Legacies reach a tenth of donations in Austria as more people consider gifts

Legacy income for Austrian charities grew to €115m in 2024, according to projections by EFA member Fundraising Verband Austria (FVA).

This figure, an increase from €110m in 2023, meant that it accounted for 11% of the total €1.08bn given to charities during the year.

And that proportion could increase further, with FVA saying that 18% of Austrians over 40 could imagine making a legacy gift, a figure that has grown from 13% in 2018.

These figures were released by the Vergissmeinnicht (Forget-me-not) campaign, which was founded by FVA and for 13 years has been encouraging more people to consider remembering charities in their wills.

Some of the 100 organisations participating in the campaign came together for a joint photo in Vienna last month (see top of page), before distributing 2,000 packets of ‘legacy seeds’ to people across the country, to encourage an interest in legacy giving.

Markus Aichelburg, who leads Vergissmeinnicht, says that demographic changes may lead even more people to consider legacies in future. He comments:

“For years now, the population in Austria has been growing towards more people without descendants, and more single-person households. Accordingly, a growing number of people are asking themselves what should happen to their assets after they die.”

On top of that, the campaign notes that by 2050, the number of assets currently inherited in Austria each year will nearly double, to €41bn. In addition, there are around 900 heirless estates each year, in which no will has been made and there are no natural heirs – this meant €22m going to the state between 2017 and 2019.

At the end of 2023, Aichelburg told EFA that the number of over-60s in Austria with a will had grown from 33% to 43% since 2019, and that more than 90% of legacy givers did not have children.

Picture by Claudia Madlener/VGMN