# Remember A Charity reaches 200th member milestone - Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/10/26/remember-charity-reaches-200th-member-milestone/ - Published: 2017-10-26T09:00:50+01:00 - Author: Melanie May **Remember A Charity has welcomed its 200^(th) member to its consortium this month: Shine Charity.** Established as the Legacy Promotion Group by a steering group including five charities in 2000, [Remember A Charity](http://www.rememberacharity.org.uk/)’s 200 members now include the ten largest charities by legacy income (those raising over £700 million through legacies annually) through to an increasing number of small, community- based organisations. Since it was established, the consortium’s work has included: ## Advertisement [⌊Posthub advert. You create the campaign. We'll handle the postal journey. Get started at post-hub.co.uk.⌉](https://fundraising.co.uk/ads/posthub-20261007-300x250/) * Lobbying government to make legacies a key theme of the [2012 Giving White Paper](https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/78916/17541-WP-Update-Version-2.pdf) and a core part of the Government’s giving agenda going forward. * Behavioural research trials with solicitors showing that referencing the option of leaving a charitable bequest can treble the number of gifts made and working with the legal community to incorporate this approach into Will-writing practice. * Signing up more than 1,100 solicitors and Will-writers to its Campaign Supporter scheme and encouraging all legal advisers to promote legacy giving to clients, with tracking research indicating that 72% of legal advisers now discuss the tax benefits of legacy giving with clients (up from 61% in 2009 according to nfpSynergy). * Ongoing public awareness drives for legacy giving, including the annual Remember A Charity Week. It has also run a number of successful public awareness campaigns including its first on TV: Michael Buerk’s “I will. Will you?”, “[Take A Moment](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Mu02ciPOS0)”, and Greg Wallace’s [Café de Mort](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KASz7q0Vdlg),  while this year’s Remember A Charity in Your Will Week saw DJ Emperor Rosko return to the airwaves with the launch of [Last Pirate FM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hZc6qFDHJ8).   In its time, the proportion of UK Wills that include a charitable gift has increased: rising by 31% between 2007 and  2016, while [Legacy Foresight’s latest figures](https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/10/19/legacy-income-worth-2-8bn-year-growth-likely-slow-due-brexit-effect/) show that legacies now account for 14% of all the fundraised income received by UK charities, with a worth of £2.8bn a year. On becoming the 200^(th) member, [Shine Charity](https://www.shinecharity.org.uk/) Chief Executive, Kate Steele said: > “By being part of the Remember A Charity campaign, Shine will be part of a movement > to grow our legacy giving now and into the future, working alongside fellow charities > to raise awareness and promote the importance of gifts in wills to our supporters > and the wider public. > “Shine is delighted to be recognised as the 200th member. Such high membership > is testament to the faith that the third sector has in the work of Remember A > Charity, and recognition of the importance and potential to grow legacy giving > for the benefit of so many.” Emma Bockhop, Remember A Charity Membership & Supporter Development Manager said: > “The size and diversity of the consortium’s membership are critical success factors > for the campaign. A broad base brings a wide range of insights and experiences > and makes our collective voice more powerful. Crucially, it also extends the reach > and relevance of our messages and influencing work, bringing us ever closer to > achieving our goal of normalising legacy giving. We thank all our members for > their support and encourage other charities to come on board to help achieve our > shared goal even more quickly.” ## History of Remember A Charity **2000** – Formation of Legacy Promotion Group. **2001** – Establishment of Steering Group. **2002** – Public launch and awareness drive commences (86 charities). **2003** – 100th charity joins. **2005** – First national TV advertising campaign takes place ([Michael Buerk: “I will. Will you?”](https://fundraising.co.uk/2006/05/17/remember-charity-advert-campaign-achieves-quotrecord-awarenessquot/)) **2007** – Social marketing research commissioned into the drivers of behaviour change. The results form the basis of the consortium’s future strategy for legacy promotion. **2009** – Launch of social marketing advertising campaign ‘Make your last wishes something to remember’, seeing a lighter and more humorous approach employed for future campaigns.  A pilot campaign for Remember A Charity Week takes place. **2010** – [Remember A Charity Week](https://fundraising.co.uk/2010/07/14/140-charities-take-part-remember-charity-week/) established as an annual awareness week for charitable legacies. **2012** – Lobbying programme succeeds in making legacies a central theme of the giving white paper, with legacies having been notably absent in the previous white paper (2011). **2012** – Re-launch of Campaign Solicitor scheme sees more than 1,000 solicitors and Will-writers commit to highlighting the option of giving to charity with clients. **2013** – Cabinet Office Behavioural Insights Team research published [showing the impact](https://fundraising.co.uk/2013/09/10/cabinet-office-supports-remember-charity-week-2013/) of how solicitors reference charitable giving in the Will-writing process on legacy giving behaviour. **2014** – New Remember A Charity strategy implemented, setting ambitious targets of achieving 16% of Wills to include a charitable donations. **2017** – 200th member joins (Shine Charity) * **[Legacies are growing but it will take a group effort to normalise gifts in Wills](https://fundraising.co.uk/2018/07/23/legacies-are-growing-but-it-will-take-a-group-effort-to-normalise-gifts-in-wills/)**( 23 July 2018) * **[Making the most of Remember A Charity Week 2018](https://fundraising.co.uk/2018/08/15/making-remember-charity-week-2018/)**( 15 August 2018) * **[Remember A Charity in your Will Week starts today](https://fundraising.co.uk/2018/09/10/remember-charity-will-week-starts-today/)**( 10 September 2018) ![Loading](https://fundraising.co.uk/wp-content/plugins/page-views-count/ajax-loader- 2x.gif)