What You Need to Know About Will Power

NOTE: PARTNER REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS MAY 31, 2021!

Background

In 2019, the CAGP Foundation undertook a comprehensive study with Environics Analytics to better understand the factors influencing Canadian charitable giving in wills. The 2019 research showed that only 5% of Canadians are leaving a gift in their will to charity. The research also uncovered that although there were many Canadians interested, there were also barriers. One of the biggest was a fear that leaving a gift to a charity meant that they were taking away from their family and loved ones. The other problem they identified was that although Canadians said they were interested, there were several factors which prevented them from taking take action, including indecision about which charity to support, lack of time, and general inertia.

About the Campaign

The Will Power campaign is designed to inspire more Canadians to make a significant impact on the causes they care about, with a gift in their will to charity. The goal is to move the number of Canadians leaving gifts from 5% to 8.5% over the next years. Reaching that goal will mean as much as $40B in gifts to charities by 2030! The campaign was piloted in the fall of 2020 in the Southern Ontario. The pilot was well received and proved enormously successful. Based on the success of the pilot, the Will Power campaign is now being rolled out in communities across Canada. The public launch is set for September 2021.

What exactly is Will Power?

Will Power is a national public education effort and campaign that encourages Canadians to consider a gift in their will and motivates them to act. The campaign spreads the message via broad-based marketing: social media (Facebook, YouTube), banner ads, Google search, paid advertising, PR (TV, radio, publications) and email marketing. Then it prompts people to take action at WillPower.ca, a one-stop shop for everything bequest.

The Will Power website (www.willpower.ca) has a number of tools to help donors and motivate them to take action, including a legacy gift calculator tool, articles about will writing and donor stories about legacy giving. The website also has a searchable tool to help donors find information about their favorite charities and connect with lawyers and professional advisors.

Charity Partners

Charities can sign up to be a Will Power partner. A charity’s fee is based on the organization’s total fundraising revenue, averaged over a period of 3 years. Charities that sign up before May 31, 2021 are considered Founding Partners and receive a 15% discount on their fee for as long as they are a continuous partner in the campaign. On the willpower.ca website, charities partners have their own dedicated page where users are driven and encouraged to take action. Charities partners also receive a marketing toolkit to help their speak to their donors. The toolkit includes video, co-branded Will Power ads, template communications (email & Facebook format), key messaging and brand elements. Charity partners also receive one free CAGP membership and one free CAGP planned giving training.

Advisor Partners

Lawyers and financial advisors can also sign up to be a partner in the Will Power campaign. Advisors can be Will Power partners with the purchase a CAGP Membership (annual fee of $375). Advisor partners have their own page on the WillPower.ca website where users are driven and encouraged to take action. Advisor partners also receive a marketing toolkit they can use to speak to their clients. Advisor partners also receive one of CAPG best-in-class “Intro to Gift Planning” education courses. Advisors can also sign up to be an “Advisor Sponsor” for an additional cost. Limited sponsorship opportunities are available per city. Please contact your local chapter for more details.

Timelines

Partner registration is currently underway. The deadline to register for the 2021 campaign is May 31, 2021. There will be partner prep and training in June 2021. Will Power launches in communities across Canada in September 2021. The formal campaign, which include low key Will Power marketing, will run from October 2021 to May 2022. The annual campaign will run October to May each year after.

For More Information

For more information please contact Laurie Fox, Campaign Director, at lfox@cagp-acpdp.org.