Charities launch campaign to boost will donations

A CONSORTIUM of 40 charities will launch the first Irish television advertising campaign to encourage people to leave a donation in their will to charity.

All of the charities from the healthcare, childcare, development world, social care and animal protection have come under the umbrella of Legacy Promotion Ireland, established in 2003, to increase legacy-giving in Ireland.

A series of television advertisements will urge people to be the catalyst for the change they want to see in the world by supporting a cause they care about that will have a positive impact on the lives of future generations.

The charities include the Alzheimer Society of Ireland, Amnesty International, Barnardos, Concern, Focus Ireland, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, the Irish Cancer Society, the United Nations: Children’s Fund and the Irish Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals.

International research shows that six-out-of-10 people who support charities are happy to consider leaving them a gift in their will.

At the launch in Dublin last night, LPI chair and Arthritis Ireland corporate development manager, Nichola Mullen, said legacy giving was a perfect method of giving for older people who were asset rich but cash poor.

“Our aim is to reach out to these people and their financial advisers in a very sensitive way and ask them to think about leaving a legacy in their will to create a better future for others,” she said.

British-based legacy expert Richard Radcliffe said the success of the campaign depended on setting the right tone and ensuring privacy is not intruded upon.

“And lets’s not forget — on average you live three years longer if you leave a legacy to charity than if you don’t,” he said.

The television campaign will run on RTÉ 1, RTÉ 2, TV3 and Sky News from Monday, July 7, to Sunday, July 27.

Information is available at www.mylegacy.ie.