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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