As TinyLife takes receipt of their 3rd legacy in 9 years, we spoke to Valerie Cromie, Head of Fundraising and Communications, about the role Will to Give plays in helping TinyLife to fundraise in such a vital way.
“As a founder charity member of Will to Give, we always saw the potential of such an organisation in representing and promoting legacy giving for smaller charities across Northern Ireland. Lots of the large charities and most of the national ones have staff or departments dedicated to what can be a hugely valuable area of work for any charity.
As a small charity, we just don’t have the time or resources. And even if we did, we’d have to spend a considerable amount to make any kind of an impact.”
Will to Give was established in 2011 with just 17 member charities. Today, that number has grown to almost 50 and with it the impact that the organisation can have.
Valerie is confident that being part of Will to Give was the driving force in the charity receiving its latest legacy.
“Being part of Will to Give has really raised our profile in this area. Our membership fee, along with those of all of the other charities, has been put to very good use with useful training and a co-ordinated marketing campaign that included an Adshel campaign that would have been way beyond our budget.”
TinyLife relies on donations for 90% of its income and so a legacy makes an incredible difference to what the charity can do.
“When you get a letter to say someone has left a legacy, it’s a tremendous boost and enables you to do so much more. This latest incredible gift will help us to further develop our Family Bereavement Support Service and help to sustain our ‘TinyGym’ Programme.
For us as a charity, the benefits of being part of ‘Will to Give’ are many more: it gives the general public confidence in how their money will be spent, and it makes it much easier for an individual to think about who they would like to leave a legacy to. In many cases, a lot of people want to leave a legacy – perhaps one of the most important things they’ll do in their lifetime – but don’t know how. The Will to Give Free Will Making Guide and website guide people through the whole Will writing process. Will to Give provides information on member charities work and even advice on finding a solicitor in their local area.”
If you work for a charity and wish to invest in legacy fundraising to help sustain your organisation in the future, find out here how becoming a member of Will to Give will benefit you.
Or email info@willtogive.org.org.s214960.gridserver.com with any questions you may have, we would love to have you on board, to promote and increase charitable gifts in Wills for all charities in NI.
Find out more about TinyLife here
Valerie Cromie from TinyLife (far right) with other members of Will to Give
