According to consumer research done by Remember a Charity, customers are increasingly choosing to leave a legacy in their Will. A legacy has been left in the wills of 20% of UK charity supporters aged 40 and older, up from 14% ten years earlier. This is a 43% increase.
Other results consist of the following:
- One in five supporters (20%) reported having a charitable bequest in their Will.
- Just over one in ten (11%) stated they are getting ready to do so.
- Less than ten per cent (10) completely reject the idea
"Stages of Change" approach
The study used a "Stages of Change" approach for tracking, which has six phases, to track legacy giving attitudes and behaviour among more than 2000 charity donors aged 40 and up:
- Refusal to include a gift in their Will.
- Those who haven't thought about it or are unsure whether they would ponder it are considered pre-contemplative.
- Pre-contemplation awareness refers to those aware of it but haven't given it much thought.
- Contemplation refers to people who are aware of it and might consider leaving a gift.
- Preparation refers to people who intend to give.
- Action refers to people who have already made a bequest in their Will.
Three in ten of those who had already drafted a will (29% of those polled, or little under two thirds) had included a charity bequest. Despite the state of the economy, the vast majority of respondents (80%) said they were just as likely to make a charitable gift now as they were a year ago. Of those, twice as many (14%) as those (6%) who said they were less likely to give claimed they were more likely to leave a gift. More than 40% of people are aware of the benefits of including charitable gifts in wills in terms of inheritance taxes.