Third Sector
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Over 40 per cent of people intend to leave money to charity in their Will
A poll that came out yesterday has revealed 43 per cent of the UK public intend to leave money to charity in their Wills.
The survey also showed that 73 per cent of those polled said that they got a ‘feel good factor’ from the act of giving time or money to charity and 48 per cent said that giving to charity gave them a ‘real feeling of wellbeing’. 25 per cent said giving to charity made them feel best about themselves as person.
The study was commissioned by us to mark the launch of BHFs legacies campaign, which aims to inspire people to leave a gift in their Will to us in order to fund vital research to fight cardiovascular disease.
The psychology of giving
Looking at the wider psychology behind why people feel compelled to give to charity, the poll showed that 62 per cent surveyed ‘genuinely wanted to help’ by donating money to charity throughout their lives. Close to one in ten (9.5 per cent) pointed towards a feeling of guilt as being a key motivator to give to charitable causes. 16 per cent said donating to good causes made them feel good about themselves.
The poll also looked at donating habits of Brits with nearly a third (31 per cent) saying that they donate money every month to charity but with one in ten (10 per cent) saying they never donate to good causes. The average donation per month was £16.58. When asked what their largest single donation had been, one in ten said they had given between £50-74. 61 per cent of those who stated that they had made a large donation to charity said that they had experienced positive feelings of wellbeing.
Giving something back
When asked about the motivations for leaving a gift in a Will to charity may be, over half (52 per cent) those surveyed cited having a personal link to the cause as a key reason for doing so, over a quarter (28 per cent) polled said that they would be doing so to feel good about giving something back to society and over one in ten (16 per cent) said that they believed it was important to leave donations to charities in Wills.
Dr Gayle Brewer, Senior Lecturer at the UCLan School of Psychology, commented: “Giving back to society and the act of donating time or money to help improve the lives of others will always be key to an overall sense of well-being within an individual. These positive feelings can only be extended by writing a Will that leaves a gift to charity.”
Leave a legacy of life saving research
Sarah Dalling, BHFs Legacy Marketing Manager, said: “What is encouraging is that over half of those polled said that having a personal link to the cause would be a key motivator for them to commit to leaving a gift in their Will. Coronary heart disease remains the UK’s single biggest killer and every week around 2,000 families lose someone they love to heart disease. Given this, it is likely that most people have this special link to us and the work we do.
“Our pioneering research, funded by people leaving gifts in Wills helps us make life saving discoveries, save more lives and keep more families together. We wanted to thank those who have already committed to leaving a legacy to us and to ask those who haven’t to consider leaving a gift to enable us to fight heart disease, which has such a devastating impact on families around the country.”
To remember us in your Will, download BHFs free Gifts in Wills Guide.
