Emotionally driven storytelling: Charities can move beyond the technical aspects of legacy giving by focusing on the personal and emotional benefits. Sharing stories of how legacy gifts have made a tangible difference in people’s lives can help donors visualise the impact of their gift. Charities should focus on showcasing the lasting change their supporters’ gifts can create for future generations. This emotional connection is essential for building trust and engagement with potential legacy donors.
Make sure you consider the environment: Asking someone to pledge a gift in their will is a significant request, often driven by emotion and a deep connection to the cause. Creative storytelling works best when aligned to contextually relevant environments. There’s real power in aligning to the right media property where you can build connection to the cause and harness greater awareness. It’s something we took advantage of in the award-winning partnership we secured for the MND Association with ITV’s Coronation Street as one of its key characters, Paul Foreman, navigated his Motor Neurone Disease diagnosis. We secured unprecedented access for the MND Association to Coronation Street’s storylines to ensure that we placed the ad’s airtime against the most relevant episodes and plots. The campaign provided the charity with a unique platform to work with the UK’s longest running and most watched TV show to drive meaningful conversations and raise national awareness of MND. It’s important to not only focus on channels and environments that might deliver short-term, cost-efficient leads. Attracting Legacy donors is a long game.
Measuring Impact: While legacy advertising is a long-term effort, it’s still important to track its effectiveness. Short-term metrics such as response rate percentage and cost per leads are easy to track, but it’s vital to understand how these might later convert into Legacy gifts. Understanding donors’ first connection with the charity and their ongoing touch points is hugely insightful, it can help you focus your efforts in the areas with the best overall returns, not just the ones delivering short-term efficiencies.
Targeting younger donors: Legacy giving has traditionally been associated with older generations, but charities should also turn their attention to younger donors who may not have considered this form of giving. By presenting legacy giving as a long-term investment in a cause they care about, charities can tap into the values of younger audiences who are interested in making a lasting impact. Crafting targeted campaigns that emphasise the collective power of many small gifts can engage younger potential donors who might be hesitant about making large contributions.
