# Making legacy fundraising fun

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2008/07/07/making-legacy-fundraising-fun/
- Published: 2008-07-07T11:42:07+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

I was interested to see that piece of research last week about making legacy marketing
fun. It is an area of fundraising that tends to arouse slightly nervous titters 
amongst fundraisers (cue jokes about cold mail and reactivation).

It baffles me why so much legacy marketing material is almost pious and respectful
beyond belief! I have never once received legacy marketing material that reaches
me effectively.

For me – and many million like me – leaving a legacy to a charity is the only chance
I’m going to have to be a major donor (and, hopefully, to be treated like one). 
It’s the only chance I’ve got genuinely to make a difference. And it’s painless,
as I’ll be long gone when the money’s spent. It might upset my children, but that’s
another story.

## Advertisement

So why do I receive legacy mailings that talk about legacies being useful because
it helps the charity plan? Hold on a minute – do they know when I’m going to die?
If not, how can a legacy possibly help a charity to plan? We all know how wildly
bequests can swing from year to year – they can have a dramatic impact on planning
and also falsely raise trustees’ expectations in good years, which are then missed
in bad years.

Leaving a legacy should be a joyful experience making the legator feel really good
about themselves, and giving them a real sense of how their money will make a difference
when it finally comes through.

A communications programme, keeping pledgers up to date with what current bequests
are being spent on would keep me engaged and give me a good idea of how my money
will be spent. It also reinforces the view that while it’s best to leave your money
to the charity and not the project, my bequest won’t simply disappear into an adminstrative
black hole when I die.

It’s time legacy fundraising came out of the closet and admitted that it’s one of
the most liberating and exciting ways of giving whilst also being the most painless.

Now… I wonder which charity will be the one to finally float my legacy boat!

 * **[Most interactive seminar at National Convention 2008?](https://fundraising.co.uk/2008/07/11/most-interactive-seminar-national-convention-2008/)**(
   11 July 2008)
 * **[Building a legacy promise](https://fundraising.co.uk/2008/07/17/building-legacy-promise/)**(
   17 July 2008)
 * **[Three Institute groups collaborate to offer first conference](https://fundraising.co.uk/2008/07/28/three-institute-groups-collaborate-offer-first-conference/)**(
   28 July 2008)