Legacies, which involve a donation to a charity proscribed in an individual’s will, are a significant source of voluntary income for charities.
Charities can fundraise for legacies, and are sometimes notified by a future legator when a gift is written into a will, but often don’t find out about a legacy gift until after a supporter has passed.
According to the UK Civil Society Almanac 2009, the value of legacies in 2006/2007 – the most recent year on record – was £1.74bn.
There are two types of legacies:
• Pecuniary legacy – a fixed sum of money allocated to a charity in a will
• Residuary legacy – an order in a will to give to a charity whatever is left of the estate after other benefactors have been cared for
An East Sussex-based animal welfare charity has launched a new website in a bid to increase online donations and become less reliant on legacy gifts.
While their views on inheritance tax are far from harmonious, the three major party leaders have today each pledged to leave 10 per cent of their estates to charity in their wills.
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Law firm Kingsley Napley has said clients are already expressing interest in the proposed new tax incentive on charitable legacies which will provide a lower rate of inheritance tax when leaving ten per cent of an estate to charity.
The National Library of Wales has been criticised by the Welsh government for accepting a bequest worth £300,000 from a Frenchman who worked with the Nazis after their invasion of France during the Second World War.
Families and friends in mourning are often moved to honour their lost ones by setting up new charities, but criticised for replicating already existing organisations. Niki May Young suggests that there is still room for in-memoriam charities, if done well.
Surrey-based maritime charity the Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society has seen its legacy income plummet over the past five years, from 82.8 per cent of total income in 2006 to 1.1 per cent in 2010.
Legacies: Sluggish growth over the last ten years
Benchmark analysis shows that there is very little progress in growth of legacies bequeathed to charities.
The value of legacies has dropped slightly over the last year, and with the economy looking set for more turbulence, observers are expecting the downward trend to continue for years.
Geoff Mulgan, chief executive of Nesta, has said that embedding reciprocity and peer pressure into charitable giving could unlock “latent generosity”.
Sir Richard Branson and a raft of other high-profile entrepreneurs have pledged to give away 10 per cent of their wealth to charity in their wills.
Institute of Fundraising members have elected for the body to focus on educating young people about donating, despite statistics released today which show the highest-ever youth unemployment figures.
The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners has drawn up a draft model clause to help legators qualify for the government’s proposed inheritance tax relief.
Charity income from legacies has fallen for the second consecutive quarter, according to figures released by the Legacy Market Monitor.
Fashion designer Alexander McQueen has left legacies to five different charities in his will, bequeathing the majority of his £16m estate to good causes.
Stewardship and Scripture Union have become the latest charities to join the Christian Legacy Consortium, the group which promotes legacy giving among Christians.
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The new 10 per cent Inheritance Tax (IHT) Charity Relief announced by the Chancellor in the March Budget could actually encourage legators to reduce the amounts they had planned to leave to charity, an audience of lawyers and philanthropy advisers heard yesterday.
HMRC has opened a consultation on the proposal to incentivise charitable giving by introducing a lower rate of inheritance tax for those that leave a legacy in their will.
The British public has the capacity to give more, but there is no consensus as to whether and what tax incentives can encourage more philanthropy, it was evident at a meeting of sector representatives in Westminster yesterday.
The value of the legacy market has softened slightly as the impact of house price falls takes its toll on charity income.
Sector commentators have lined up to condemn the omission of lifetime legacies from the Giving White Paper.
Cancer Research UK has grown its income despite the wider economic climate, reporting a 3 per cent increase to put its total at £514.95m.
More than a quarter of people believe they can’t afford to leave a gift to charity in their will and the majority still don’t plan to write a legacy into their will at all, according to research released yesterday.
Three large animal charities have voiced their dismay over a Court of Appeal judgment that allows a disinherited daughter to challenge her deceased mother’s decision to leave her entire £500,000 estate to the charities.
The change to inheritance tax relief announced in last week’s Budget may not be the panacea for charities that it appears, says Richard Fairbairn.
With gift aid reform and inheritance tax changes, the arts stand to benefit as a result of this week's Budget, says Christopher Goodhart.
Charities will no longer have to obtain signed gift aid declarations on the first £5,000 of small donations per year in order for those donations to qualify for the tax relief, Chancellor George Osborne announced in his Budget speech today.
Will Aid’s 2010 campaign has already beaten the previous year’s total by raising almost £1.5m to support nine UK charities.
Legacy income has increased year-on-year for the first time since the global credit crisis struck, according to new figures.
