Legacy giving at a time of Remembrance – Royal British Legion

Remembrance Day – Royal British Legion

As we approach Remembrance Day on 11th November, ILM spoke with the Royal British Legion about the significance of this day in the context of the legacy sector.

The Royal British Legion (RBL) is the country’s largest Armed Forces charity, with 180,000 members, 110,000 volunteers and a network of partners and charities. Founded in 1921, it is at the heart of a national network that supports the Armed Forces Community.

Its annual Poppy Appeal (PA) is a familiar site during November, with thousands of volunteers selling poppies to raise funds to support its work.

The RBL’s Legacy Team is a member of the ILM and, with Remembrance Day fast approaching on November 11, we talked to Nicola Hall, RBL’s Product Manager – Legacies, to find out how legacy giving is intertwined with this very important date on the calendar.

How important is Remembrance Day on the legacy calendar?

The act of remembrance and honouring the service and sacrifice of loved ones is hugely important to those who consider including a gift in their will to RBL – it’s a unique time when as a nation we pause, reflect and remember the loss and pride of our Armed Forces. Many people want to ensure RBL is always here to mark this key moment that takes place every year. It communicates quite naturally with our supporters who consider their immediate family and their Forces family with a gift in their will.

Do you notice an increase in legacies in/around this date and why do you think this is?

We don’t notice a particular increase in legacy cases themselves, but at this very busy time of year when people are remembering RBL and wearing their poppy it’s a great time to be able to talk to supporters about why they wear their poppy and talk about all the many ways someone can support us, including a gift in their will.

Is it harder to gain legacies at other times of the year?

As with all our services and activities RBL believes information should be available all year round, so that individuals can contact us for help, information or fundraising enquiries straight away, and when the time is right for them. We believe being responsive and informative at all times is key.

Many people will spare a few pennies/pounds for a collection tin and a poppy, how do you encourage them to go further and leave a legacy?

It’s completely down to the individual. We have information available during the PA and volunteers can also signpost individuals to more information. But it’s all simply about awareness so that individuals can consider this unique and special way of giving whilst knowing that their gift will go a very long way to support our serving and ex-service beneficiaries for the next 100 years.

What unique challenges are there in promoting legacy giving within the military charity sector and do you find most legacy donors have a military connection?

There is a very strong military connection, but also a strong community connection and a high level of trust for RBL, which is hugely important when someone is considering what charity would they like to benefit if they are able to leave behind a special gift to help those in need.

RBL is able to help thousands of serving and ex-service personnel and their families every year through a wide range of welfare services. The nation is hugely proud of our Armed Forces and RBL is very proud to support those who need our help.

Please give one or two examples where legacies have made a really positive impact on your ability to help.

We had a large discretionary legacy which was restricted to exploring ways to make our annual poppy more eco-friendly. Thanks, in part, to the funding received from this particular legacy, we launched our plastic-free eco poppy this year (entirely paper based). The paper used for our plastic-free poppy is made from 50% recycled waste from the production of coffee cups, and 50% responsibly sourced wood fibre, and is even easier to recycle than previous designs.

Visit their website