Remember A Charity calls on political party leaders to support legacy giving
Melanie May | 8 June 2017 | News
The Chair of legacy consortium Remember A Charity has written to the leaders of the main political parties, calling on them to support legacy giving.
Distributed to party leaders last month, the call to action has been published in an open letter on Remember A Charity‘s website this week, ahead of today’s General Election.
In the letter, Alex McDowell, chair of the consortium, highlights three government-led actions that would boost charitable gifts in Wills, which include:
- the development of a fiscal incentive (to leave a charitable gift) that would be eligible for all individuals, including those whose estates do not attract inheritance tax
- encouraging all solicitors to provide charitable options during the Will-writing process
- designing employer incentives to promote charitable Will-writing to staff and customers
The letter stresses the sector’s reliance on legacy giving, stating that it contributes 12% of all UK voluntary income and that ‘many of the UK’s best loved charities would not be able to improve lives and communities without gifts in Wills.’ It also highlights the unmet potential of charitable bequests, with figures from Smee & Ford showing that just 6.3% currently give this way.
The consortium is calling on party leaders to do more to help the British public support communities, causes and charities by helping grow legacy giving.
Alex McDowell, Chair of Remember A Charity, said:
“No matter who is elected or which individuals make up our new parliament, Government’s support in developing fiscal incentives and helping making legacy giving a social norm really is critical. Legacies are the largest single source of voluntary income and their growth is essential if we are to enable a stronger and more resilient charitable sector.
“After today, we’ll continue to work with whoever forms the next government to enlist their support in creating the best possible environment to nurture and grow legacy giving.”
Advertisement
Related posts
Legacy income forecast predicts rise to £3.26bn by 2021
Save the Children launches legacy campaign to inspire more gifts in Wills
Misconceptions over Wills & inheritance remain barrier to legacy giving
Wood for Trees offers free legacy toolkit whitepaper & webinar
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.