Vision for growth sees The Macular Society choose FirstClass

The background

The Macular Society was founded in 1987 to provide support for people with Macular Disease – a degenerative condition that impacts the macula, which forms part of the retina at the back of the eye.

Since the 1990s, the charity has helped thousands of people struggling with sight loss and continues to invest heavily in groundbreaking research to find a cure.

Its legacy programme has also grown considerably over the last two decades. In 2009, the charity had 12 known legacy pledges. In 2024, it secured almost 600, growing legacy income from hundreds of thousands of pounds to £4m.

This growth trajectory led The Macular Society to choose bequest management software FirstClass in 2023.

“We had been relying on a combination of CRM and spreadsheets to manage our legacy income, which was limited in scope but just about worked okay. However, as our legacy income grew, we wanted to futureproof the work of not only the legacy team, but also the organisation as a whole. With FirstClass, we’ve been able to do that."

Julie Edwards, Head of Legacy at The Macular Society

The project

Before implementing FirstClass, The Macular Society managed its legacy income with spreadsheets and a CRM system. However, in 2023, two things brought this approach into question.

Firstly, The Macular Society’s auditors recognised that the charity’s notifications were becoming more frequent, larger, and complex. They suggested that the charity would benefit from streamlining its legacy management function – something it couldn’t achieve with its current solution.

Secondly, the architects of the CRM system they were using announced that they would no longer support its product, which meant that the charity had to find a replacement system.

As a team of only three people, The Macular Society wanted a solution that would grow with the team and legacy income and integrate with the replacement CRM system.

In 2023, the charity decided to implement FirstClass. In May 2024, the system went live.

The result

Since incorporating FirstClass, The Macular Society has:

Moved all its legacy administration to FirstClass.
Adopted a legacy management platform compatible with any CRM system currently on the market.
Benefited from a solution that’s visual impairment-friendly, as FirstClass can be integrated with the UK’s screen reader services.
Created reports to share pipeline income updates with trustees and senior management.
Shared accurate forecasts of the volume of income expected to instil confidence in trustees and senior management.
Saved time and reduced human error with the electronic notification feature.
Been able to access real-time, accurate updates on any given day.

“Legacy income is notoriously difficult to predict. However, with FirstClass, we can be more accurate with our forecasting, make more informed assumptions about when we can expect to receive income and access the bigger picture around each and every case, as there is so much live data at our fingertips at any given time. It’s very easy to use, too – and even the manual that comes with it is thorough and makes learning how to do something new very straightforward.”

Julie Edwards, Head of Legacy at The Macular Society

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