Clear Vision: How Charities Can Get Legacy Income on Track

A Fresh Start for Legacy Giving


With the year well underway, now is the moment for charities to pause, reflect, and plan ahead. It’s a chance to look back at what worked last year, identify where improvements can be made, and set the foundations for lasting success.


This is especially true for legacy income. Unlike regular donations, legacy gifts are rarely quick decisions - they’re deeply personal, transformational commitments that often require years of careful stewardship.


That’s why now is the time to put strategies in place that bring structure, confidence, and clarity. With the right approach, charities can grow a healthy pipeline for the year ahead, ensuring no opportunity is missed and every supporter feels valued.


Clean Data, Thriving Relationships


Legacy giving is built on trust, and trust depends on accuracy. Surveys suggest that legacies can make up anywhere from 10% to 60% of a charity’s voluntary income. That’s a huge proportion, and it shows just how transformational these gifts can be.


That’s why clean data matters so much here. Outdated records don’t just mean missed mailings - they mean missed opportunities to nurture relationships with the very supporters who might one day choose to leave a legacy. Without accurate data, charities risk losing touch with this critical donor segment at the exact moment when connection matters most.


Clean data ensures charities know exactly who their supporters are, how they’ve engaged, and where they are in their journey. It’s not just about tidy spreadsheets - it’s about making sure every supporter feels recognised and connected. When data is clean, charities thrive because relationships thrive.


Integration and Visibility: One Source of Truth


Legacy income touches fundraising, finance, supporter care, and marketing. Without a central system, data gets scattered across spreadsheets, emails, and CRMs - making it hard to see the full picture.


A legacy management system brings everything together. With seamless integration into key CRM platforms, charities can ensure supporter records, financial data, and stewardship notes are all aligned. No duplication, no gaps - just one source of truth that everyone can rely on.


And when it comes to notifications, integration with services like Smee & Ford is critical. These alerts about new legacy gifts or potential income flow directly into the system, giving charities immediate visibility into what’s in the pipeline. That means faster follow‑up, clearer forecasting, and the confidence to plan.


This clarity transforms legacy giving from reactive to strategic, helping charities steward relationships, manage income, and build trust with supporters at every stage.


Front of Mind: Marketing That Cultivates Legacies


Charities are experiencing a major shift in how supporters want to connect. Today’s audiences expect communication to be digital‑first and mobile‑first - interactions that feel personal, transparent, and effortless. Social media is powerful for sharing impact stories, but when it comes to deeper, more meaningful conversations - like inspiring someone to leave a gift in their Will - charities need something more trusted.


Traditionally, mobile messaging has been limited to quick text‑to‑donate campaigns or event reminders. But imagine if that same channel could nurture long‑term relationships, build trust, and spark legacy pledges. That’s where RCS  (Rich Communication Services) comes in.


RCS is the first major upgrade to mobile messaging in two decades. Unlike SMS, it offers a richer, more interactive experience - secure, modern, and designed to feel genuinely helpful. For charities, this means the ability to stay front of mind with supporters, using the very channels they already rely on every day.


By combining clean data with RCS‑powered outreach, charities can ensure their cause is remembered when supporters make one of life’s most meaningful decisions.


Efficiency and Confidence


Legacy gifts involve sensitive information, legal processes, and long timelines. A management system streamlines workflows, automates reminders, and ensures compliance. This saves staff time, reduces risk, and allows teams to focus on what matters most: building relationships with care.


Conclusion: Turning Intent Into Impact


Legacy giving isn’t just about managing income - it’s about honouring the intent of supporters and turning it into lasting impact. Momentum is building in 2026, making it the perfect time to get ahead: to clean your data, connect your systems, and embrace modern channels that keep you front of mind.


With the right legacy management approach, charities don’t just track gifts - they build trust, deepen relationships, and secure the future of their mission.


If you’re ready to move from good intentions to measurable impact, get in touch with our team. We’ll help you put the structure, clarity, and human touch in place to make legacy income simple, strategic, and successful.

RCS for Business Data Cleansing
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Legacy Budgets: Clarity for Future Spend

By Fiona Paton • April 21, 2026
When you’re managing legacies, it’s not just the income that matters - it’s the commitments, too. Future solicitor fees, surveyor costs, maintenance charges, promised funds to branches… they all add up, and they all need to be tracked somewhere sensible. That’s exactly where Legacy Budgets steps in. What Legacy Budgets Actually Do Legacy Budgets lets you record a budgeted amount for any planned or upcoming expenditure linked to a legacy. It could be professional fees, ongoing maintenance, or even funds earmarked for a specific centre or project. Many charities track this in their finance system, but having it visible within the legacy record itself gives you context you don’t get anywhere else. Why It’s Worth Using Think of it as a financial snapshot that sits right alongside the case details. It’s simple, but it’s powerful, and helps you: See what’s been committed before invoices arrive Keep teams aligned on expected spend Avoid surprises later in the process Maintain a clearer picture of each legacy’s net value The Legacy Budget Browser: Your Overview at a Glance If you want to see all budgets in one place, the Legacy Budget Browser is your new best friend. It shows: Current budgeted amounts Amounts already spent Remaining balance Related legator, legacy, and payee details It’s ideal when you’re not sure which legacy a budget belongs to, when you want to see everything linked to a particular payee, or when you need quick reporting using selections. To access it: From the Home window, click Browse or press Ctrl + B Double‑click Legacy Budget Browser Apply your filters using Selections and hit Apply Selections How to Switch It On Legacy Budgets isn’t enabled by default. To activate it, set the ShowLegacyBudgets system parameter to Yes in the Maintain System Parameters window, then restart the system. If you’d like budget information to appear in additional grids, we are only too happy to help configure that. Where You’ll Find It Once enabled, you’ll see a Budgets tab on both the Legator and Legacy windows - making it easy to view, add, and manage budgets right where you need them.

ILM 2026: What we’re most excited about this year

By Fiona Paton • March 25, 2026
We’re officially counting down to the ILM Annual Conference on 8 May at 133 Houndsditch, London. It’s always one of the best days in the legacy calendar - a chance to reconnect in person with friends and colleagues across the sector, soak up engaging speaker sessions, spark new ideas, and celebrate the incredible work happening in legacies at the ILM Awards. What's New The FirstClass team will be on hand to share the latest on how FirstClass is evolving, with the launch of the first iteration of FirstClass 5 Essentials coming very soon. We’ll also be unveiling a couple of new services we’re delighted to introduce, including Data Cleansing and RCS Business Messaging - the natural successor to SMS. Data Cleansing For charities and non‑profits, supporter data is the backbone of effective legacy giving. Yet while nearly half of organisations want to use insights to improve services, more than half are held back by CRM challenges. Poor‑quality data can have serious consequences - from losing touch with potential legacy supporters to missing opportunities for deeper engagement, and even risking compliance issues. That’s where our Data Cleansing service comes in. We help charities restore confidence in their supporter information by improving the quality of addresses, emails, and phone numbers. The result is cleaner, compliant, and more reliable data that strengthens legacy communications and ensures every supporter feels valued and connected. RCS Business Messaging Charities are experiencing a major shift. Supporters now expect digital‑first, mobile‑first communication - they want interactions that feel personal, transparent, and effortless. Social media is great for sharing impact stories, but when it comes to deeper, more meaningful conversations, like inspiring someone to leave a gift in their Will, charities need something more powerful and more trusted. RCS delivers on‑brand, secure, and interactive messages straight to the place that matters most - your supporters’ phones. Unlike SMS, RCS allows content‑rich, multimedia, and interactive messaging, helping charities build stronger, more personal connections with legacy supporters. And the results speak for themselves: up to three times higher engagement than SMS, read rates of 60–80%, and adoption by hundreds of leading brands. RCS is redefining how charities nurture relationships and inspire legacy giving. ILM Awards As always, a big highlight of the conference is celebrating excellence across the legacy sector, and we’re looking forward to cheering on all the ILM members who’ve been nominated. Good luck to all the nominees - we’re excited to celebrate your achievements and hear about the great work happening across the sector. Make sure to drop by on the day to hear how FirstClass is now delivering even more for its clients, and in the meantime, you can view the complete list of speakers and topics for the day at the ILM Annual Conference website .
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Open Conversations. Shared Solutions.

By Fiona Paton • March 25, 2026
At FirstClass, we’ve always believed our product should grow with the charities and non-profits who use it. Your input has shaped the way we build, and now we want to take that collaboration one step further. Monthly Check-in Calls We’re introducing monthly check‑in calls - an open forum where you can drop in, chat with the team and other customers, and explore anything to do with the product. No agenda, no pressure. Just space for conversation, questions, and shared ideas. These sessions give you the chance to: Share your priorities and help shape how we address different aspects of the system Stay informed on technical updates, including external systems like SQL or Outlook What’s new across our Team, billing, and the wider company See functionality demonstrated live - if you’re unsure how something works, we’ll show you Updates on features and fixes in the latest releases Ask questions on any part of the system Whether you join for five minutes or stay for the full hour, this is your space to connect with us. It’s a chance to explore challenges together, share experiences, and help shape a product that truly works for charities. We’ll host these sessions monthly on Microsoft Teams, giving you regular opportunities to drop in and join the conversation. Join our team for open, honest discussions that help us learn, improve, and grow alongside you. The next session is on Thursday, 21 st May at 10:45, you can sign up using the Save the Date button below.