Episode keywords:

Legacy Giving, Fundraising, Donors, Local Charities, Legacy Marketing, Impact Report, Gifts In Wills.

Episode description:

Join us in this fascinating discussion with Richard Radcliffe, a legacy fundraising expert, who shares his wealth of knowledge on legacy giving. We talk about the power of legacies in fundraising and how it is becoming an increasingly significant source of voluntary income, projected to double to about £7 billion by 2045. Richard discusses the evolving landscape of giving, with a shift from the traditional organisations supported to a broader range including local charities and causes such as mental health and campaigning.

Tune in as we explore the importance of creating a legacy vision for an organization and communicating it effectively to potential donors. Richard shares insightful tips on integrating legacy giving into conversations with service users, incorporating it into regular communication channels, and why a legacy brochure isn’t always necessary. Discover the power of gentle communication in encouraging potential donors to consider leaving a gift in their will.

In the final part of the episode, we focus on legacy marketing strategies and tips. Listen as we share valuable insights on raising awareness of legacies in local communities and the importance of brand awareness. Don’t miss out on these key takeaways that can potentially transform your charity’s income.

Episode transcript:

You can access the transcript for this episode here. It is AI generated and not 100% perfect but I think it is good enough to follow the conversation. Unfortunately, we don’t have the resource to manually make the corrections. 

 Resources:

• Radcliffe Consulting
• Book: Why legacies are brilliant for charities and how to get them by Richard Radcliffe
• Smee and Ford
• CIOF legacy special interest group

Richard Radcliffe

With 40 years in fundraising, which includes more than 30 years specialising in legacies, there isn’t much about legacy fundraising that Richard doesn’t know. However, he never presumes he is right! Every time he spends time with his clients and their stakeholders he discovers unique attitudes to each client.

Richard divides his time consulting, training and mentoring charities and fundraisers across the world to maximise their legacy income. He can guide you through legacy research, strategic planning and the development of all your legacy communication materials to deliver a successful legacy fundraising programme.

So far, Richard has met around 34,000 donors, volunteers and service users in thousands of incredibly informal focus groups/discovery days covering every cause on the globe. He has written (or helped draft) more than 700 successful legacy fundraising strategies.

Richard’s began his fundraising career with the MS Society, became Director of Fundraising of the Order of St John (St John Ambulance and the St John Ophthalmic Hospital in Jerusalem) and then a director of the Charities Aid Foundation. He went on to become executive chairman of the world’s first specialist legacy research and development company Smee & Ford, breaking new ground and instigating a number of world firsts that include the first ever university based training course for trustees. His international work took Richard around the globe covering Will writing and legacy giving traditions in every culture. He trains anyone to make the legacy ask with passion.

Richard was made a the Fellow of the UK’s Institute of Fundraising in recognition of his outstanding contribution to fundraising.

In 2010 Richard founded Radcliffe Consulting, giving him greater independence to challenge today’s legacy market and its fundraising thinking and practices.

In 2018 he received, from the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, the Lifetime Contribution to Fundraising award.

You can find Richard at Radcliffe Consulting, LinkedIn and Twitter.