Remember A Charity. Celebrate the supporter.

Whether it’s the scale of response to a humanitarian crisis, the small, unnoticed acts of everyday kindness or the many hours of duty and dedication, the willingness of people living in Britain to make a positive contribution in the world is something to be proud of. Remember A Charity’s Extreme will writers provide a perfect example of a mind-set and a generation that should be celebrated. A generation who care so passionately about a cause or organisation’s work, there’s little they won’t do to make a difference. Many charities were founded by such people. Even more continue to rely on them to make much of their work possible. Having worked as a professional fundraiser for more than 15 years, I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been humbled by the devotion of those who donate money or time for the causes they are touched by. I’ve also been privileged to have seen the positive impact of this service for both the charities receiving the  support and those doing the giving. It’s therefore no surprise that the number of people including a charity in their will continues to grow. Nor is it a surprise that there are many more people are open to giving in this way, once they are made aware of the opportunity or reminded of the option at the most relevant time. That’s why I feel so proud to be part of Remember A Charity. By bringing together more than 150 charities, professional advisors, the government and the private sector we can help more people make a difference without having to go to great extremes (although if people still wish to throw themselves out of planes, run marathons or roll a sprout up a mountain using only their nose, they remain welcome to do so!). But perhaps this year, Remember A Charity week feels even more important. This may be because of the huge strides that have already been made towards making legacy giving a better understood way of supporting charities. It may be because so many charities rely so heavily on gifts in wills and the sustainable funding such gifts can provide. But it may also be because right now, it feels important to remember that at its essence, fundraising remains a way of giving people the opportunity to do something positive for themselves and for society. So here’s to the brilliant people who do extreme things for charity. And here’s to those whose giving is far less extreme but no less important. Without them, their legacies and the charities they choose to give to, we’d all be worse off. Alex McDowell, chair of Remember A Charity