FRAMTIDSGÅVAN (A GIFT TO THE FUTURE)

In the Nordics, legacy giving (donating to charity through a will) is still mostly unfamiliar. While it is common in the UK and US, in Finland the idea is often met with hesitation. Death is considered private, and philanthropy in this form is usually linked to large estates and wealthy donors.

Förbundsarenan, a platform representing 68 Finland-Swedish non-profits, set out to shift that perception. Their 2024 campaign, Framtidsgåvan ("A Gift to the Future"), was the first nationwide initiative in Swedish to introduce the concept of legacy giving in Finland.

Many Swedish-speaking civic organizations, from cultural institutions to social initiatives, are facing unstable finances. Public funding is less reliable due to shifting political priorities, and rising insecurity makes individual donations harder to sustain. As a result, many organizations are exploring new funding models.

Legacy giving offers one option: a way for people to support causes they care about beyond their lifetime, even if they cannot contribute right now.

Through our research and workshops with participating organizations, we identified three main barriers:

1. Exclusivity: legacy giving is seen as something only for the wealthy.
2. Emotional avoidance: death and inheritance are rarely discussed openly.
3. Bureaucracy: the process feels complex and out of reach.

Instead of presenting legacy giving as a donation request, we framed it as a way to carry personal values into the future. The campaign's central question, "Vad bryr du dig om?" (What do you care about?), avoided transactional fundraising language and invited meaningful reflection.

Campaign logo

Guide for donors

To support this shift in perspective, we created communication tools that made the concept clear and practical:

• Landing page copy that explained the process in simple, non-bureaucratic terms
• A downloadable guide with clear how-tos and answers to common legal and practical questions
• Social media content in Förbundsarenan's corporate design to introduce the topic in an approachable way and spark discussion
• Digital and print templates that allowed the campaign’s 30+ affiliates to adapt materials for their own audiences

Social media content

We also led workshops on how financial giving is framed within the nonprofit sector. How can organizations talk about long-term impact without relying on guilt? How can giving be presented as inclusive and accessible? These sessions opened up new ways of thinking about how people contribute to civic life.

By putting the topic into public discussion, the campaign positioned legacy giving as a relevant option both for large institutions and for the many organizations that sustain Swedish-speaking civic life. Its impact will be measured not only in donations, but in whether more people begin to see legacy giving as a meaningful way to support the causes they care about.

Social media content

Workshop content