Three party leaders make the Legacy10 pledge to leave a charitable legacy
Howard Lake | 16 January 2012 | News
The leaders of the three main political parties at Westminster have confirmed their support for the Legacy10 campaign: The Rt. Hon David Cameron MP, Rt. Hon Nick Clegg MP and Rt. Hon Ed Miliband MP have all pledged to leave a charitable legacy in their wills.
Legacy10, launched in November 2011, is a nationwide campaign to increase the number of people in the UK who leave money to charity in their wills. It urges individuals across the UK to pledge 10% of their estate to charity. With effect from April 2012 any estate which leaves at least 10% (of its taxable wealth) to a charitable cause will be able to take advantage of a reduced rate in inheritance tax, from its current level of 40% down to 36%.
Roland Rudd, founder and Chairman of Legacy10, said that the appeal of Legacy10 lay in its simplicity. “We are asking people to make a contribution”, he explained, “to their favourite cultural or charitable cause in their will, the benefit to that cause will be four times bigger than the small loss to the donor. I am so pleased that all of our main political leaders have not only chosen to support Legacy10 but have also made a personal commitment to change their wills to make the pledge.”
Advertisement
Currently only 7% of the UK population leave a charitable gift in their will, even though 74% support a charity during their lifetime, according to Legacy Foresight’s ‘Legacy Market Snapshot’, 2011.
CAF Chief Executive John Low welcomed the pledge, saying: “CAF warmly welcomes the announcement by each of the three party leaders that they will leave 10% of their estates to charity.
“This is an excellent gesture, and one that will doubtless be warmly received by the public and charities alike – especially in the current economic climate, where demand on many charities is growing while overall funding for many charities is falling.
“We know from the success of the Gates-Buffett Giving Pledge in the US that where prominent people in society pledge to give a substantial amount of their wealth to charity, many will follow.”
Taking action with Legacy10
Is your charity supporting the Legacy10 campaign? How is it doing so? Share you ideas, tips or even early successes in the comments below.
- Legacy10 creates award for excellence in legacy fundraising (12 September 2013)
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.