Helping you navigate the messy middle
There is a stretch in every legacy supporter journey that most programmes handle badly. The supporter is interested. They have not said no. But they have not made the gift either, and the charity has no idea what is happening or what to do next. That stretch can last years. It is where most legacy income quietly disappears.
The Gifts in Wills Decision Map was built for that problem.
What it is
The Decision Map is a behavioural framework that charts how supporters move through the decision to leave a gift in their will, from the moment the idea first surfaces to the point where a gift is committed and sustained. It was developed from behavioural economics research and refined through client work across UK and Australian charities.
The framework identifies six stages in the supporter journey: Awareness, Trigger, Navigate, Act, Commit, and Sustain. Navigate is the dominant stage, the messy middle, where the real decisions happen and where most legacy programmes have the least visibility and the least influence. Running alongside the full journey is a Professional Adviser track, which reflects the reality that many supporters, particularly those with complex estates, will make their will with a solicitor rather than an online tool. How charities engage with that reality has a significant bearing on the quality of gifts they receive.
The framework is not a communications plan. It is a map of supporter behaviour that a communications plan, a stewardship strategy, and a will-writing pathway can then be built around.
The diagnostic
The Gifts in Wills Decision Map diagnostic applies the framework to a specific organisation's legacy programme. It maps where the programme is strong, where it is losing supporters it should be retaining, and what the priorities are for closing the gap.
The output is a clear, practical set of recommendations, written in plain English and designed to be shared with senior leadership or a board. It is delivered within a defined timeframe and scoped to give organisations a credible foundation for the next stage of programme development, whether that is a full strategy refresh, a case for investment, or a specific intervention in the supporter journey.
For organisations that want ongoing support beyond the diagnostic, a retained oversight model is available to maintain strategic direction as the programme develops.
Engagements are scoped and priced individually. Get in touch to discuss what the diagnostic would look like for your organisation.
Who it is for
The Decision Map diagnostic is designed for charities with an established or emerging legacy programme that want to understand, with evidence, where to focus. It is particularly useful for organisations that have been running a legacy programme for several years and suspect the approach needs refreshing, for those preparing a case for investment in legacy giving, and for legacy leads who need external credibility and a structured methodology behind their recommendations.
Legacy income is built on decisions supporters make privately, over long periods, with very little prompting from the charity. Understanding that process is not a luxury. It is the only reliable basis for building a programme that grows.