Rise in legacy income for arts charities outperforming overall growth of top 1,000 charities

Legacy donations to arts charities have risen, growing by some 10% per year over the last 10 years.

This level of growth has increased beyond other areas of the sector, with arts charities receiving £30 million in legacy income over the course of 2022-23.

The findings have been revealed in a new report, The Art of Legacies, published by Remember A Charity and funded by the Chartered Institute of Fundraising's RAISE programme.

Figures show that the average growth for legacy income in this area of the sector is almost double of that seen by the top 1,000 charities.

Remember A Charity chair Anaish Yilma-Parmar, head of legacies at the British Red Cross and trustee at Magpie Dance, added: “We know that arts, culture and heritage organisations have a really special place in people's hearts. They're loved in life, and they can be loved and supported in death too. There's a huge opportunity here for us as organisations to inspire people to support us in this way, building that long term sustainable income for the impact that we all deliver every day.”

V&A head of legacy giving, Emma McCormack added: “Something I often hear is that people do not realise that arts organisations are charities, and therefore don't think of them when writing their Will. If, together, we can all work towards promoting the message that arts, culture and heritage organisations are indeed charities that need and value gifts in Wills, then collectively, we will all benefit. Because all boats rise with the tide.”

Remember A Charity’s long-term benchmarking study has found that legacy giving has become increasingly prevalent in recent years, with one in five (21%) UK charity supporters aged 40+ saying they have left a gift in their will, up from 15% in 20182.

The organisation said the sector is now approaching a 'crucial window of opportunity' for legacy growth, with £5.5trn expected to be passed down from Baby Boomers to the next generation over the coming years.

"With many people having a deep-rooted passion for the arts, culture, and heritage, this presents an important opportunity to share the legacy giving message with supporters, visitors, and service users alike," it added.

The full report can be downloaded for free here.