What makes a good legacy campaign?

Legacy giving is vital for charities, but conversations around death and dying – and what to leave in your Will – are notoriously difficult. We find out how five legacy giving campaigns are helping to change the conversation.

Gifts in Wills are one of biggest sources of income for UK charities – recent figures show legacies now represent 28% of their fundraised income. It could be even greater, but the Great British Public aren’t great at talking about death. Great!

It’s not an easy thing to ask supporters either; asking someone to leave your charity a gift in their Will is very different to asking them to take part in a sponsored bake sale. So, how do you get the right balance between connecting on an emotional level and turning the conversation to cold, hard cash?

These legacy campaigns from the past few years get that balance exactly right. They’re challenging, uplifting and inspiring. And – most of all – successful.

Battersea

It’s no surprise that legacy campaigns make us think about death, but this campaign from Battersea is full of life. Instead of sad piano music with doe-eyed dogs and cats to tug on the heartstrings, a thumping bass line introduces lively pups and playful cats ‘living their best nine lives’.

Why we like it: It’s positive, upbeat and shows supporters how their gift can create a better future for rescue pets and their new owners.

Barnado’s

In the ‘Be More Gladys’ campaign video, we follow an older woman going about her day: visiting neighbours, talking to troubled teens, dropping in on a toddler group. It’s not until the end that – spoiler alert – we learn Gladys wasn’t there in person, but the gift she left in her Will enabled all these people to get the help they needed.  

Why we like it: It’s a great twist on a familiar ask and appeals directly to the right audience; modern grandparents.

The Salvation Army

The ‘My Lasting Good Deed’ campaign took a big gamble. Rather than asking supporters to leave a gift in their Will, The Salvation Army flipped the script and encouraged people to leave a gift to any charity. They also produced a free legacy giving guide for anyone keen to find out how to do that.

Why we like it: It’s an unusual approach, but it worked. People felt more positive towards the charity in general and said they were more likely to donate. 

Centrepoint

Here’s the charity working to end youth homelessness, but ‘children’s charities’ is a very crowded field. This challenge forced Centrepoint to be creative with their first legacy giving campaign, ‘My Dreams’.

Instead of using the typical images of young people benefitting from their support, they went for one striking image of a child dressed as an astronaut, but living on the streets, to show what could happen without their support.  

Why we like it: It’s simple, provocative and uncomfortable – how can you not leave a gift in your Will after seeing that ad?

Bowel Cancer UK

Leaving a gift in your Will is often seen as a final act, but we believe it should be a forward-thinking and life-affirming thing to do. So, when Bowel Cancer UK asked Lark to reimagine their legacy giving programme, we wanted to create something vibrant, hopeful and inspiring.

This idea became the heart of their campaign; ‘Your Greatest Gift’. It juxtaposes the priceless but intangible ‘gifts’ we receive from the people we love most – their strengths, characteristics and stories – with the life-changing gifts we can all leave to future generations in our Will.

Why we like it: Apart from meeting our inspiring case studies while filming the incredibly emotional campaign video, we love the idea of leaving something more than money in your Will: a future where no one dies from bowel cancer. 

And we’re not the only ones who like it – ‘Your Greatest Gift’ was shortlisted for Best Campaign of the Year at the 2025 Smee & Ford Legacy Giving Awards! It’s great to get the recognition, but it’s even better to get people to leave a gift in their Will.