FirstClass helps Christian charity build bigger legacy picture

The background

As part of an international Christian voluntary network dedicated to tackling poverty in all its forms by providing practical assistance to those in need, St Vincent de Paul Society has been helping people since 1844.

With over 10,000 members, all of whom are motivated by faith and committed to visiting vulnerable people across England and Wales to offer friendship, St Vincent de Paul Society has a strong national presence.

However, with an annual legacy income of £800,000, it relies heavily on financial support to continue funding its good work.

One critical source of revenue is bequest income which, since late 2023, the organisation has been managing using FirstClass.

“FirstClass is changing the way we work. Whilst we’re still in the early stages, I can already see how it’s going to revolutionise our approach to legacy revenue management. For starters, we now have a much clearer and bigger picture as to who are legators are, which means our communications can now be much more targeted.”

Aisha McCarthy, Legacy Manager at St Vincent de Paul Society (England & Wales)

The approach

Prior to using FirstClass, St Vincent de Paul Society was using a combination of standard CRM and manual methods, including individual spreadsheets, to manage and track its legacy revenue.

The process was prone to error and time-consuming. Income and expenditure reports, for example, would take 90 minutes to produce. Furthermore, the tools they had in place didn’t provide critical data or any valuable insights.

After the decision to bring in a legacy consultant to help St Vincent de Paul Society build a coherent legacy strategy was taken, it quickly became apparent that they knew very little about their legacy income - and the legators themselves.

As the legacy consultant departed, St Vincent de Paul Society made the decision to switch to FirstClass in order to gain a better understanding of their legators and help build their legacy programme.

“As a result of FirstClass, the legacy team has saved time, become more efficient and dispensed with clunky, manual methods of legacy management – many of which were unreliable and provided inaccurate information. I would definitely recommend FirstClass to any charity responsible for managing legacies of any significance.”

Aisha McCarthy, Legacy Manager at St Vincent de Paul Society (England & Wales)

The outcome

Since incorporating FirstClass, St Vincent de Paul Society has:

Cut the time taken to prepare income and expenditure reporting from 90 minutes to 20 minutes.
Been able to better understand its audience, which has paved the way for more tailored and personal communications to existing and prospective legators.
Saved time by cutting out time-consuming – and often unreliable – manual methods, which is now being reinvested in other critical operational areas including marketing.
Accurately profiled its legators by a wide range of demographics including relationship, age and gender.
Executed a more strategic approach to legacy-related communications campaigns.
Delivered more accurate forecasting reports to the board of trustees.

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Celebrating the very best of our sector

15 May, 2024

By Bobby Parmar, Account Manager at FirstClass Wow, what an event! The Institute of Legacy Management’s annual conference ( ILM , for any readers who aren’t aware) was particularly special this year. Well, for us at least – but I’ll come on to that in a minute. First, I have to say that there's nothing like being in a room full of like-minded people, all of whom are passionate about legacy management (and incredibly talented in their respective legacy management fields). It’s also really quite inspiring to see so many people from some of the UK’s best-loved charities discussing the sector and sharing best practices. But for us, having provided a key legacy management tool for charities’ legacy management programmes for almost three decades, there was something else, too. A family feel Throughout the day, we continually bumped into people who, over the years we've worked together, have become like family. From legacy managers at RNLI and Cancer Research UK to team members from RSPCA, Barnados and Legacy Link, it was great to see so many people in one place. We also had the opportunity to meet with members of a steering group we've formed to help us shape the next version of our software – version 5 – in the most collaborative way possible. Three members of the group, Angela Noguera-Horne from Cancer Research UK, Val Tabor from Barnados, and Daniel Pepper from RNIB, even shared some initial feedback from users, much of which suggests that they are generally happy with the product. Pat on the back And, of course, following our recent national award win, having collected the Outstanding Partner to the Sector Award at the Smee & Ford Legacy Giving Awards 2024, many well-wishers - both customers and non-customers – were very kind about our recent success. However, the biggest pat on the back came from ILM, which is eager to develop an official qualification on FirstClass . This recognition shows that we're becoming a standard part of the legacy management infrastructure and doing something right, too. This year's ILM was exceptional, and the FirstClass team was incredibly proud to be a part of it. Looking for an award-winning bequest management partner? Get in touch with our team today.

FirstClass - The gold standard in bequest management and an outstanding partner to the legacy sector

01 May, 2024

Invitation to attend an Introduction to FirstClass webinar on June 6, 11:30. Find out why we are the gold standard in bequest management and an outstanding partner to the legacy sector. The FirstClass team is thrilled to win 'Outstanding Partner to the Legacy Sector' at the Smee & Ford Legacy Giving Awards 2024. Not only does it show recognition for outstanding achievement and skill in the legacy sector, but it's also a testament to the exceptional support and experience the team provides to our customers. Bobby Parmar , a pivotal figure within the team, proudly represented FirstClass at the awards. Bobby has been indispensable in advancing FirstClass, demonstrating an infectious work ethic, exceptional responsiveness, and steadfast commitment to supporting charities.

Team accept the Outstanding Partner to the Sector Award at the Smee & Ford Legacy Giving Awards 2024

FirstClass wins first place after scooping national award

22 Apr, 2024

FirstClass, the UK's leading legacy management software provider, has won the Outstanding Partner to the Sector Award at the Smee & Ford Legacy Giving Awards 2024. Out of a pool of 108 finalists, FirstClass emerged as one of the 20 national award winners and was presented with the accolade at a ceremony hosted by comedian Lucy Porter, which welcomed 300 guests and took place at the Hilton Bankside on 18 April. The judging panel, which included 42 prominent figures from the legacy community, assessed FirstClass on its ambition, excellence and outcome and decided that the legacy management expert, who has been serving the legacy sector for almost three decades, was a worthy winner. FirstClass's bequest management platform is an industry 'gold standard' for organisations and teams managing bequests. The platform is used not only by charities but also by high-profile benchmarking organisations and industry authorities such as Legacy Foresight and Legacy Link. As of 2024, FirstClass has 500 users, and together, these users manage a combined bequest revenue of £1.4bn. On receiving the prize, Rich Mullens, Product Director for FirstClass, said: