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Realising the Power and Potential of Charitable Bequests in Developing Irish Philanthropy

Where there’s a Will there’s a Way

Women are one and half times more likely than men to leave money to a charity in their will. That is one of the key findings from the largest study ever carried out in Ireland on charitable giving through wills. The study showed that approximately one in three people make a will and of these on average 10% include a donation to a charity or a foundation.

The study by The Community Foundation for Ireland, a philanthropic and grant making organisation, was undertaken to assess the current level of giving through wills in Ireland and shows that Irish people are behind international standards in this area. Pro rata the Irish public gives only an estimated 21% of what is given in the UK. Last year, total monies left to charities was estimated at c€26million. However, this accounted for only 5.4 percent of total fundraising income for Irish charities, for that year.

Despite our current economic state wealth has increased dramatically in recent decades. The estimated total wealth in Ireland in 1966 was IR£1.948 billion (€2.474 billion) and in May 2009 there was over €86.6 billion in bank deposits alone. Wealth transfer is growing and is likely to accelerate significantly, particularly from 2021 onwards, as the richest cohort is men ages 55-65. Women will play a crucial role for charities in this transfer for a number of reasons, they are more likely to leave money to charity, they have greater life expectancy and women are increasingly leaving larger estates. 44% of the largest published wills from a 2009 sample were from women.

With significant wealth transfer already occurring research shows that large gifts are already being left to charities. The largest amount recorded to date was just over half a million at €1.2million. However, the research shows that charities need to start planning accordingly to increase charitable giving through wills as a means of future income. 60% of charities surveyed currently do not have any kind of legacy fundraising plan in place.

Both charities and professional advisors have a role to play to increase the level of donations through wills and to perhaps introduce a more strategic element also. Nearly one in five professional advisors surveyed said that ‘philanthropy or planned future giving is increasingly a consideration by clients when discussing estate planning’. One in three professional advisor respondents said that philanthropy or planned giving is increasingly introduced by law firms to clients when discussing estate planning. An encouraging finding for the Community Foundation is that almost three in every four advisors surveyed said that clients could be interested in supporting a local initiative such as a County specific fund in their wills. Arguably, the most unusual gift from a will received by an Irish charity is a shoe shop in Italy.

Speaking on the findings of the study, Tina Roche, CEO of The Community Foundation for Ireland said “As you can see there is considerable scope for Irish people to engage with philanthropy through leaving a legacy in their will. The estimated annual wealth transfer in Ireland is €5 billion per annum. If people were to consider even leaving 5% of their estates to charity they could have a significant impact on community and society now and into the future.”

The Community Foundation for Ireland supports people to plan sustained charitable giving. It encourages donors and potential philanthropists to leave a legacy behind whereby a portion of their estate is used to establish a fund which can support designated charities or community groups for years to come. The study was undertaken between September 2009 and November 2009 and involved a survey of 60 professional advisors and over 100 charities from across Ireland. Information for the study was also provided by the Commissioners for Charitable Bequests and other sources.
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