New national scheme launched to recognise the value of legacies

Some of Britain’s best loved charities are among the first to be to be awarded a yellow plaque recognising the contribution made by charitable legacies. Inspired by the blue plaques awarded by English Heritage, the Remember A Charity yellow plaques scheme was launched this week. The first 15 plaques will be unveiled across the country at charitable projects and initiatives that have been made possible thanks to donations left by supporters, with charities including Cancer Research UK, ChildLine, Guide Dogs and Liverpool Cathedral. Each year gifts in Wills will bring in around £2 billion, the equivalent of 19 Comic Reliefs, and account for 30% of the income of the UK’s top 10 charities. Guide Dogs’ Training School in Atherton and its National Breeding Centre in Warwickshire will be two of the projects recognised as part of national scheme. Two out of three guide dogs are paid for by gifts in Wills. Cancer Research UK has been acknowledged for its new research centre, Brough Equipment Park, named after one of its legacy benefactors Muriel Brough, who left Cancer Research UK a legacy of over £10million. The scheme also recognised a number of local charities across the UK, including the National Coal Mining Museum in Wakefield for the Making Sense of Mining Project and Self Unlimited’s Olive Tree bistro which employs people with learning disabilities. Rob Cope, Director of Remember A Charity said: “The idea of legacy has been very much in the news this year. Our new yellow plaques recognise the legacies of all the supporters who have left gifts to charities in their Wills, after taking care of loved ones, and helped the good work live on. Few of us currently include a charity in our Will. We wanted to do something to make people pause for thought and think about including a gift to charity in their own Will.” The scheme marks Remember A Charity Week (17 – 23 September), which aims to encourage more people to think about making room for a charity in their Will. While around three-quarters of Britons regularly give to charity in their lifetimes, only 7% currently include a charity in their Will.