Charity Income From Gifts In Wills Increase By Nearly 10%

We were very happy to discover recently that Legacy Foresight figures showed its members received a combined income of £1.16 billion in the 12 months leading to June of this year, Third Sector reports. Legacy Foresight are analysts of the legacy and in-memoriam sectors and gather data from 67 charities.

The figures indicate a 9.7% increase in the amount received by members of the organisation compared to the same period in the previous year, securing its highest rate since 2008. This is the tenth consecutive quarter in which legacy income has increased – discounting one minor decrease in the year to June 2013 – and is also the largest year-on-year increase during the period.

Of the 67 charities registered with Legacy Foresight, only 25 reported a decrease in income received, with the remaining 42 reporting a happy increase.

Of the bequests left to the charities, the average amount was worth £56,800, however it was noted by the firm that this average may be slightly more than usual due to a few unusually impressive bequests. The average amount left to a charity usually totals between £20,000 and £25,000. The high average for this year was 8.8% higher than the previous year's results.

According to the spring newsletter from Legacy Foresight, the number of charitable bequests will double from 112,000 to 227,000 by the year 2050, with the number of wills containing a charitable bequest increasing from 14.5% to 19% - this will be due to more people dying with 'natural heirs'. It is also predicted that by 2050 legacy income will increase to £5.2 billion.

Are you pleased to see more people leaving money to charities in their wills?