SOFII knows fundraisers like you understand the importance of legacy fundraising, and are often seeking new ideas to inform and inspire your work.

The Legacy Showcase is a collection of short videos where fundraisers share their favourite legacy campaign and explain why they think it’s worthy of your admiration too.

This initiative was dreamed up by Legacy Futures, and is a collaboration with SOFII and the legacy consortium Remember A Charity. It aims to provide an unrivalled online collection of legacy ideas that will grow over time – inspiring current and future legacy fundraisers the world over.

As most of our legacy exhibits on SOFII are written pieces, we’re excited that The Legacy Showcase comprises 18 videos. Each one is just a few minutes long, and the ideas are presented to you by champions of legacy fundraising. 

Every presenter takes you through their favourite legacy campaign. They explain why they find their chosen campaign so powerful, innovative and inspirational. Some also share tips and lessons so you can try to apply these ideas to your own legacy fundraising.

The campaigns covered are diverse in their content – from funny to emotional and breath-taking. They demonstrate the breadth of ingenuity and originality, creativity and the range of media used in legacy fundraising. 

Some of the legacy champions and charities that you’ll see in this first batch of videos include: 

• Craig Fordham, Director of Legacies, Macmillan Cancer Support, talks about a ‘beautifully simple’ campaign from Dogs Trust as a lesson in authenticity and real stories.
• Emma Hazlewood, Head of Legacy Development, National Trust, praises Centrepoint for including beneficiaries in the building of their campaign. This resulted in powerful messaging that challenges perceptions and builds strong empathy from the outset.
• Jad Farhat, Head of Marketing, Legacy Futures, tells how a short video from World Vision called ‘What will your legacy be?’ shares the importance of legacies, as told by a donor herself. 
• Dr Lucy Lowthian, Gifts in Wills Consultant, Legacy Voice, shares her thoughts about using positivity and upbeat energy, citing a Battersea Dogs & Cats Home TV ad as a great example with its ‘life rather than end of life’ messaging.
• Lucinda Frostick, Director of Remember a Charity cites a Belgian example from Testament.be that uses sensitive humour to engage audiences during difficult times.   

This is only the beginning of what you will see in the showcase, because currently there are 18 videos to watch.

To grow the collection, The Legacy Showcase is calling for fundraisers everywhere to nominate a legacy campaign that they love. Nominations can be made via the button at the top of The Legacy Showcase page. 

What campaign would you like to see here? 

Click here to view the videos and nominate your favourite legacy campaign!

And before you go, read on to find out why the three organisations involved are so proud to bring you this new, free resource. 

Ashley Rowthorn, CEO of the Legacy Futures group, explains:

‘The legacy market is growing fast with more charities than ever recognising the value of this form of income for a sustainable future. So too, the market is becoming increasingly competitive and legacy campaigns will need to work harder and harder to gain cut through.  With this Legacy Showcase we want to champion great campaigns created by legacy fundraisers all over the world to in turn inspire more creativity and innovation in the future. I hope this collaborative effort will provide an invaluable resource that many legacy fundraisers will turn to for ideas and lessons to inform their own work.’ 

Meredith Niles, Chair of SOFII says:

‘SOFII is thrilled to be working with Legacy Futures and Remember A Charity on this project, because it aligns perfectly with our mission of providing free inspiration for fundraisers. We know that SOFII readers are always looking for ideas when it comes to developing or improving their legacy programmes. We hope that this evolving collection will spark joy, interest and innovation for legacy fundraisers the world over.’

Lucinda Frostick, Director of Remember A Charity, which also serves as a hub of useful information on legacy giving and fundraising, adds:

‘One of the things that’s so inspiring about the legacy fundraising community is the willingness to collaborate and share learnings, and that’s surely the best ways we can accelerate growth and innovation in the field. The Legacy Showcase is a hugely positive resource and we’re delighted to support another key project that champions the wonderful world of gifts in Wills.’