# Incentivise leaving a legacy, suggests Remember A Charity in legacy manifesto

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2015/04/16/incentivise-leaving-a-legacy-suggests-remember-a-charity-in-legacy-manifesto/
- Published: 2015-04-16T14:13:41+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**Remember A Charity, the consortium of charities that encourages people to include
charities in their wills, has published a legacy manifesto which invites the government
to contribute to a boost in legacy giving.**

It is asking the next government to devise and implement a match-funding scheme 
for charitable gifts in Wills, as a way of both publicising the need to charitable
bequests, and offering an incentive to persuade people to do so.

## How much?

If the government match-funded the first £2,000 of all legacy gifts, then the annual
cost to the Treasury would be around £187 million. Yet the value to charities of
any subsequent increase in charitable bequests would likely far outweigh that sum.
For example, if the number of estates including a charitable legacy increased from
the current rate of 7% to 11%, this would result in** a further £1 billion per year
for the sector**.

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The manifesto argues that this would be “an inexpensive way” to create a “significant
step-change in legacy giving rates and the capacity and sustainability of the UK’s
non-profit sector”.

Alex McDowell, Chair of the consortium, said:

> “Incentivising charitable wills for supporters of all levels of wealth would help
> to socially norm legacy giving. It would also give charities an even greater incentive
> to promote gifts in wills as a form of donating.”

## Legal sector incentives

The manifesto also invites the next government to find appropriate incentives for
the legal sector to inform customers of the option of leaving a charitable gift 
in their will.

## Will writing in government communications

Remember A Charity is also encouraging the government to ensure legacy messaging
is delivered through government communications such as pensions communications.

You can [download the legacy manifesto](http://www.rememberacharity.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Legacy-manifesto-2015.pdf)
from Remember A Charity. It is a 2 A4-page PDF.

 

_Photo: [election pledges](http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-85725193/stock-photo-election-pledges.html)
by Pixelbliss on Shutterstock.com_

 * **[Living Legends return for Remember A Charity in your Will Week 2015](https://fundraising.co.uk/2015/07/20/living-legends-return-for-remember-a-charity-in-your-will-week-2015/)**(
   20 July 2015)
 * **[Remember A Charity confirms potential growth for legacy giving](https://fundraising.co.uk/2015/07/27/remember-a-charity-confirms-potential-growth-for-legacy-giving/)**(
   27 July 2015)
 * **[Remember A Charity invites more charities to promote leaving a legacy](https://fundraising.co.uk/2015/08/16/remember-a-charity-invites-more-charities-to-promote-leaving-a-legacy/)**(
   16 August 2015)