Record amount left to armed forces charities in 2014
Melanie May | 28 June 2016 | News
People are leaving more money than ever to armed forces charities, with a record £74.4 million was left in wills in 2014.
According to research from the Charities Aid Foundation, legacies left to charities supporting veterans and servicemen and women increased by 41% between 2007 and 2014 – the most recent year for which figures are available.
Overall, people donated more than £1.7 billion to good causes supporting troops and veterans in the seven years from 2007 to 2014. Donations from the public have become increasingly generous, with voluntary donations to armed forces charities increasing by 81% between 2007 and 2014.
The statistics, based on Charity Commission data also found that:
- The increase in legacy income for armed forces is in line with a rise in overall donations. Overall donations made to military charities per year, including money left by people in wills, has increased from £144.7m in 2007 to £262.2m in 2014 – an increase of 81%;
- The military charities which received the most legacy income in 2014 were the Royal British Legion (£16m), Blind Veterans UK (£11.3m), the RAF Benevolent Fund (10m), Help for Heroes (£8.1m), The Royal Star & Garter Homes (£6.4m) and the Gurkha Welfare Trust (£5.7m);
- Help for Heroes and The Royal British Legion saw the biggest increase in annual legacy income between 2013 and 2014 (£4.8m and £4.8m respectively).
Susan Pinkney, head of research at CAF said:
“It is clear how much their work is valued by the British public. Our analysis reveals that people donate tens of millions to military charities in their wills every year and that figure is on the rise.”
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.