Over 1,000 solicitor firms now promote legacy giving to clients
Howard Lake | 20 October 2015 | News
There are now over 1,000 firms of solicitors and Will-writers who are committed to prompting clients about leaving a charitable legacy, according to Remember A Charity, the charity consortium.
The milestone was reached following this year’s Remember A Charity in your Will Week, which ran from 7-13 September. The 150+ charities and their message were supported by government and the legal sector.
Since then, 230 solicitor firms have become campaign supporters, bringing the total to 1,012 solicitor firms and 74 Will-Writers.
[youtube height=”450″ width=”800″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uy8x2lpkLLk[/youtube]
Government support
This year’s campaign included government support:
• Co-signed letters from Rob Wilson, Minister for Civil Society at the Cabinet Office, Damian Hinds, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury and Paul Wheelhouse MSP, Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs at The Scottish Government, were sent to over 8,700 solicitors in England, Wales and Scotland, urging them to highlight the option to clients of leaving a gift to charity.
• Ed Vaizey, Minister of State for Culture and the Digital Economy at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, wrote to all cultural organisations to encourage them to get involved with the campaign. He also called on the public to consider leaving a gift in their Will.
Rob Cope, director of Remember A Charity, said:
“Solicitors and professional advisers are hugely important in advising clients about all the options they should consider when it comes to making decisions about what to do with their estate. Their role in highlighting the opportunity and tax benefits of leaving money to charity has been shown to double and – in some circumstances – treble the number of legacy gifts made. That is why we are working hard to get more firms on board each year and are so grateful to Government for its continued support”.
Advertisement
Photo: My Will by Alex Skopje on Shutterstock.com
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.