Great Fundraising Organizations, by Alan Clayton. Book cover.

2022 record-breaking year for legacy income in England & Wales

A close up of pens in a pot, with someone signing some papers in the background. By Mikhail Nilov on pexels

Reported legacy income reached £3.3bn last year in England and Wales, according to the latest Smee & Ford data, with total legacy income estimated to have risen to around £3.7bn.

The increase in reported legacy income, from organisations providing this data to the Charity Commission, was a 13.2% increase on the previous year’s £2.9bn. These organisations represent the largest legacy recipients in the country and receive at least £500k of total annual income.

According to Smee & Ford’s Legacy Trends Report 2023, for charities that do not report legacy income with the Charity Commission (those with a total income under £500k), its calculations show that legacy income was worth £447mn in 2022. This is significantly higher than in previous years, indicating that more legacy income is being distributed to charities with lower total annual income.

Advertisement

Great Fundraising Organizations, by Alan Clayton. Buy now.

Combining these figures, Smee & Ford estimates that total legacy income to charities increased to around £3.7bn in 2022 – the largest total it has ever recorded.

Charitable estates

The value of charitable estates also rose – from £19.9bn in 2021 to £21.bn in 2022. This is a 7% growth and the first time values have exceeded £20bn.

Growth in estate values translates to growth in the values of residual bequests. In recent years, Smee & Ford has seen growth in the average value of charitable estates, from £496k in 2017 to £576k in 2022. Over the past year, the average value of a charitable estate has increased by 8%.

Polly Avgherinos, Managing Director at Smee & Ford, said:

“It is encouraging to see total legacy income for charities reach a record high in 2022, as well as a new milestone reached for the value of charitable estates. We hope that legacies will remain resilient in the face of the current economic climate, and remain committed to supporting the sector with valuable market insight throughout this year and beyond.”

More findings

Loading

Mastodon