Legacy giving isn’t a niche opportunity. It’s already a meaningful and growing part of the fundraising landscape
Over the last 15 years, the team at Good Works has produced the State of the Legacy Nation report, helping fundraisers better understand the trends shaping Will-making and legacy giving in Canada.
This year, the report looks and feels a little different. It has a new name: The Legacy Landscape: Understanding Planned Giving in Canada.
And, for the first time, it’s a collaboration between Good Works and Epilogue.
The Legacy Landscape report brings together the market data and modelling the sector has come to rely on, alongside new data from Epilogue on Wills and bequests through online platforms. The result is a more current and complete picture of what’s actually happening and where opportunity lies.
Here are a few key takeaways:
More Canadians are making Wills
Across nearly every age group, Will-making is on the rise.
Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Civics have all increased their Will-making in recent years. These are the donors who are either ready, or getting close to being ready, to think seriously about their legacy.
This might seem like a simple point, but it’s an important one. A gift in a Will can only happen if a Will exists in the first place. As more Canadians take that step, the overall opportunity for legacy giving grows alongside it.
There is significant wealth already in play
One of the more striking takeaways from the report is the scale of giving already happening.
Over a million Canadians have already included charitable gifts in their Wills, representing a very large pool of future support. And, a similar number are expected to do the same in the coming years.
For charities, this reinforces something important. Legacy giving isn’t a niche opportunity. It’s already a meaningful and growing part of the fundraising landscape.
Online Will-making is growing, but traditional still dominates
Most Canadians are still creating their Wills through lawyers or notaries, and that remains the primary path. At the same time, online Will-making has grown quickly and now represents a meaningful share of how people are creating their Wills.
For charities, this isn’t about choosing one channel over another. It’s about recognizing that donor behaviour is expanding. Some donors will go through a lawyer. Others will go online. Many will move between both. The opportunity is to show up across that full journey.
Online and offline donors look more similar than different
One of the more interesting findings is how similar online and traditional Will-makers actually are. The same patterns that have shaped legacy giving for years still hold. For charities, this is helpful. It means that the strategies that have worked in the past still apply.
The difference is that donors are now engaging through more channels, often at different points in their journey.
A meaningful number of donors are already including charities
One of the most encouraging things in the report is that a consistent percentage of people making Wills are choosing to include a charitable gift.
These aren’t hypothetical donors. These are real people, going through the process and choosing to leave gifts in their Wills. For charities, there’s a simple takeaway: when people are given a clear and easy way to include a gift, a lot of them will.
Charity involvement makes a real difference
The report also highlights something we’ve been seeing at Epilogue for some time. When someone is directed by a charity to create their Will online, they are more than four times as likely to include a charitable gift.
That’s a meaningful difference, and it doesn’t require a complex strategy. It can be as simple as starting the conversation, sharing helpful information, or pointing donors toward a clear next step.
What this means for your organization
Taken together, these trends point to a clear opportunity.
- more Canadians are making Wills
- a significant number are open to including charitable gifts
- and, charity involvement can meaningfully influence outcomes
For many organizations, the path forward isn’t about building something entirely new. It’s about making it easier for donors who are already inclined to give. The full Legacy Landscape report goes deeper, with additional insights on donor behaviour and demographic breakdowns. If you’re interested in where legacy giving is heading, and how your organization can be part of it, download it here.
Daniel Goldgut is the co-founder of Epilogue, an innovative online platform revolutionizing estate planning in Canada. With a background in law and years of experience in private practice, Daniel transitioned from a legal career to entrepreneurship, driven by a passion for making Wills and estate planning more accessible and affordable for everyone. He collaborates closely with charities to enhance their legacy giving programs, helping organizations grow their impact. daniel@epiloguewills.com
