40 charities and not-profit organisations under the umbrella of Legacy Promotion Ireland (LPI), established in 2003, are launching a national TV advertising campaign.

The aim of this campaign is to encourage more people to consider leaving a donation in their Will to their favourite charity to support a cause they care about and have a positive impact on the lives of future generations.

Irish charities from the healthcare, childcare, developing world, social care, arts/heritage and animal protection arenas include the Alzheimer Society of Ireland, Amnesty International, Barnardos, Concern, Focus Ireland, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, the Irish Cancer Society, the ISPCA and Unicef amongst others.

A review of the national and international research on charitable and legacy giving in Ireland shows;

• 89% of the Irish population do contribute to charity at some point in their lives
• Charitable giving accounts for 2.1% of GNP in Ireland (by comparison UK charitable giving only accounts for 0.77% of GNP) 
• 45% of a representative sample of ABC1 socio economic groups in Ireland indicated that they have made a Will 
• New research conducted by nfpSynergy, a research company specialising in charitable giving, has shown that when adults aged 16+ were questioned, 12% had included a charity as a beneficiary in their Wills in Ireland - compared to 16% in the UK
• International research on charitable and legacy giving shows that 60% of people who support charities are happy to consider leaving a gift in their Will
• Furthermore 25% believe that it is very acceptable for a charity to ask people for this kind of support
• In the UK only 5.5% of the population die each year leaving a legacy and this figure is only 8% in the US.
• The main reasons people cite for leaving a bequest are that it leaves a legacy for the protection of the world going forward, empathy with a charity and a positive experience of dealing with a particular charity
• The complexity involved in making a Will, the requirement to visiting a solicitor and the cost involved are the three primary barriers people perceive when making a Will

40 charities in Ireland have come together to increase awareness about legacy giving and in turn, increase the number of people who leave legacies in their Will in Ireland.

Speaking at the launch of the TV campaign, Nichola Mullen, Chair of Legacy Promotion Ireland and Corporate Development Manager, Arthritis Ireland said, 'Ireland is experiencing what is commonly referred to as a greying population, a direct result of an increasing elderly population and in increasing life-expectancy. The Central Statistics Office estimates that by 2010 11.5% of our population will be aged 65 years and over and that figure will have risen to 15.5% by 2020. These older member of our population are 'liquid poor' but 'cash rich' and therefore legacy giving is a perfect method of giving for older people. Our aim is to reach out to these people and their financial advisors in a very sensitive way and ask them to think about leaving a legacy in their Will to create a better future for others."

Also speaking at the launch of the Legacy Promotion Ireland TV campaign was Richard Radcliffe, a UK based legacy specialist. Richard who has held over 1200 focus groups in over 30 countries and met over 13,000 people to ask them why they make Wills, why people do and do not leave legacies and how they want to be asked for a legacy said "This is a really exciting moment in Irish fundraising. All our research shows that up to 60% of people who support charities are happy to consider leaving a gift in their Will. In the UK the figure is rising from a poor 4% to a better 5.5% of the population who die each year leave a legacy. With so many older members of the population in Ireland, and similarly in the UK, being liquid poor but cash rich this is a perfect method of giving for older people. Success relies on ensuring the tone is right and privacy is NOT intruded upon. And let's not forget - on average you live three years longer if you leave a legacy to charity than if you don't"

Download full press release