Numbers of Charities Securing Income Up in 2022, Legacy € Down Overall

These are the main findings from the Legacy Insights research by Campaign Solutions:

·??????? Verified legacy income of €87,243,969 was identified for 2021 in the previous (2023) report. With additional research, this has increased to €100,615,325.

·??????? Verified legacy income of €75,763,108 has been identified for 2021. This represents a drop of 24.7% on 2021.

·??????? It is estimated that, having reviewed the information gaps, the 2021 total legacy income for the Republic of Ireland was over €110 million. For 2022, the figure may be closer to €85m, suggesting a two-year total of €200m.

·??????? Remarkably, 19 of the 20 organisations with the highest legacy incomes in 2021 saw a drop in 2022. The legacy income of these charities more than halved in 2022 – and accounted for much of the overall drop.

·??????? The number of charities identified with legacy income increased from 400 in 2021 to 417 in 2022.

·??????? Reflecting the variability of the market, 121 charities that secured no legacy income in 2021, received a combined €11.15m in 2022, while 115 organisations increased their legacy income in 2022. 236, or 57%, of the 417 organisations identified therefore increased their legacy income.

·??????? 2021 appears to have been a standout year. Future research will confirm or challenge this assumption.

·??????? More charitable entities are now securing legacies. The 2022 data included charities that secured their first every charitable bequest(s). ?

·??????? Overall, the number of charities actually getting bequests is still low.

·??????? Sectors that receive minimal legacy income include Arts and culture; Environment; LGBTQ+; Sports clubs and their representative bodies and Philanthropic foundations (with occasional notable exceptions).

·??????? The top 10 charities received over 37% of all recorded legacy income in 2021, and 34% in 2021.?

·??????? The highest annual income for any one organisation recorded was €9.6 million (in 2021).

·??????? Reflecting the reduced overall legacy income, 18 organisations secured €1m+ in legacy income in 2022, down from 23 in 2021.

·??????? Verified legacy income now totals over €500 million for the years 2015 - 2022.

Longitudinal data is key to better understanding the Irish ‘legacy market’. Legacy income can fall or rise for any number of reasons – property values, numbers of people leaving bequests, economic changes, speed of administration by solicitors and the Probate offices and more. It is not clear as yet why 2022 saw such a significant drop. Was 2021 an exceptional year or was 2022 a poor year? Perhaps the answer lies somewhere in between.

The full report and other research is available at https://campaignsolutions.ie/legacy-library-ireland/