A letter to an Executor that led to a cheque for £95,000

Since I started my career in legacy fundraising more than 20 years ago, I've been writing to executors who have been given the discretion to distribute gifts to charities.

One one occasion, the deceased was a supporter (yes). And she was a loyal supporter (yes, yes).

Instead of writing the typical one page letter - sending our condolences, acknowledging their support, and enclosing the latest annual report, I tried something different.

I delved deeper into the transactional history and notes sections of the deceased supporter's record and identified a pattern: she responded mostly to appeals helping beneficiaries in Africa.

With this insight, I wrote a two page letter that focused on how the deceased supporter’s gift in Will could help beneficiaries in Africa, being careful not to restrict the gift. I even invited the executor to an event where they could meet a Country Manager from Ethiopia to learn more about the success of current projects.

I sent the letter. I wasn’t getting my hopes up because, after all, the success rate was low.

Then one morning the bell signaling a large gift rang. It was a cheque for £95,000.

I rang the executor, thanked him, and asked why he had chosen us. He had £100,000 to distribute. He said he really liked that the charity had gone the extra mile to treat the deceased supporter not just like a number but as a valuable supporter. And that he had been invited to an event to see for himself what had made her support the charity for over ten years.

I asked where the remaining £5,000 went. He said: '...to a large competitor'.

His feedback made me realise something simple about legacy giving. We're not always going to be occupying the same position forever, so to sustain growth, we need to ensure we 'hand-the-baton' in the best way for future successors.

Like a relay runner, when we put the effort during our term, and hand it over, we're enabling our successors to generate the valuable insights even though it might feel thankless. 

So ensure you gather and manage meaningful supporter data like transactions, attributes, actions, notes etc. appropriately.

And I’d extend that effort to training staff, developing robust systems and processes, storing post-campaign reports, quarterly and end of year reports, research studies and others.

All the applause will go to the 'anchor' (the last runner in the relay race) but that one small piece of data while you held the baton, alongside all the others captured from relay runners before you, will unlock an insight that could change everything.

In some ways, you could call it leaving a 'legacy' from a fundraisers perspective.