Free Wills Month

The Free Wills Month program has closed after 13 years in operation. During that time, 40 charities used Free Wills Month to reach out to the general public seeking support for their work, expressed by gifts in Wills.

36 Free Wills Month campaigns were run, mostly for consortia of charities but including some for individual organizations. 9358 Wills were written under the program, producing gifts to the charities worth more than $47 million in future income. The average gift was $13,000.

40% of the Wills included a gift to one or more of the sponsoring charities: this compares to 5% of Wills that normally include a charitable gift according to research published by the Canadian Association of Gift Planners.

Free Wills Month was set up and run by Capacity Marketing For Charities, a planned giving fundraising company set up in the UK in 2001. Nine years later, in 2010, the founders – Stephen and Anne Maund – ran their first campaign in Canada. As for many companies, the COVID-19 pandemic presented many challenges to the program especially as Will-writing works best when lawyer and client can meet face to face.

Unfortunately, when Stephen and Anne decided to retire in 2022, it wasn’t possible to identify a buyer who would continue and guarantee the high standards of service Free Wills Month achieved. The concept remains attractive and is by any standard the most cost-effective way to secure gifts in Wills from the general public. Who knows whether, some day, someone would like to revive the Free Wills Month program?

Enquiries should be made to Stephen at [email protected].