Yellow plaques commemorate the impact of charitable legacies
Howard Lake | 13 September 2012 | News
Charities awarded the distinctive plaques, inspired by the blue plaques awarded by English Heritage, include Cancer Research UK, ChildLine, Guide Dogs and Liverpool Cathedral.Remember A Charity, the campaign to promote charitable legacies, has unveiled the first of a series of bright yellow plaques at charitable projects that have been made possible thanks to donations left in people’s wills.
The scheme is designed to mark Remember A Charity Week, which runs from 17 – 23 September, which aims to encourage more people to think about including a charity in their Will.
According to Remember A Charity, although around three quarters of Britons regularly give to charity, only 7% include a charity in their Will. Even so, gifts in Wills bring in around £2 billion each year, contributing 30% of the income fo the UK’s top 10 charities. The potential for raising much more is clear.
Yellow plaque recipients
The first recipients of yellow plaques include:
• Guide Dogs’ Training School in Atherton and its National Breeding Centre in Warwickshire: two out of three guide dogs are paid for by gifts in Wills.
• Cancer Research UK: its new research centre, Brough Equipment Park, was named after Muriel Brough who left the charity a legacy of over £10 million.
• National Coal Mining Museum in Wakefield for the Making Sense of Mining Project
Rob Cope, Director of Remember A Charity, referring to the London Olympics, said: “The idea of legacy has been very much in the news this year. Our new yellow plaques recognise the legacies of all the supporters who have left gifts to charities in their Wills, after taking care of loved ones, and helped the good work live on.
“Few of us currently include a charity in our Will. We wanted to do something to make people pause for thought and think about including a gift to charity in their own Will.”
Remember A Charity Week
Over 140 charities will be taking part in events across the UK during the week to urge people to think about including a good cause in their Will, once they have looked after family and friends. The campaign will be promoted in over 3,000 charity shops.
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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.