Words by Smiley Team
New research from Co-op Legal Services shows an increase in donations in Wills of 56% in the last 12 months. The sharpest increase happened during lockdown, with legacy gifting increasing by 81% between 23 March and 30 June compared to the same period last year.
Gifts in Wills - also called charitable legacies - are an essential source of fundraising for charities and without them, many charities we know and rely on may be unable to continue with their vital work.
Gifts to cancer charities remain the most common legacy gifts our Will Writers see, and these have seen the most significant uplift, with an increase of 77% during lockdown. Gifts to local causes have also increased significantly, and these are the second most common types of charitable gifts we now see being left.
Cancer Research UK explains how Gifts in Wills support their work: "Without legacy gifts, Cancer Research UK would not have made such incredible progress. Our research is world-leading. We have been integral in seeing 10-year cancer survival in the UK go from 1 in 4 people in the 1970s to 2 in 4 people today. And a third of what we fund can be attributed to legacies.
James Antoniou, Head of Wills at the Co-op Legal services said, said: "It's moving to see that at such a difficult time for so many, people are still including gifts to charities within their wills. Interestingly, in addition to monetary gifts, we've seen some unique personal effects such as a collection of guitars and a classic red mini being left to charity through wills.
This increase in generosity will make a huge difference to charitable causes and just shows why it's so important for people wanting to make this difference that they do put a will in place".
