Belgian charities received a record total of €215.2 million from deceased people who had named the charity in their wills in 2024.
A new Legacy Barometer compiled by Ghent University College in collaboration with testament.be shows that 169 organisations (which is approximately half the charities for which data was available) received at least one inheritance. The median bequest amount was almost €63,000.
"Inheritances are becoming an increasingly important source of income for these organisations," the study said.
A significant amount of money is going to the same organisations, particularly in the healthcare sector. The top three were the Foundation against Cancer (€30.2 million), Doctors Without Borders (€22 million), and Stand Up to Cancer (€20.6 million). Together, they accounted for a third of the total amount of testamentary donations to charities.
Donating during lifetime
According to the researchers, legacies can provide organisations with financial breathing space in times of subsidy cuts. In 2024, legacies represented an average of 17% of organisations' total income. For smaller organisations, this could rise to a quarter.
A survey conducted as part of the Legacy Barometer showed that 30% of the more than 3,000 respondents are willing to include a charity in their will. 4% said they have already done so, and 5% would like to do so soon.
Brussels residents are most likely to include a charity in their will, as are men, highly educated individuals, single-parents, and those without children. People who consider this also tend to give regularly to charities during their lifetime.
