Legacy Data Insights 

Take the guesswork out of your legacy management and fundraising stategy

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How Smee & Ford are best placed to support your legacy strategy

Smee & Ford has the most comprehensive information on legacy giving. Our data can be used to determine trends in the legacy market which can help you forecast future legacy income or help plan your legacy marketing strategy. Looking at the complete legacy picture from 2012 until 2023, we can identify key donor profiles and trends.

We work with a wide range of charities, from those with multi-million annual legacy income to those just starting their first legacy marketing strategy. No matter the size of the legacy team, every organisation has its own challenges. We've found that some of the most common challenges include:

  • Building a case for additional investment to grow legacy programmes
  • Updating strategies using incomplete and inconsistent internal data
  • Comparing performance against peer charities, with limited or no access to detailed sector data
  • Working in small teams with increasing responsibility, leaving less time for detailed data analysis
  • Operating in a growing and highly competitive fundraising stream

 

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Key Findings From 2022 (1)

Changing the way you think about data

 

The true value of data lies in its ability to guide your decisions based on past activity. By using Smee & Ford's legacy market data, you'll no longer have to base your fundraising strategy on assumptions. Our services can empower you to:

  • Forecast Future Legacy Income: Gain insights into the potential financial support your charity can expect.
  • Inform Legacy Marketing Strategy: Tailor your marketing efforts to maximize impact.
  • Support Investment Bids: Back your funding requests with strong evidence and strategic insights.

With our data-driven approach supporting your legacy fundraising and management needs, you can continue help drive your charities mission.

We use Tableau which serves as a robust data visualisation tool, facilitating data analysis and access through an interactive portal created by our data expertise. Charities can explore and interpret data dynamically using filters, pre-defined by our data experts, while also giving the flexibility to charities manipulate the data for deeper insights.

Whether you're a seasoned charity with substantial legacy income or just beginning to craft your legacy marketing strategy, we’ve tailored our services to suit your needs. Our comprehensive data can support you in various ways, including:

  • Causal Area Benchmarking: Understand the factors influencing legacy giving in specific areas.
  • Geo-mapping Opportunities: Pinpoint geographic regions with high potential for legacy donations.
  • Identifying Bedfellows/Co-beneficiaries: Find synergies with other organizations for mutually beneficial collaborations.
  • Income Benchmarking: Compare your legacy income to industry standards.
  • Historical Performance Comparisons: Learn from past trends to adapt for the future.
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Our focus areas

 

 

Supporter Behaviour Analysis (3)

Discover how we've helped charities through these user cases

8

Bedfellow and Competitive Rankings

A large UK charity wanted to understand how they compared to selected peer charities when appearing as co-beneficiaries in bequests. They believed they may have been receiving a smaller share of the estates than their peers. They were also interested in extrapolating this further to compare against peer charities when they appeared as co-beneficiaries without being mentioned.

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9

In-Depth Peer Analysis

A medium-sized UK charity within a causal area alongside many active smaller charities was struggling to get a clear understanding of giving across their peers. Many of the charities were receiving a small number of gifts a year, but this meant it was difficult to get a picture of what legacy giving across the cause looked like.

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10

Opportunity Report

A medical charity was beginning their first large-scale legacy marketing strategy. They worked mainly within two key regions and had a good presence in both, but were struggling with how to understand their opportunity, prove ROI and build a case for investment in legacies.

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How can we help you?

Do you have a legacy fundraising challenge, or are interested in understanding more about the potential for your legacy income? Simply fill out the form below and we'll be in touch for an initial discussion.