FirstClass wins first place after scooping national award

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:

"We're incredibly proud that our product and the hard work of those who continually develop it has been recognised at a national level.

FirstClass has been helping charities manage and maximise their bequest revenue for nearly 30 years, which is a huge achievement in itself. However, this award goes to the team, which, through its tireless work and a continued commitment to providing charities with what they need to manage, track and monitor legacy revenue, has set the benchmark when it comes to bequest management software."

Polly Avgherinos, Managing Director at Smee & Ford, adds:

"The Smee & Ford Legacy Giving Awards are dedicated to celebrating the incredible work of legacy professionals, giving individuals and teams an opportunity to showcase their work and gain recognition. 


"It's been wonderful to see the positive response for these awards from the sector with a significant increase in participation producing more entries, more judges, more attendees and more finalists this year!"


For more information on the Smee & Ford Legacy Giving Awards 2024, visit legacygivingawards.co.uk. 


For more information on FirstClass, visit www.firstclass-software.com. 

Pilot Project Launched to Support Free Wills Month

By Fiona Paton • July 31, 2025
To shine a light on October’s Free Wills Month , an initiative designed to offer those aged 55 and over the chance to have straightforward wills written or updated free of charge, FirstClass and sister company Cymba have joined forces and are partnering with the Institute of Legacy Management (ILM) to launch a project that illustrates the impact mobile messaging has on legacy giving. Whilst mobile messaging is typically associated with text-to-donate campaigns, the partnership between two companies that sit within ClearCourse’s stable of brands will showcase how this technology can be used to inspire people to leave legacies in their wills. The webinar, entitled “ How to Boost traffic to your Free Wills and Legacy pages ”, will be jointly hosted by the FirstClass and Cymba teams, and explore how emerging Rich Communications Services (RCS) technology, the evolution of SMS, can be used to drive engagement when it comes to legacy giving. The event will also provide charities with insights into how they can build trust when it comes to increasing donations and gifts by revealing tried and tested messaging formats that drive action. Charities will also learn how to highlight their free wills and legacy pages by harnessing RCS’s ability to implement branded quick-action buttons, and understand the difference in outcomes between SMS and RCS messaging via a dedicated split testing session. In the lead up to the webinar, which takes place on 11 September at 10:30 am, Cymba and FirstClass will be running test campaigns with several of the UK’s prominent charities, the results of which will be revealed during the session. On the event, Rich Mullens, Director at Cymba and FirstClass, comments: “ Regular givers are often among the most open to leaving a legacy. In this webinar, we’ll show charities how mobile messaging can help them engage these supporters more effectively and drive meaningful traffic, not only for donations but also to inspire gifts in wills. We’re delighted to unite these two brands, both of which are founded on helping charities boost donations via mobile messaging and increase their legacy giving, and we’re confident that attendees will leave feeling inspired to use new approaches. ” The new Data (Use and Access) Bill, which gives charities greater freedom to use the soft opt-in by enabling them to contact past supporters with relevant legacy messages without needing fresh consent, removes barriers to utilising RCS. This means that the benefits of RCS, such as the ability to use logos, images, video, and tap-to-act buttons, can be quickly and efficiently embraced by charities looking to incorporate this emerging technology. For more information on Cymba, FirstClass, and Free Wills Month, visit https://www.cymba.co.uk , https://www.firstclass-software.com , and https://freewillsmonth.org.uk ,  respectively.

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