The brainchild of the Fundraising Institute of Australia (FIA), the Include a Charity campaign was created with a clear and simple mission: get more Australians pledging gifts in their wills.
Probate data suggests that just 6-7% of traditional wills include a bequest. Online wills perform significantly better — 19% of online wills written via Gathered Here include a charitable gift — but that figure still sits far behind what we see in everyday giving. In a 2022 study from Roy Morgan, an incredible 72% of Australians indicated that they had made a charitable donation in the past 12 months. In the same year, the Charities Aid Foundation put the figure at 60%.
If Australians embraced legacy giving in the same way they have already embraced everyday giving, the NFP sector would receive billions of dollars in additional revenue every year.Include a Charity plays an important part in bringing us closer to that reality.By partnering closely with media organisations, IAC is able to spread the word and educate the general public about legacy giving.
Last Include a Charity Week, the high-est-profile time for the campaign, more than 46 pieces of earned media coverage were secured, including 38 broadcasts. “We reached millions of people with our messaging last year and anticipate at least doubling that reach in 2023,” said Helen Beeby, Include a Charity Campaign Director. Participating charities and NFPs also played a major role in the success of Include a Charity Week with many developing highly successful, multifac-eted campaigns.
Data from Gathered Here shows the effort was well worth it. During Include a Charity Week, which ran throughout the first full week of September, an esti-mated $11.1 million was pledged via the Gathered Here online will platform. In comparison, the same week a month prior saw $2.6 million pledged. That’s a 327% increase in the overall value of gifts pledged, largely thanks to outreach and education.
The more NFPs get involved, the bigger the conversation becomes. More people will learn about the incredible power of bequests and may be compelled to pledge a gift. So, if your organisation is yet to lock-in a campaign for Include a Charity Week, or you’ve been on the fence about taking part, here’s your sign to do it.
To help, Gathered Here has created a free Include a Charity Week Campaign Kit, with tips, templates and resources that can be tweaked to build a custom campaign. Campaigns come in all shapes and sizes so, regardless of your resource limitations, you can get the message out to your supporters in some way or another.
Anyone can access the free kit via the Link, whether they’re a Gathered Here partner or not. Be part of the change.
