Many Kiwis open to leaving charitable gifts in wills

The 2026 Giving in Aotearoa NZ research project, led by independent researchers BERL, surveyed more than 3000 New Zealanders and found that more than half were open to, or are already engaged with, leaving a gift in their will to a cause they care about.

The top reasons people leave a gift in their will are that it matches their values (69.3 per cent), they want to help their community (49.7 per cent) and they feel grateful (41.7 per cent).

The number one reason people hold back from leaving a bequest is: “I need to look after my family first.”

The research noted that lawyers and financial advisors aren’t raising the topic of charitable giving with people – and that could be the biggest missed opportunity. Only 20.2 per cent of the survey respondents who received financial advice ever had the topic of charitable giving raised. Overall, 7.3 per cent of New Zealanders surveyed had had a conversation about charitable giving with a professional advisor in the past year. People aren’t necessarily saying “no”; the topic is simply not being discussed in professional advisor settings.

This situation mirrors earlier findings in the UK, which led to years of sustained, coordinated campaigning and upskilling aimed at the professional advice sector – not the public. That has led most solicitors, will-writers and financial advisors to now proactively raise structured giving options.

The BERL 2026 research found the large majority of survey respondents already give. In the past 12 months, 90.5 per cent reported donating money, as against a national rate of 61 per cent of New Zealanders who are reported to give “at all”, according to the CAF World Giving Report 2026. As with any voluntary survey, this reflects a self-selected sample rather than a precise population estimate.

The September Wills Month was launched as a campaign by Community Foundations of Aotearoa NZ in 2018.

FULL STORY

CFANZ Bequest Report (By Eleanor Cater)