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RNIB logo – See differently.

Background

For the past two years, RNIB has funded unlimited free online Wills through Bequeathed for the Visionary group. This initiative was intended to support legacy giving, allowing smaller organisations to offer a Will writing service and encourage supporters to consider leaving a gift in their Will.

RNIB has provided various online sessions, both through Bequeathed and directly and ongoing resources have also been provided. Feedback from some Visionary members has also highlighted challenges and the need for broader support beyond online Will writing. As a result of this feedback and the need to reduce the cost of providing a blanket service, RNIB have been looking for alternative providers that allow us to still support the Visionary group but offer more flexibility at a lower cost.

RNIB’s new provider, Octopus Legacy provides this, along with an inclusive range of services including phone, video, at-home, or in-branch Will writing alongside online options.

Why Octopus Legacy

Octopus Legacy aligns with our commitment to inclusivity and accessibility. Key advantages include:

Accessible platform

Octopus Legacy’s online platform is currently rated WCAG 2.1 AA. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are technical standards for web accessibility. WCAG is internationally recognized by organisations and legal authorities across the world as the preeminent digital accessibility standards in the world. Version 2.0 (the version below this) is considered the classic standard, meaning version 2.1 includes more accessibility features. Level AA is defined as providing a comprehensive level of accessibility.

Will writing options

Beyond online Will writing, Octopus Legacy offers phone, video, at-home, and in-branch services to make sure there are other options for individuals who are unable to access the digital platform.

Support for Smaller Charities

Octopus recognises that smaller charities often have limited resources to promote legacy giving. To help they offer an additional marketing support package for campaigns, asset creation and analysis of results. Even without the additional marketing package, every organisation will have access to free Octopus Legacy webinars and events plus an online platform to get inspiration and ideas as well as connect with other legacy fundraisers.

What RNIB will fund

To meet the needs of the Visionary Group members and their supporters, RNIB will fund a package of unlimited online simple Wills through Octopus Legacy starting 1 April 2025. This is free to Visionary Group members, but we do require a commitment upfront – more info at the end of this document.

What you can pay extra for

Octopus Legacy also have offline Will writing services that you can offer to your supporters including phone, video, at-home or in-branch Will writing. Whilst this isn’t something that RNIB will fund, we have negotiated a discounted price for the Visionary Group. There is also an option to pay for additional marketing support, either as an individual organisation or as a consortium.

Offer Overview

Option 1: Unlimited online simple Wills, no marketing (cost covered by RNIB)

RNIB will cover the cost of unlimited simple Wills written online through the Octopus Legacy platform. This offer includes:

• Unlimited simple Wills written via an online platform
• Basic account management to assist with onboarding
• Minimal marketing resources for member organisations to promote the service independently.

Option 2: Additional marketing support for Individual Members (not funded by RNIB)

If any members are looking for additional help to promote the Will writing service and drive legacy gifts, Octopus Legacy are offering a 20% discount on bespoke marketing support. The package includes:

• access to two national marketing campaigns run by Octopus Legacy each year
• Assets to promote the Will writing service and market gifts in Wills to your audiences.

The final price will depend on your organisation’s needs, Octopus Legacy will be able to give you a personalised quote.

Option 3: Bespoke consortium-style campaign (not funded by RNIB)

If there is enough interest from Visionary members, Octopus Legacy could develop a bespoke Visionary Group legacy marketing campaign, in addition to the unlimited Will writing package. This would include all the elements of a national campaign – custom adverts, marketing assets, lead generation activity etc – but it would look and feel like a Visionary Group rather than Octopus Legacy campaign. There would also be advanced data reporting and analysis available after the campaign.

The cost of this bespoke service depends on the number of participating organisations and can be discussed, but there will be a minimum participation level. For example:

• 25 organisations: £2000 per organisation (ex VAT).
• 50 organisations: £1650 per organisation (ex VAT).
• 75 organisations: £1200 per organisation (ex VAT).
• 100+ organisations: £800 per organisation (ex VAT).

Next Steps

We are excited to launch this next phase in our relationship with Visionary and hope that this will be a positive move for all. We hope this will be well received and Visionary groups opt-in to be part of this new support as there needs to be a minimum of 10 organisations taking up this offer in order for it to proceed.

The offer with Octopus Legacy will initially run from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026 and be reviewed at the end of each year.

• Step 1: To participate and access the free online simple Will writing service and Octopus Legacy resources, please opt in by emailing the Charity Partners Team at RNIB by Friday 14th March 2025. Unfortunately, organisations are unable to join mid-year, so to take part in the offer, it is essential to register your interest by this date.
• Step 2: If you would like to purchase a bundle of offline Wills or explore additional paid marketing support, either as an individual organisation or as part of a consortium, please also let us know by emailing the Charity Partners Team at RNIB by Friday 14th March 2025.

Ends

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