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TDA and charities explore new legacy approaches

Will and testament. Black and white photo: Jennifer Marr
Will and testament. Photo: Jennifer Marr

Direct-to-digital marketing agency TDA is working with five leading UK charities on research into new ways to persuade supporters to leave legacies.

The initiative follows research carried out in 2007 which revealed many of the challenges that need to be overcome to persuade even loyal donors to become legacy givers.

Charities involved in the research are Barnardo’s, The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, The National Trust, Save the Children and World Vision.

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David Burrows, Head of Fundraising at TDA, said: “To persuade more people to leave legacies we need to understand their concerns and expectations. This may require charities to do more to show people what’s in it for them and the families they will leave behind.

“As well as quantitative research we will be exploring potential legacy messages qualitatively. This will help to show whether different generations respond in different ways, or whether supporters of animal charities respond differently to those who support children’s or overseas charities,” says Burrows.

Alasdair Akass, Legacy Development Manager at the National Trust, said: “One of the areas we’re keen to understand better is how we should speak to legacy prospects – what tone of voice should we use and how do we cover family issues. The beauty of the TDA research consortium is its size, each charity has had the opportunity to influence the direction of the research.”

www.tdaltd.com

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