Charities received the highest number of bequests in 2022

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New figures released today show that 2022 was another strong year for charitable gifts in wills in England & Wales.

In 2022, Smee & Ford identified 36,992 charitable estates out of a total of 231,582 estates processed that included a will; meaning that one in six wills processed included a gift to charity.

The total value of charitable estates exceeded the prediction of £20bn in Smee and Ford’s September update, finishing on £21.3bn. And the number of individual bequests within charitable estates granted probate in 2022 was also the highest number they have ever recorded, finishing on 123,298.*

“It is encouraging to see that 2022 was another strong year for legacy income and that the number of charitable bequests recorded in wills has reached a new record.”

- Polly Avgherinos, Managing Director at Smee & Ford

The value of legacies continued to be significant for charities in 2022, with 31% of legacy income coming from bequests worth over £500k. A further 22% came from bequests valued between £100£250k, meaning over half of all legacy income in 2022 came from high value bequests worth over £100k.

At the time of writing, not all organisations have yet reported their final accounts to the Charity Commission, so the final legacy income figure for 2022 is not yet confirmed, but as a conservative estimate Smee & Ford predict it may sit at around £3.5bn.

“In today’s volatile economic environment, it’s hugely encouraging that gifts in Wills continue to be such a significant and vital source of income for UK charities. More and more fundraisers tell us that legacy income is what’s enabling them to continue delivering services and, perhaps what’s most exciting, we’re seeing growing recognition among senior management of the importance of shoring up legacy fundraising teams and investment to protect their charities’ futures.”

- Allan Freeman, Chair of Remember A Charity

The full and final statistics will be shared in Smee & Ford’s annual Legacy Trends report, released later this year. You can register at https://smeeandford.com/ legacy-trends-2023-register-interest/ to request a copy as soon as it is available.

*Please note, these statistics relate to England and Wales only.