Do you feel as though your legacy work is often left unappreciated? Find out four actionable ways to ensure that your organisation gets the credit and support it’s due...

It is astonishing to think that the majority of charities are still oblivious to the hard work that is undertaken by their legacy managers, as it was when I joined the sector nearly 15 years ago. But whose fault is this?

Many of us are extremely under-resourced, working away tirelessly to meet the ever-demanding targets that are sometimes out of our control. This can lead to feelings of isolation and underappreciation due to the sheer lack of communication, more often than not from our side, as we simply don’t have the time.

On the other end of the spectrum, senior leadership teams often only get to see the large cheques that arrive, or the huge distributions received into the charities bank account. They very rarely get a first-hand glimpse of the hard work that goes in to securing these funds. And why would they, if this isn’t being communicated to them.

Communication is key

It is down to all of us within the legacy sector to “make” the time to raise awareness of what we do in our day-to-day role and the challenges that we face on a regular basis. I know that this is easier said than done, but without doing so we will not receive the support and recognition that we need and certainly deserve as a sector and, more importantly, as individuals.

1. Attend team meetings, hold a learning lunch, shout about your successes and the amazing value that you add to the income received, whether this is by acting as the lead charity or challenging IHT that has been incorrectly paid
2. Take some time to talk to other colleagues and teams within your organisation; they may also be facing the same lack of understanding about their role and achievements
3. Raising the profile of your team (which I know in most cases is just one person), is something that we should all be doing to obtain the recognition that is deserved, irrespective as to whether extra resources are required to expand your team or to obtain the newest version of the FirstClass database
4. Increasing communication between myself, fellow colleagues and the senior leadership team here at Bloodwise has opened up some interesting conversations and a level of understanding, which has enabled me to successfully increase resources within my team

Don’t get me wrong, I’m still not great with this whole communications thing and there are still areas of improvement that I can and will make, however things are definitely moving in the right direction.

Rebecca Billen, Legacy Manager, Bloodwise, will be speaking on how to get internal buy-in, support and recognition for legacy administration at the upcoming Excellence in Legacy Administration conference 2018 in London on 4 December. To find out more and to book your place, click here.