Posted on 28th January 2011
A new survey provides evidence of opportunities for significant growth and the fundamental need for capacity building to increase income from legacies.
The survey by Arts Quarter/Legacy Foresight shows only 41% of arts organisations have received gifts in wills in the past three years and that legacy income has a long way to go if it is to meet the expectations of the Coalition Government. In December Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt identified legacy giving as a key revenue source for the arts.
The survey reveals that even among those who have received a legacy in the past three years, the numbers of donations received are generally low, with 77% of respondents receiving fewer than 10 bequests over three years, and more than half (51%) receiving less than £25,000 a year from this source over the period.
Currently, just 38% of respondents actively promote the idea of legacy giving among their supporters. The most common reasons cited for not doing so were: lack of capacity (27%), more pressing priorities (21%), and a perceived lack of expertise (18%). A surprising 21% of arts organisations admitted that they had “never thought of working on this”. Unsurprisingly, larger organisations were more likely than smaller ones to consider legacies an essential element of their future strategy.
John Nicholls, managing partner of Arts Quarter, says: “Philanthropists are increasingly looking for evidence of the impact of their philanthropy – In a way these smaller organisations represent the greatest opportunity because of the profound effect that just a small legacy can have on their business model .
“There is clear potential for the whole arts sector to engage more with philanthropists,”he continues. “Arts organisations can offer a huge amount, both tangible and intangible. They can offer recognition, the sense of supporting something that is really worthwhile, and knowledge of the effect it can have on the people’s quality of life – the cultural sector is essential for the nation’s wellbeing.”
Even among those who do have a legacy fundraising strategy, levels of investment are currently low. Almost half of the organisations pursuing legacies (46%) had made no discrete staffing provision of any kind, but added legacy activities to a current role within their fundraising or marketing resource.
Yet despite these low levels of activity and investment, half of all the arts organisations surveyed reported that legacy income will be important to their organisation in the next five years. A quarter described it as “very” or “extremely important”.
Nicholls continues: “These results come at a time when government is embarking on a period of deep reflection about the future of arts funding and philanthropy. In this area it foresees legacies as playing a key role in improving levels of philanthropy for the arts. At present, legacy giving only features in a small number of organisations but we would agree that there is real potential for growth provided that sufficient capacity building and resourcing is provided. By itself, more proactive legacy marketing is unlikely to provide a ‘quick fix’ to the funding issues facing the cultural community today.
The survey took place over a month at the end of last year. 198 responses were received from arts organisations. It is available for free from http://www.artsquarter.co.uk/news.html.
