. I have been forced to concentrate on DM appeals and my team is half the size it was 18 months ago. I am at my wits end – is there a chance you could talk to the Board for just 10 minutes at their next meeting to turn them around?” (I did, and it worked. For the moment.)
Why is there so little official Board guidance on balancing short-term and long-term finances, let alone mental health issues?
Consider:
What other evidence do Boards need to spring into action and make their nonprofit financially secure for future generations?
And, it is the “future generations” phrase which lies at the heart of the “Board barrier.” Income from legacies will only impact fully after the Board members have retired or died.
After 35 years in legacies, I find my passion for legacy fundraising is running higher than ever. But so are my frustrations. (Thankfully I have a strong heart…… I think!)
How many Boards still think “legacies will just come in anyway?”
Everything is changing, as almost all baby boomers carry out wise estate planning. Current prospects do not leave ad hoc legacies without in-depth thought and planning. Thirty years ago in the UK, over 80% of legacies were from single females – mainly widowed in the Two World Wars. They left ad hoc legacies. Now, the gender split is 60% females and 40% males. It would be almost 50/50 if men lived as long as women.
Legacies are left to nonprofits trusted by prospects, in other words mainly current supporters. In the UK, legacy prospect acquisition by direct mail is seeing a real fall – usually well under 1%. Why? Because baby boomers investigate the impact they want to make with their gift. They are considering sources of funding, and how well funds are being used. They are active on the internet and website savvy. They are also changing their charitable beneficiaries to include: local, niche market nonprofits, mental health providers, education, heritage and the arts. The past does not predict the future.
Legacy activity must focus on cultivation (of enquirers) and stewardship (of pledgers). This inevitably means low-cost investment. Who really wants to invest in acquisition when 99/100 people do not respond?
A gift in a Will needs (in most circumstances) a Will. Do intelligent baby boomers have a Will? Yes. But in our experience in Canada and globally, at least 30% are out of date. Many Boards and fundraisers are convinced a “Free Will Offer” makes baby boomers bounce with joy. Sometimes this is true but rarely, and it assumes prospects are stupid.
In these times of exhaustion and short-termism, little time or resource is needed to integrate legacy asks into current communications: events, direct mail, social media, videos.
For goodness sake, get on with it before it is too late.
Home page photo by Kyle Nieber on Unsplash
Richard Radcliffe is Founder of Radcliffe Consulting and works globally. He carries out focus groups (and met about 35,000 supporters including 1200 since the outbreak of Covid), drafts highly practical strategies and trains anyone to make the ask nicely!
