Legacy Promotion in a Recession

Eifron Hopper, RNIB

• September 2007 run on Northern Rock• September 2008 Collapse of Lehman Brothers• October 2008 Bank bailouts begin• December 2008 Woolworths closes!!!• October 2009 GDP shrinks for 6th Quarter• May 2010 General Election• October 2010 Announcement of public spending cuts• February 2011 beginning of the Euro crisis• November 2011 unemployment hits 2.6m• March 2012 Budget-cuts in welfare spending and 50p

tax rate

What is the impact on charities?

• The double whammy

• "You ain't seen nothin' yet!"

What is the Impact on Legacies?

• Immediate- Values- Numbers

• Future- Will people be less generous?- Will the shift to pecuniaries grow?

What are the pressures?

• Forecasting

• Everyone is struggling

• Honesty: is it the best policy?

Charities' response

• Short-termism

• "That way madness lies"

How do we respond?

• Analysis- be equipped

• How do you measure your activity?

• Implications of cuts (make assumptions)

• Make the case -everybody else will!

What if it happens?

• Back to basics

• Why do people leave legacies?

• Why do they support your charity?

• Who are our stakeholders?

• How can we reach them?

• What are our most responsive activities?

• Analyse & Prioritise

• Geographical prioritisation

• Returns not ease of access

• Piggy-backing

• Advertising

• PR

• Newsletters

• Internal marketing

• Messaging

• Emergency appeals?

Make yourself indispensible - because you are!

And finally…

Contact detailsEifron Hopper email address:

eifron.hopper@rnib.org.uk

Remember a charity website:

www.rememberacharity.org.uk

Legacy Foresight website:

www.legacyforesight.co.uk