Last Will for a Good Cause: Donations in Estates Are Booming

Last year, 115 million euros were donated through wills in this country. This is approximately one-tenth of the total donation volume in Austria, reported the Fundraising Association Austria on Thursday at a press conference in Vienna. On average, a will donation goes to three to seven organizations, with amounts ranging between 50,000 and 100,000 euros.

Ten percent of all donations last year came from wills

Over 90 percent of the will donations already made come from single and childless individuals. In terms of the areas of activity considered in the estate in this way, environmental and animal protection are leading, closely followed by health and social causes. Especially in Vienna, there is also an above-average tendency towards art and culture as well as science and research, said Ruth Williams, Managing Director of the Fundraising Association Austria, which launched the initiative "Vergissmeinnicht" to provide information on the topics of inheritance law and wills.

More and more people without heirs

"The demographic development will increase the importance of will donations in the coming years. More and more people no longer have heirs," said Williams. This has led to 18.6 million euros going to the state last year due to a lack of heirs.

Additionally, the volume of inheritances in this country will increase in the coming years: Currently, it is 21.5 billion euros per year, and by 2050, this number is expected to almost double to nearly 41 billion euros. "This is, of course, an enormous potential for the charitable sector - especially because other channels through which donations are generated are declining," said Williams.

Survey Shows Information Deficit and Growing Interest

A survey conducted in cooperation with the Chamber of Notaries in 2024 among 2,000 people revealed that almost 60 percent of the population feel little to no information about the topic of inheritance law. Consequently, there are repeated cases where a last will cannot be fulfilled due to content errors or legal contradictions, said notary Elisabeth Kahler.

In contrast, the number of potential donors is increasing: A total of 18 percent of those over 40 are willing to include a charitable organization in their will. In 2012, it was only eight percent. "Especially now, around All Saints' Day, notaries are seeing particularly high interest. This shows that many people are consciously considering what should happen to their assets after their death," Kahler continued.

"Licht ins Dunkel" Part of the Initiative Since This Year

"Vergissmeinnicht" unites around 100 charitable organizations from all over Austria. Since this year, "Licht ins Dunkel" is also included. The share of testamentary donations there has been between five and ten percent of the total donation amount in recent years.

"In most estates, the testators know and trust us and do not attach the donation to any specific purpose. This allows us to use the money where it is most urgently needed," said Mario Thaler, Managing Director of Licht ins Dunkel.

(APA/Red)

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