A NATIONAL children’s charity based in Somerset has become one of the first to benefit from digital legacies after joining forces with an online service that looks after people’s digital assets.

bibic, which helps children with conditions affecting their social, communication and learning abilities, has teamed up with Planned Departure and will receive 15% of donations from supporters.

Komal Joshi, co-founder and Director of Planned Departure, said: “We approached bibic last year as we felt digital legacies could be a great way for it to gain funding.

“The services we provide allow people to manage their digital life and ensure their digital legacy is protected and remains in safe hands after they’re gone.

"When putting their affairs in order people will be able to select bibic as a beneficiary and we will donate 15% of revenue generated to the charity.

“The partnership will also allow bibic to engage with their supporters and promote their events and updates on internal web pages that our users can see when they log in.”

According to the PwC (Price Waterhouse Cooper) 2014 report, in the UK, the value of individuals’ digital assets has been estimated at £25 billion.

A third of consumers claimed they would not be able to replace these digitally-stored assets if they were lost or compromised and 25% said that nobody would be able to access their digital content after their deaths.

bibic helps children and young people aged from six months to 18-years-old with conditions affecting their development and learning abilities to achieve their potential for a happier and more fulfilled life.

These include developmental conditions such as Autism, Cerebral palsy, Down’s syndrome, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia and brain injury.

Mark Flower, Corporate and Community Fundraising Officer at bibic, said: “We’re thrilled to have teamed up with Planned Departure and to be one of the first charities to benefit from digital legacies.

“In the same way that people leave assets in their wills once they are gone, they can now do so with their online life as the digital age has become bigger.

"We hope people will decide to select bibic as a beneficiary as any money we receive will be extremely helpful towards the work we do helping children and their families.”

bibic has a national assessment centre located in Langport, Somerset. Its therapists work closely with families to create a therapy programme, which provides them with the skills and strategies to support their child or children.