Maximise your legacy fundraising with insights from Midlands Arts Centre (MAC)
May 20, 2025
Read on for top tips from Kelly Downes, MAC’s Development Manager, or click below for the link to her full presentation.
Maximise your legacy fundraising with insights from Midlands Arts Centre (MAC)
In March 2024, Midlands Arts Centre in Birmingham launched its first ever legacy fundraising campaign in partnership with Farewill. With limited resources, a fundraising team of just two and a tight budget, MAC embarked on a new legacy giving venture. One year later, the results exceeded expectations and the team learnt valuable lessons along the way.
Background
As a contemporary arts centre and independent charity, Midlands Arts Centre (MAC) has been connecting people with creativity for over 60 years. Their mission: to make art a vital part of everyone’s life. However, before partnering with Farewill, legacy giving wasn’t a focus.
Starting from scratch: launching a legacy campaign
Before the partnership with Farewill, MAC had a basic webpage about legacy gifts, inviting supporters to call or write for more information. However, there was little active promotion.
“The partnership with Farewill became our inaugural legacy fundraising campaign,”
says Kelly Downes, Development Manager at MAC.
The team designed a suite of assets around the core message: “Help MAC be here for everyone, always.” This message aimed to tap into supporters’ nostalgia while inviting them to shape MAC’s future by leaving a gift in their will.
Campaign elements: from digital to print
The campaign kicked off with a carefully crafted email to MAC’s supporters. The email was formatted as a personal letter from Kelly, with a strong call to action and a compelling image of a father uplifting his child to access her creativity.
To complement the email, MAC adapted the content for their seasonal print brochure. The legacy appeal was prominently featured on the inside cover, immediately following a letter from the Artistic Director. This ensured that visitors who might not engage online still encountered the campaign.
Results: a promising first year
Of those who claimed a free will through Farewill, 26% chose to include a gift to MAC. This far exceeded the industry benchmark for arts and culture organisations, which typically see a gift inclusion rate of 14-16%.
Interestingly, while social media drove significant engagement, the email campaign delivered the highest rate of gift inclusions – a finding that aligned with MAC’s understanding of their audience.
Looking ahead
As they move into their second year, MAC plans to build on this foundation, continuing to inspire supporters to leave a lasting legacy that ensures MAC remains a vital part of the Birmingham community for generations to come. For other charities considering a legacy campaign, MAC’s experience offers a valuable lesson, success doesn’t require a large team or budget – just a clear message, strong storytelling, and the ability to leverage existing resources effectively.
Kelly’s top tips to try for your legacy programme
- Leverage existing opportunities before creating new ones – identify programmes or events already resonating with your supporters and find ways to integrate legacy messaging or stewardship into those initiatives
- Focus on strong, clear storytelling – conduct a communication audit with colleagues who may not be familiar with your legacy programme. Ensure that your website, emails, and social media channels clearly convey the story and impact of leaving a gift.
- Identify advocates within your organisation – consider featuring testimonials from legacy pledgers, beneficiaries, staff, or even external partners who can advocate for your charity’s impact.
- Consolidate key information in a centralised location – maintain a central resource for your legacy programme, including key messaging, FAQs, and contact information. Share this with supporter-facing teams and recirculate it during campaign periods to keep everyone informed and prepared.
- Adapt digital and print communication for maximum reach – repurpose digital content for print materials and vice versa to maximise reach without increasing workload.
By taking these steps, even the smallest team can inspire supporters to leave a legacy that will benefit future generations.