Alive in Faith February newsletter is out now
February 17, 2023
Let go of apathy, worry and anger this year
February 19, 2023
Diocese of East Anglia Trustees have made the decision to join Your Catholic Legacy and the Free Will Network to raise the profile of legacy giving in the Diocese.
Research shows that Catholics are more open to the idea of leaving a charitable legacy than the general public and the Trustees want to encourage people to consider this and to make it easier for them to write a Will.
Your Catholic Legacy (YCL) is a consortium, founded in 2013 and is currently made up of 27 Catholic charities. Its mission is to make legacy gifts to Catholic causes the social norm for practising Catholics and it does this by encouraging legacy giving in the Catholic community.
Stewardship and Fundraising Coordinator, Sandra Portas, said: “Figures show that charities are set to experience an ‘exceptional period of growth’ from legacies over the next 10 years. The biggest barrier to Will making is apathy, with most people saying they haven’t got round to it yet.”
The next decade’s growth is fuelled by the intergenerational wealth transfer from baby boomers. Appetite for legacy giving is growing and, despite recent delays at probate, the number of charitable bequests is predicted to rise by 30% over the decade. The average specific bequest is £5k, whilst the average residuary bequest (% of estate remaining after all other gifts have been executed) is worth £50k. Figures from the legacy information company Smee & Ford show that more than one million gifts totalling over £23bn have been made to charities between 2010/11 and 2019/20.
Some key facts about legacy giving
- 75% of the population are actively motivated to die with a positive net worth and leave something behind for future generations.
- While people are naturally older when they die, people of all ages can and do make charitable Wills. By the age of forty, most people will have experienced a life change that puts them in a position to contemplate making a Will and therefore a charitable gift.
- Research shows that Catholics are more open to the idea of leaving a charitable legacy than the general public, and even more so if they are a regular Mass attendee.
The Diocese will be giving parishioners access to the Free Will Network, a free will writing service for single or mirror wills. More details on how to take advantage of the service will be announced next month.
If your parish would like some information about legacy giving, please contact stewardship@rcdea.org.uk.
