Zero to Hero - Weldmar Hospicecare

How does a regional charity go from no real legacy giving plan in place, to creating a full-blown, award winning campaign? Here to share their secret is April Whitehead, Fundraising Lead ‑ Major Gifts & Partnerships at Weldmar Hospicecare.

Q: Take us back to before you started this campaign, what was happening at Weldmar Hospicecare?

It was 2018, and we were making no investment whatsoever in our legacy giving efforts. Fortunately, we had a sizeable legacy already left to Weldmar Hospicecare, so there was no pressure to find that income. However, we saw what other charities were doing, with advertising campaigns and appeals like Make a Will Month, and we felt behind the curve. Furthermore, we didn’t want to erode the legacy income we’d been given, or risk seeing our income decrease as others attracted more attention. When we read some Smee & Ford research about the potential income stream that the baby boomer generation may present as they grow older, we saw the opportunity to do more with our legacy fundraising.

Q: What plan did you put in place to make that shift?

Our fundraising director agreed with our trustees to invest 1% of our income as funding for a legacy giving campaign. The idea was for the approach to be progressive, growing year on year as we saw success. Correspondingly, the investment, all being well, could also rise to 5% over five years. This longer-term approach really helped us to think more strategically. 

At the outset, we did some research into people’s perception of us. We were shocked by the findings. Although we were very well known in the region (Dorset), many people thought we were a national charity, and many others thought of us just for our charity shops. We’re actually the primary end of life care charity in Dorset, but many of those interviewed thought that a well known national charity was. It was clear that we needed to do a lot of educating about Weldmar generally, as a local, end-of-life charity for people in Dorset.

Q: How did your own staff respond to the campaign?

We really involved our staff in all of the work we did. Initially we consulted with them on our plans, so they knew what was coming. Then as the campaign concept developed, we decided to feature staff in the adverts themselves. In the end, it wasn’t too difficult persuading them to do that - they appreciated how they could help, and wanted to support the campaign. Now, we can see the knock-on effect it’s had, using real people in our ads - they get recognised, almost like celebrities. A member of our help at home team was even invited to open one of our new charity shops!

Among the clinical teams and family support teams, the main message has been about offering patients and their families advice, information and resources to help get their lives in order before they pass. In the past there has been some reluctance around talking to patients about legacies, so we’ve really reframed the conversation to focus more on ensuring everything is looked after, and within that, there is the opportunity to leave a gift. 

Many people don’t realise that one in three of our patients are cared for with income from legacy gifts, which is equivalent to the funding we receive from the NHS. It’s a big part of our funding, which we want to protect. When people learn that fact, I think it really helps them see the value in leaving a gift to Weldmar.

Q: What were some of the challenges in planning and delivering the campaign?

We’re a small, regional charity and like many others, our resources are limited. However, we worked closely with our fantastic in-house marketing team and saw great results from that collaboration. In fact, all the creative was done in-house, which not only had big cost savings, but also helped with internal buy-in. We did our own research in terms of digital advertising solutions on the radio, and Sky AdSmart to find cost-effective advertising opportunities. It’s incredible what we achieved by working together and being resourceful.

Q: Which success are you most proud of?

I think it’s going back to the staff, actually. I’ve been with the charity for eight years, and in that time I’ve seen a shift in the culture towards legacy giving. In my opinion, it’s so important to have that collaboration and support from the staff - being able to have those conversations, for everyone from reception to the clinical teams, so everyone is confident talking about legacies. 

I’m also proud of the results we’re already seeing. Of course, it’s early days, but we can see a pipeline of future income which will sustain us. Right now our focus is on donor stewardship, to ensure we look after the people who have said they would like to leave us a gift in their Will. This was brought to light with an executor we recently met, who had been instructed to choose from three charities on behalf of her deceased friend. Thanks to the way we liaised with her and supported her, she decided to allocate everything to us. I’m proud of every team member who helped to make that happen.

Q: How have others in the sector responded to the campaign?

I think because we’re a small, regional charity we thought ‘we’ll give it a shot’ and apply for some awards, and we were thrilled to actually win in two categories at the Smee & Ford Legacy Giving Awards. It’s great to have that recognition, but more than that, it’s brought further publicity locally and internally. The award is on display in reception, so it’s stayed with us, and is a great reminder of the credibility we’ve gained.

Locally, the response to the campaign has been fantastic. The decision by our marketing lead to advertise on the back of buses was genius, and has paid dividends because we’re still getting great feedback from the people who see it.

Q: What was your top learning from this campaign, and how will you take that forward into subsequent projects?

I think ‘be bold’. We have got a good budget now, but I think you can be very clever with the money you’ve got. Don’t hold back. Also, it’s vital that you include your internal audiences right from the start, because they will play an essential role in ensuring the campaign is a success.

Q: What role do you feel marketing has to play in the achievement of legacy giving objectives?

While it’s been lovely sharing some of our stories here today, it’s not something that we usually do. We keep that respectful distance from chatting about the Wills themselves with friends and family. Wills are personal documents, and we’re very aware that the information they contain can be sensitive.

Where we do definitely notice our work coming into our home life is with our charity clients, who the team know very well from their many years of working here. Nicky and Grace are mum and daughter, both working in our team, and when they’re watching TV, if a charity advert comes on, both will race to shout out the charity number. Everyone says ‘oh, here they go again’!

Q: What does the future have in store for your legacy fundraising efforts at Weldmar Hospicecare?

Oooh, that’s really interesting actually. I’ve been looking at where we go from here. We’re so pleased with the current campaign, I think we will probably stick to the theme and evolve it. But now we want to focus on other parts of our service. So far we’ve shone a light on in-patient and at-home services, now we have a chance to look at family support services and complementary therapy, for example. 

As I said earlier, the focus will now also be on donor stewardship. Having secured these legators, we want to take them on a journey and look after them. It’s about maintaining their support and looking after them.

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