This September, the legal profession will be joining forces with 200 charities to celebrate Remember A Charity Week (06-12 September 2021). Together, they will be raising awareness of the option of giving to charity from your Will, after taking care of family and friends. Throughout the week, people will be encouraged to consider how they might change the world for future generations by leaving a gift in their Will.
The Remember A Charity consortium is now calling on solicitors and Will-writers across the country to join its network of over 1,300 legal professionals, taking part in this year’s campaign and sharing information with clients about gifts in Wills.
Legacy giving is gaining appeal with the British public, with the consortium reporting that 40% of the over 45s saying they would be happy to leave a gift in their Will[1] and 100 people now writing a gift to charity in their Will daily[2]. These donations raise over £3 billion for good causes annually, funding vital charitable services.
Rob Cope, director of Remember A Charity, says:
“The global pandemic has been a real catalyst for change, encouraging more people to write a Will[3] and shining a spotlight on the critical role of charities in our communities. Increasingly, people are choosing to give back to the good causes they care about at the end of their lives. And the legal profession is playing a key role in providing impartial information for clients about how to go about it, while ensuring that people’s wishes for family and friends are met.”
“Legacy giving can be transformational for UK charities and, in recent months, this income stream has been all the more critical. From homeless shelters to animal rescue services, hospital equipment to mental health helplines and more, gifts in Wills are enabling charities to sustain and even upscale services at a time of urgent need.”
Remember A Charity Week serves as a springboard to raise the topic of Will-writing with clients. The Campaign Supporter scheme gives legal professionals access to exclusive resources ranging from posters to social media assets and imagery, helping them open up conversation with clients about gifts in Wills.
2021 marks the twelfth year of Remember A Charity Week, a collaborative initiative to highlight the importance of legacy giving.
To find out more or join the existing network of 1,300 campaign supporters, see: www.rememberacharity.org.uk/solicitor
[1] One Poll, 2019
[2] Smee & Ford, 2020
[3] The Law Society, 2020 (The Law Society reports that 7% of the UK public wrote a Will during the first national lockdown of 2020.)
