Legacy Indeed #33 #cong24 #legacy

Synopsis:

Legacy is all around us. We create it in all our interactions. Our thoughts, feelings and emotions inform the legacy we create.

Total Words

915

Reading Time in Minutes

4

Key Takeaways:

  1. People provide legacy.
  2. Small things are remembered more than big things.
  3. My mother made wonderful pancakes.
  4. You are a fine legacy indeed.

About Chris Reina:

Chris Reina has been involved in education since 2002, technology since 1981 and Making since 1971. (You do the maths). He is 1/3 of MakerMeet.ie – who deliver Maker-led, project-based S.T.E.A.M. workshops nationwide to primary, secondary, third-level and other institutions.
He feels passionately that education is the most important thing in the world and that teaching using Maker skills is the most rewarding job there is.
Chris loves cats, kayaking, kite-flying, steampunk, pedantic semantics and knowing the meanings of ligatures, aglets, gallibanders and lexiphanic.

Contacting Chris Reina:

You can connect with Chris via email, connect with him on Twitter (X) or see his work on Instagram and TikTok

By Chris Reina

I have been mulling over the idea of “Legacy” – mine, others, places and times. Engaging with legacy [usually] means long-lasting events or physical items left behind. However, I believe there is a longer-lasting type of endowment that involves people… one we all know and speak about with kindness, fondness, affection and love. Legacy.

This endowment is the gift of ourselves. Those small, seemingly insignificant moments where you held the door, made the joke, listened deeply, revealed a personal aspect of yourself or simply shared a point in time with another. For me – this is Legacy. Making a small and significant impact on others for the better. Grand gestures are amazing and appreciated, but we all remember even more deeply the times when people were good and caring to us. Legacy.

The human psyche will always hold the bad incidents and times that hurt us. These can lessen and fade over time but can also be further expunged when counterbalanced by considerate, thoughtful and tender moments of others. Legacy.

In my day to day life, I spend a large portion of my time dealing with people of all ages, backgrounds, ideas and experiences. I find during many of these interactions, I not only get a chance to make an impact, but very often people say and do things which push back my own hurt and bring a joy to me which make them all extraordinary learning experiences. Legacy.

This year has given me a wonderful opportunity in the form of a very rewarding part-time position. I help a generation of elders share their memories and stories of times past for all to see online. Through photos, documents, audio and video the elders create their content and are able to contribute remembrances to their local community, families and extended families worldwide. Legacy.

Many of the people I interact with daily may never know the impact they’ve had… and that’s OK. Gratefully accepting and acknowledging their humour, deeds or small moments not only helps me, but I hope encourages them to keep perpetuating those small moments. I wonder how many remember or even know what they have done for me? Legacy.

My mother has passed away (10 years ago this weekend in fact!) and I still speak and think fondly of her. While she could be difficult and challenging – her capacity for enriching others lives was exceptional (as were her pancakes!). I frequently consider how she might have handled an issue, felt about a topic or what advice she may have given me. This is the endowment she has left me – to contemplate, regard and be mindful of others. Legacy.

While I firmly believe in the power and capacity for change in people – it is a difficult thing to do… but I also believe in a “tipping point”. A time when an individual decides they will take the first step, say the hard thing, accept the challenge – all with an open heart and with no expectation of reward, just for kindness. Not always easy, but beneficial for both ourselves and those around us. Legacy.

I leave you with this poem I recently saw on TikTok:

Someone

Someone is still telling jokes they learned from you.

Someone is still using the phrases and words you used.

Someone is still listening to the music you’ve shown them.

Someone still smiles when they remember a moment with you.

Someone is still encouraged by the advice you gave them.

Someone admires you from afar and is inspired by you.

Someone learned how to love from you. They go about their lives maybe without realising how much of you they’ve kept with them.

It is there in how they handle things differently – in small choices they make or in the way they see things a bit clearer.

You might just be a memory on the surface, but underneath there’s more.

They remember your advice, replay conversations in their mind and find comfort in things you once shared.

They carry parts of you – your sense of humour, the way you saw the world, the calm you brought during chaos.

You’ve become part of who they are. Shaping them in ways that might seem small but matter deeply.

And while they may not say it, they’re grateful for it – you made a mark that lasts.

From: @momentary_existentialism

I leave you with this final thought:

You ARE the Legacy. A fine Legacy indeed.

November 4, 2024 2024 Legacy No comments yet

Your Legacy – Charity Perspective #20 #cong24 #legacy

Synopsis:

Let’s be ambitious to dramatically grow legacy income for charities. How do we increase legacy giving in Ireland? Lots of data, psychology, discussion around opportunities for ‘making a difference’, family dynamics, incentives and more will be covered.

Total Words

891

Reading Time in Minutes

4

Key Takeaways:

  1. People in Ireland pro rata leave less than one third to charity in their wills of what our UK counterparts leave.
  2. Inheritances and the probate system reinforce rather than spread wealth for the benefit of society.
  3. New research is emerging on the legacy giving patterns in Ireland and more is needed.
  4. Leaving a charitable gift has feel good benefits for the legator (person writing their will) and is good for society generally.

About Niall O'Sullivan:

Niall O’Sullivan: Niall established Campaign Solutions as a fundraising consultancy. This business also has a brand – Legacy Insights. He chairs a membership organisation called My Legacy (it has 90 charity members). As friends will tell you, he thinks and talks about legacy pretty much every day. A child of the late 1960s, he comes from Wexford but has lived in Dublin most of his life – with a few gaps in Australia, UK and USA. Niall went to college in DCU. He is married with two fab teenagers. He has worked in the not for profit sector for over 20 years. As well as self-employment he worked in Community Foundation Ireland, Trinity Foundation and more. Niall’s consultancy work is increasingly focussing on legacies – aka charitable bequests or gifts in wills. This includes research on legacies, legacy training, legacy plans and he established FreeWill.ie in 2024 also. Among his clients are charities, universities and schools.

Contacting Niall O'Sullivan:

You can contact with Niall via email, see his work on Campaign Solutions or connect with him in LinkedIn.

By Turlough Rafferty

We think of ourselves as a generous nation. We volunteer, we donate, we help people out. Some people also leave a gift in their Will to charity. But most don’t. Many more could. That’s a key focus of my work. Each year between €8 billion and €10 billion is passed on via wills. It’s everybody’s personal choice what they want to do with their wealth. Most default to leaving it to a spouse and children. As we age, the age of our inheriting ‘children’ is also rising – some now are in their 70s by the time their parents die. Do they need a bequest?

690,000 families have received a bequest over the last 20 years according to the Central Bank. The average value of such transfers in 2020 terms was €229,335. These are welcome transfers no doubt in many cases, but are not needed in all. To a significant degree the probate process simply reinforces wealth. It may not be stated as such, but that’s it’s job.

Leaving a gift to charity is an outlier thought but a wonderful way to support wider society. People helped by charities are far less likely to inherit and far less likely to write a will as they may not have anything to leave. Some people leave money for animals, some to niche causes, some to education, health research, to support the poorest of the poor overseas. Imaging what we could achieve if people left €400m or €500m a year to charity – instead of the c€100m that is left currently (approx. one third of third of which goes to religious bodies). Some sectors receive very few bequests – the environment and the arts most notably. That’s not good for the future of the world. And worryingly legacy giving dropped 24% in 2022.

Some people leave very large amounts. Elizabeth O’Kelly famously left over €30 million to five charities in 2017. The average is closer to €10k. For most people, their legacy gift will be the biggest gift they give to charity. Large gifts or increased income from a number of legators can be transformational for a charity. A small number of people have enabled the establishment of philanthropic foundations as a result of their bequests. Examples in Ireland include Tony Ryan and Katherine Howard. The latter enabled a foundation to be set up that has an endowment and continues to make grants annually many years on since her passing.

How do we make change happen – not just tinkering at the edges but dramatic change to treble, quadruple or more the level of giving by way of legacies in future years. Who can we engage on the topic – government, the legal profession, charity fundraisers, boards, volunteers, everyone? How do we do so? Do we need to spend €1m a year on this or €50m. Bord Bia has a food quality mark. Its promotion and campaign activities for it were primarily focused on TV and radio advertising, PR, events and the development and circulation of new and fresh digital content. In all, 17 campaign bursts took place in 2023, including 27 weeks of TV, 23 weeks of radio advertising and 38 weeks on Social Media platforms Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. It also has an overseas marketing remit. In 2023, its Marketing and Promotional Expenditure is in the millions of euros. Imagine government or a wise philanthropist giving a significant budget to enable the promotion of will making, and within that, legacy giving.

October 24, 2024 2024 Legacy No comments yet