Funding the future: Top tips for making the case for legacy investment

At a time when charities face immense financial pressure and growing need from beneficiaries, legacy fundraising remains one of the most powerful opportunities for income generation. And yet, it can be challenging to make the case for legacies when short-term funding demands are front-of-mind.

This was the focus of this month's members’ webinar, which brought together three experts, Sam Devlin, specialist legacy fundraising consultant and author of our Making the Case for Legacy Investment toolkit, Chris Millward, Head of Legacies at Princess Alice Hospice, and Jess Bayliss Head of Legacy Marketing at the RSPCA. Together, they explored how charities can secure organisational buy-in and investment in their legacy programmes.

Here are some of the key insights and tips shared throughout the session.

1. Lead with the scale and long-term opportunity

Highlighting the sheer scale of the legacy opportunity, the webinar highlighted that legacy income has trebled over the past 25 years, providing charities with much-needed stability and resilience. Legacy gifts can indeed be transformative for an organisation, and Sam Devlin emphasised the power of an established legacy pipeline in providing a steady flow of often sizable income.

Despite this, she noted that charities have historically underinvested in legacies, with one study indicating that charities spend just 6% of their fundraising budgets on legacies - when it drives around 44% of their voluntary income. As Sam pointed out, this gap shows just how much untapped potential there is for charities to invest in and grow their legacy programmes.

2. Tell a compelling story grounded in evidence

A strong case for investment combines the ability to paint a picture of the future, using compelling data and emotive storytelling that depicts the potential impact of legacy growth. For charities that are new to legacy fundraising and don’t yet have their own legacy stories to tell,  Sam encouraged them to make good use of the market benchmarks, such as average gift values (see Legacy Futures' Data Dashboard), and to share the predicted rise in sector-wide legacy income from £4.5bn to £5.1bn by the end of the decade.

But numbers alone aren’t enough, as each speaker conveyed. Chris Millward highlighted that supporters leave gifts because they feel emotionally connected to a charity’s mission. Storytelling and sharing meaningful, human narratives about why legacies matter, should sit at the heart of both internal and external communications. Even organisations yet to receive legacy gifts can tell powerful “future stories” that show how a gift in a Will could change lives.

3. Recognise the importance of timing and demographic trends

The intergenerational transfer of wealth from baby boomers is underway, paving the way for a “golden age” for legacy giving. This boomer audience is financially savvy, charitably-minded, and often holds significant wealth in the form of property or pensions.

Senior leaders may be tempted to focus solely on short-term returns, but failing to invest now risks missing this unique window of opportunity. As Sam put it: if you’re not talking to supporters about legacies now, another charity will be.

4. Bring colleagues with you, internal engagement is essential

Both Chris and Jess Bayliss stressed that gaining investment in legacy fundraising isn’t a one-off exercise, it’s a long-term journey that relies on proactive internal engagement and timely reminders along the way. Structured engagement plans can raise awareness across teams, foster a network of legacy champions, and keep legacies on the agenda.

Jess explained how this is put into action at the RSPCA, where internal communications about legacies has become the norm. By providing regular updates, stories, results and cross-team celebrations, this ensures legacies are both visible and valued throughout the organisation.

5. Demonstrate impact through clear, understandable metrics

Legacy fundraising can be misunderstood, especially when income is realised years after activity takes place. Jess outlined how her team tackles this by building ROI models that place an estimated monetary value on inquiries and pledges.

This allows stakeholders to see clearly how today’s activity contributes to tomorrow’s income. Where detailed data isn’t available, simple KPIs such as increases in legacy enquiries or pledges can still be communicated with context to show the direction of travel and strategic value.

6. Prepare to overcome objections

Common pushbacks, such as the need for immediate income or concerns about the sensitivities of discussing legacies, came up throughout the session. The speakers encouraged fundraisers to anticipate these challenges and consider their counter arguments, continuing to weave in both data and storytelling to strengthen the narrative. (A grid of common objections and counter positions is included in the toolkit as a useful starting point.)

Reframing discussions around empowerment, supporter choice, long-term sustainability and portfolio-wide benefits helps shift perceptions. Where capacity is a barrier, the option of co-creating investment proposals with colleagues was recommended. This can ensure operational needs such as extra headcount are considered from the start, reflected in the plans and it helps everyone see legacy programmes as a team effort.

A strategic imperative

The webinar’s key message was clear – legacy fundraising is not niche, but a strategic imperative. With demographic trends, market growth and supporter behaviour aligning, this is a strong time for charities to invest and increase their focus on legacies.

By combining insight, storytelling, internal advocacy and clear measurement, fundraisers can make a compelling case that secures the support they need to build sustainable legacy programmes, funding their future.