# Remember A Charity's first Awareness Week starts today

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/09/14/remember-charity039s-first-awareness-week-starts-today/
- Published: 2009-09-14T09:21:03+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

![](https://www.fundraising.co.uk/files/images/news/rememberacharity_2009.gif)

Remember A Charity’s first Awareness Week, the ‘Forget Me Knot’ Week, gets underway
today with the aim of persuading more people to remember the importance of leaving
a charitable gift in their wills.

Margaret Mountford, former lawyer and adviser to Lord Sugar from ‘The Apprentice’,
is fronting the campaign.

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The week will use the tying of a ‘forget me knot’ through a range of activities 
to engage campaign members, supporters, local and national press, the legal profession
and the general public.

![Margaret Mountford tying a 'Forget Me Knot'](https://www.fundraising.co.uk/files/
u11/margaret_mountford.jpg "Margaret Mountford tying a 'Forget Me Knot'")

Charity supporters are being asked to tie a virtual Forget Me Knot as a symbol of
their support for their favourite causes.

The 140+ charity members of the Remember a Charity coalition will promote the campaign
in various ways, including via a banner on their websites and HTML emails to their
supporters and staff, featuring a ‘Forget Me Knot Week’ logo and wrist bands.

A range of national and regional PR activities are underway, including a national
photo shoot with Margaret Mountford and a UK road tour visiting nine cities with
members’ involvement.

Lawyers will also be encouraged this week to ask clients whether they would like
to leave a gift to charity in their will, after they have looked after friends and
family. New Remember A Charity research shows that 75% of people would not mind 
being asked the question by a solicitor or will writing professional.

Margaret Mountford is a trustee of heart disease charity CORDA. She said: "As a 
retired lawyer I recognise that will writing professionals could play an important
role in changing the status quo. If more people were simply asked the question when
drawing up a will I’m sure it would make a huge difference to the long-term future
of so many of our charities".

The week will be further supported by media activity, including a burst of Remember
A Charity’s current ‘memorable last wishes’ themed TV advertising campaign on Channel
4, ITV3 and Gold, radio advertising on Classic FM and online advertising at telegraph.
co.uk and guardian.co.uk.

The end of the week will see a legacy giving supplement produced by the Daily Telegraph
in collaboration with Remember A Charity on Saturday 19 September.

Stephen George, Chair of Remember A Charity and Development Director for Legacies
at NSPCC said: "Our first ever Awareness Week is a welcome addition to the overall
campaign and will provide plenty of opportunities for member charities to talk to
their supporters about the importance of legacies and to gain local and national
PR.

"The mix of celebrity, press, TV and PR will, we hope, make a big impact with the
public and help us take a step closer to our long term goal to make gifts in wills
a social norm for the many."

www.rememberacharity.org.uk

 * **[Analysis of legacy adverts 'deeply disappointing'](https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/10/02/analysis-legacy-adverts-039deeply-disappointing039/)**(
   2 October 2009)
 * **[Coutts & Co launches charitable giving bank account](https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/11/03/coutts-amp-co-launches-charitable-giving-bank-account/)**(
   3 November 2009)
 * **[Remember A Charity campaign targets professional will providers](https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/12/08/remember-charity-campaign-targets-professional-will-providers/)**(
   8 December 2009)
