Legacies have the potential to transform charities and the world in the next few years, but we need to have our approach right if we are to seize the day or, more importantly, the 30 years ahead.

The challenge is clear. While 87% of Australians support charities in their lifetime, only 7.5% leave a gift in their will to charity. If this went up to just 12%, charities would receive an extra $440 million. The question is, why just 12 %? Why not 20, 50 or 100%? What if we focussed on making legacies mainstream and not peripheral?

Many countries face this question, especially as the baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1963, are reaching their 70s. Some estimates say they are worth about US$46 trillion, so the age of the greatest generational transfer of wealth has arrived.

But it’s not just the money. To think of just that is to do a disservice to supporters, both potential and current. A transfer of wealth is not just money, it is about so much more: dreams, solving problems, being inspired and fulfilled, helping cure disease, freeing people from poverty, and leading full and happy lives. Legacies are about this for the donor as they contemplate aging, and so it should be for the charity.

Concerted effort

The good news is that more and more people are beginning to leave a gift. In the UK in 2007, 12% of those with a will left a gift to a charity, and by 2014 it was more than 17%. This is because of a concerted effort by the sector to make legacies normal, accessible and desirable. People should be able to give and speak about it openly and inspirationally. It is the route to opening up a new frontier, but the key reason legacies still struggle, despite the progress, is the lack of understanding and lack of action by those who could make a difference.

On top of this, fundraising organisations find it hard to talk about legacies. They sit from afar looking at the subject with fear. Death, legalities and appropriateness, along with a lack of knowledge and confidence, loom in the way.

If you think it’s hard for the fundraiser, think how hard it is for the donor. Faced with an uncertain old age, looking to help their children and mindful of caring for parents, baby boomers are trapped in a future where conflicting financial pressures are mounting. For this generation however, there is a powerful motivation to be remembered, to have made a mark, to have made a difference, to have done some good. Charities can deliver this, but not by competing with deeply rooted family priorities. Family first, charity second. That’s the right thing.

So how can charities tap into legacy giving? What can be done to seize this opportunity? First, we need to recognise our mistakes. We have marketed our legacy offer far too much as if competing with the people the donor must serve first: family. We are an “and”, not an “instead”.

We have pushed measures and offers that suit us, not the donor. We have made them tell us they have covered charities to justify our effort. We have gathered people into clubs they don’t really want to join, telling them we need to plan for the future. The donor doesn’t want to play there. It can’t become the purpose, the reason to engage. We need a broader understanding of behaviour and motivation.

Our messaging has made huge leaps in recent years. Emotional, relevant and focussed on a positive future, these messages have helped create a sense of brand about legacies. But even then there are still many who talk in a language that is removed or legal or clichéd. Where there’s a will there’s a way … really?

More in tune

We need to adopt an approach that is far more in tune with the donor. Firstly, we need to normalise legacies. That means helping donors understand and embrace the opportunity by joining Include a Charity. This does two critical things: it creates market and gives you content to engage. It then means getting everyone in each organisation to a place where they have the knowledge, tools and confidence to be able to talk about the subject, to play a part and open up the conversation.

It means we need to measure outcomes that are far more in tune with the donor’s behaviour – building a currency around conversations, so the subject is opened up, enabling a donor to consider, commit or complete a gift.

To feel confident, we need to refocus on new measures that make sense – firstly, the value in our charity’s pipeline; secondly, the value of the people we reach and engage; thirdly, the short-term facts of what we have and its value, then when we will get the return.

Building legacy income for the future means driving connections and engagement now. The rest will come. Above all, we need to understand donors’ needs and do our best to meet them.

Time and time again we find that an organisation speaks about legacies without any courage or emotion, and in so doing fails to inspire the donor about the cause. If we had fewer case studies and more stories, we could inspire and engage people who are looking to feel good. Ramp up digital, TV and radio as the means to tell a story based on emotion and values. These channels are ideal for legacy influence and reach. Create content, and people will follow. In most cases, an organisation’s purpose is a brilliant legacy proposition. Why not focus on this?

To be successful in the new legacy revolution,  at every level of our organisation, we need to wrap our arms, hearts and minds around the true meaning of legacy.

Stephen George, fundraising/leadership coach and consultant.

This article originally appeared in Third Sector’s December print edition. Click here for more info.