Forum 2007 – Paul Farthing
1, 2, 3 Guide to Legacy Marketing, Paul Farthing, Director of Legacies, Cancer Research UK
Paul Farthing, Director of Legacies for Cancer Research UK, gave advice on how to go about encouraging people to leave money/donations in their wills.
He recognised the challenges to getting started: it is not short-term income, it requires a ‘leap of faith’, there may be a lack of senior support, and it is about death.
Paul encouraged that legacy marketing is about giving supporters a reason to leave a gift. How to do this:
- define the need you are meeting
- project it 30 years ahead
- show individual impact – people feel their individual donation is important and want to hear how it will help in practice
- use case studies, your track record/success, humour
One of Paul’s top tips was “don’t be afraid of it”, people don’t mind you asking if you are honest about why you’re doing it.
“Legacy/making a will is about making a story of our lives”, if you change the language of talking about this, it can be about stories, not death.
He believes that charities/organisations have a responsibility to offer supporters a chance to tell their story/why the charity is important enough to them to leave a gift.
Paul suggests that using all your communication channels is a good strategy, perhaps a small note at the bottom of every letter, a page on your website, a story in your newsletter, a mention in your annual report, and involve your Board, staff and volunteers.
The most important thing is to get the supporter to consider leaving a legacy, do not worry about trying to capture the data/measure – the money will make its way to your organisation.
Keeping the aftercare simple is also a key point to remember – don’t put barriers in the way to people giving. Make sure you say thank you but keep doing what you do.
During question time there were a few concerns from small, new or growing organisations that it is hard to offer faith in the organisation that they will still be around in 20 years time. Paul answered that supporters need to be persuaded and encouraged of the need for the charity and hence its survival, but he also suggested that a policy was built in that there would be a diversionary location for the money should the organisation not be around.
Cancer Research UK is the UK’s leading cancer charity dedicated to cancer research. Cancer Research UK works hard to improve their understanding of cancer and develop better ways to prevent, diagnose and treat the disease. The charity also works with politicians and policy-makers to make sure that cancer stays at the top of the health agenda.
www.cancerresearchuk.org
