FirstClass helps shape national legacy benchmarking programme

The background


With almost 30 years’ experience of working with over 200 charities, Legacy Foresight is the UK’s most prominent legacy market analyst.


As part of the Legacy Futures Group, Legacy Foresight specialises in benchmarking, research and analysis to generate insights and data for the UK’s legacy market.


Legacy Foresight’s flagship product is Legacy Monitor, an annual benchmarking consortium programme designed to monitor, analyse and forecast trends in legacy giving.


In order to collate and deliver this level of market intelligence, Legacy Foresight relies on FirstClass.

“The majority of the data supplied to Legacy Monitor comes direct from charities’ FirstClass legacy software. This data can be extracted and transferred easily and efficiently, and is almost always complete and robust. For charities that don’t use FirstClass, the process can be more time consuming and more data quality checks are required.”


Kathryn Horsley, Director of Insight at Legacy Foresight

The approach


Legacy Monitor’s consortium includes 83 charities, which accounts for almost half of the UK legacy market by legacy income. These charities provide quarterly income and bequest data that is combined with big picture economic and social trends to create an in-depth analysis of the British legacy sector.


Legacy Foresight produces interactive dashboards and quarterly and annual reports that enable charities to better understand the legacy market overall, and how their performance compares with the market and their peers.


In order for Legacy Monitor to include the granular level of data and analyses it has become nationally renowned for, it is reliant on member charities to supply high-quality data.


Of the 83 charities that form the consortium, 60 use FirstClass, which makes data retrieval a robust and efficient process for 75 per cent of its members.


These days, Legacy Foresight:


  • Uses FirstClass to gather 80 per cent of all legacy income data for Legacy Monitor.
  • Relies on FirstClass to ensure that data provided is complete and accurate.
  • Works collaboratively with FirstClass in order to continually integrate new metrics that offer new insights and provide Legacy Foresight’s members with a deeper understanding of the area in which they work.

“If you really want to understand the dynamics and performance of your legacy income, then you need access to as much robust data as you can possibly acquire. FirstClass is not only a tool that allows its users to do just that, but combined with the Legacy Monitor programme, it also has the capacity to empower charities to make more informed, strategic decisions for their legacy programme.”


Kathryn Horsley, Director of Insight at Legacy Foresight

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