Meg Abdy

<>Following pronouncements made in December 2010 by Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State, Department of the Olympics, Culture Media and Sport on the potential of legacy giving as a key revenue source for the arts, Arts Quarter and Legacy Foresight have published the findings from their first survey on levels of legacy fundraising within the sector. This latest AQ/LF Report highlights not only opportunities for significant growth but also a fundamental need for capacity building if the aspirations...

 In the year to March 2010, our 42 Consortium members received total legacy income of £883m – that’s £11m down on the same period last year, and £30m below the March 2008 peak.

 While combined legacy income is still falling, the rate of decline is slowing. As the chart below illustrates, the latest results show a 1.2% fall year on year; the smallest drop since the start of 2009.

<> Legacy Foresight’s latest forecasts suggest that positive growth rates will return in the second half of 2010,...

<><>In the mid-noughties our Consortium members were seeing legacy incomes grow by almost 6% pa. In Q1 2008 the market stalled, and has been slowly declining ever since. <><>In the twelve months to December 2009, legacy income for our 42 Consortium members combined was £875m. In the year to December 2008 this figure was £906m – a fall of 3.4%, or £31m. Since our Consortium represents around 47% of the total legacy market, we estimate that £66m of legacy income has been lost to the sector overall...

Legacy Monitor Data Bulletin, Q42009

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In the twelve months to September 2009, legacy income for our 38 Consortium members combined was £864m. That’s a higher figure than we’ve seen in the past two quarters – albeit still 1.2% below the same period last year.

Likewise, residual bequests – which represent 85% of Consortium legacy income – have largely stabilised in value. The average residual bequest is now worth £53,000; £2,600 below the peak of Q1 2008.

<>This better-than-feared performance is...

<>In today’s gloomy times, it’s important to find some silver linings. The latest Legacy Monitor (Q3 2009) shows that while legacy incomes continue to fall, the results were not as severe as expected. In the twelve months to June 2009, legacy income for our 38 Consortium members combined was £859m. That’s 2.3% down on the same period last year (the market peak), but marginally better than the 2.4% drop seen in our Q2 benchmarking report. This means that – for now – the downward trend is...