Legacies are a source of income that can transform a charity; but are also hard to plan for. Who, how and when to ask are frequent questions in setting up a legacy campaign; some recent studies I’ve come across have shown some interesting information. The time people write wills is more related to life changing events than to a time of year When do people make wills; these are the average ages (http://radcliffeconsulting.org): * 38 (getting married / starting family / thinking about guardians for children) * 68 (early retirement / thinking about grandchildren) * 80 (after bereavement) After a divorce is another time The average time between the last update of a will and it being proved (6 to 12 months after death) is actually around 4 years Typically 85% of the people on a charity’s database already have a will (research from Adrian Sargeant), and as such you may well pick up a lot of smaller gifts perhaps from people who are new to your organisation, who might not have the money to pay for a will