‘Forget Me Knot’ Week begins on Monday 14th September, and the week will use the tying of a ‘forget me knot’ through a range of activities to engage Campaign members, supporters, local and national press, the legal profession and the general public.
Charity supporters are being asked to tie a virtual 'forget me knot', a symbol of their support for their favourite causes, and a reminder to them to consider leaving a gift in their will when it comes to writing or updating their will.
A range of communication tools have been developed by Remember A Charity for its members’ use. These include an interactive banner for members’ websites enabling supporters to tie a virtual knot, HTML email templates for supporters and staff driving traffic to a charities’ website, a ‘Forget Me Knot' Week logo and wrist bands.
A range of national and regional PR activities are planned for the week, including a national photo shoot with Margaret Mountford and a UK road tour visiting nine cities with members’ involvement.
The week also sees a call for lawyers to ask clients whether they would like to leave a gift to charity in their will, after they have looked after friends and family.
New Remember A Charity research shows that 75% of people wouldn’t mind being asked the question by a solicitor or will writing professional.
Margaret Mountford is a trustee of heart disease charity CORDA and agrees that the legal community can make a huge difference:
'As a retired lawyer I recognise that will writing professionals could play an important role in changing the status quo. If more people were simply asked the question when drawing up a will I’m sure it would make a huge difference to the long-term future of so many of our charities.
'Through my own work with CORDA, I have seen how vital legacy income is to charities. We should be very proud of these people who have chosen to leave a gift to the charities they’ve supported.'
Stephen George, Chair of Remember A Charity and Development Director for Legacies at NSPCC said:
'We are delighted that Margaret Mountford is supporting Remember A Charity’s Forget Me Knot Week. Margaret’s involvement will ensure we really make an impact during the week, allowing messages about the importance of legacies to be heard loud and clear by a range of target Campaign audiences.
'Our first ever Awareness Week is a welcome addition to the overall campaign and will provide plenty of opportunities for member charities to talk to their supporters about the importance of legacies and to gain local and national PR.
'The mix of celebrity, press, TV and PR will, we hope, make a big impact with the public and help us take a step closer to our long term goal to make gifts in wills a social norm for the many.'
Watch one of Remember A Charity's TV adverts below:
