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In Memoriam Fundraising &
Tribute Funds
Fundraising & Management Consultants
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Tel: 01449 612660/ 07803 170283
[email protected]
Contents
Getting in the right frame of mind
2
In memoriam giving
2
What is Tribute Giving
4
Will it be successful?
6
Getting going
7
Using memorial website services
8
Communications
8
Tribute Fund pack
9
..... And don’t forget
10
Celebration gifts
11
Bereavement
12
Examples of success
15
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Getting in the right frame of mind
In Memoriam A.H.H. is a poem by the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson, completed in 1849.
It is a requiem for the poet's Cambridge friend Arthur Henry Hallam, Its meditation on the
search for hope after great loss touches upon many of the most important and deeply-felt
concerns of Victorian society. It is widely considered to be one of the great poems of the 19th
century.
The poem was a great favourite of Queen Victoria, who found it a source of solace after the
death of Prince Albert in 1861: "Next to the Bible, In Memoriam is my comfort."
The original title of the poem was "The Way of the Soul", and this might give an idea of how the
poem is an account of all Tennyson's thoughts and feelings as he copes with his grief over such
a long period - including wrestling with the big scientific-philosophical questions of his day. It is
perhaps because of this that the poem is still popular with and of interest to modern readers.
The most frequently quoted lines in the poem are perhaps:
I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.
In memoriam giving
A donation to a charity is a very special way to remember the life of someone close such as a
relative or friend.
In memoriam related fundraising remains one of the most under-developed areas of charity
fundraising. Because it is often seen as too sensitive or intrusive, trustees in particular have
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difficulty in understanding how effective in memoriam fundraising can be both in delivering
significant income and providing a focus for grieving donors. This valuable fundraising tool is
habitually neglected and under-resourced within fundraising departments and frequently
dismissed as 'too intrusive'. Yet is a beneficial tool to both raise funds and for donor care and
the on-going involvement of donors in the longer-term.
It is an incredibly powerful, delivering important income for the charity and a valued focus for
grieving supporters when charities get it right.
A successful in memoriam programme has the potential to:
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increase net revenue and supporter numbers
inspire greater donor loyalty and affinity
recruit new donors
reach out to and engage younger donors
support and drive major donor relationships and
generate legacy pledges
It is essential to remember that in memoriam and tribute giving is not about your organisation.
It's about people and the things that really matter to them. As a result of this exceptional donor
care is key working in this incredibly sensitive area of fundraising.
A memorial gift is any gift that is designated to be in honour of or in memory of a person or
animal. Often these gifts are made on the death of a loved one, either a person or animal – the
traditional ‗in lieu of flowers‘ gift.
In mem gifts tend to come into charities in one of three ways:
1. A direct donation sent via the donor
2. A collection sent in to the charity by the next of kin (or a close friend/relative)
3. A collection undertaken on behalf of the family by the funeral director
The problem with collections is that the charity may have only one point of contact and therefore
not know who each individual donor is. This is not ideal for the charity as they cannot:
 Gift aid the donation thereby increase the value of the gift by 25%
 Capture the data of the donors
 Send a personal thank you (and start the relationship building) with a new donor or
check if they are an existing donor to the charity.
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One way to overcome this is to have envelopes available to give to people who let you know in
advance in which the gifts can be placed but also allow the donor to fill in their details. This is all
well and good though if you are notified in advance but often this is not the case. Ways to
overcome this is to provide these envelopes to funeral directors so they can give them out in
advance or at the funeral/memorial service. Another way is to have a volunteer checking
regularly on newspaper announcements and spotting where it is printed at the bottom of the
notification that donations in lieu of flowers are to go to XYZ Charity and then contact the funeral
director then. This works well if you are a local/regional charity but less easy if you are national!
Do think about secondary in mem gifts. Greater frequency of contact allows donors to develop
an emotional bond linking the memory of the person who died to the cause of the charity.
These secondary donors can become good prospects for Tribute Funds or on-going supporters
of your charity as well as potential legators. A strategy for secondary gifts might include visible
signposts such as pebbles, leaf trees, books of remembrance or special memorial events such
as ‗light up a life‘ events at Christmas in the Hospice movement.
Another growing trend is to make a donation at any time when a gift would be given as some
people don‘t want to be inundated with insignificant gifts. My in-laws were perfect examples of
this when they celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary when they said they didn‘t want to
receive yet ‗more things to dust‘!!. Some charities are now taking the alternative Christmas gift
to new levels and having an on-line wedding registries that list alternative wedding gifts which
tie into the charity concerned.
One of the easiest ways to start is to give people the option to donate in memory of or honour of,
and make this known on your website, in your newsletter and in a leaflet – both general ones
about ways people can help and a specific one about memorial giving and Tribute Funds.
What is Tribute Giving?
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Although in-Memoriam giving is a long established method of giving money to charity, it differs
from most other types of fundraising because of its inherent sensitivity. Often charities are
uncertain how best to engage with supporters who have send in gifts in memory of a loved one.
Usually, they will either drop them into a warm mailing programme if they have one or just thank
the donor and end the relationship there.
Most charities are happy to receive a one-off gift in memory of a loved one but do utilise the
emotional attachment and give people an opportunity to use supporting a charity close to them
or their loved one by providing the chance of setting up a Tribute Fund which will help raise
funds for you and keep a close involvement. This also has the added benefit in that it can also
be part of a grieving process for the people concerned.
Setting up a tribute fund can be a simple and positive way of remembering. So what exactly is
a Tribute Fund? It‘s usually part of a way of remembering someone who has died and each
tribute fund bears the name of a loved one that someone wants to remember and any one can
donate into or raise money and pay into tribute fund.
Memorial gift fund raising is a rising star in the non-for-profit world. More and more people are
catching on besides Tribute Funds, giving gifts in honour of holidays, birthdays, weddings,
anniversaries either just as a one-off to the Charity or as part of an on-going Tribute Fund is
growing in popularity. It is such an easy painless way to keep people connected to your
organisation.
With very simple techniques to get people thinking about making a memorial donation, you can
simultaneously:
 raise money
 strengthen the emotional tie between you and your donors
 increase the visibility of your work
Tribute Giving is a concept whereby it is acknowledged that the primary motivation for the gift is
almost always the person who has passed away and not the charity itself. By offering the
next-of-kin the opportunity to have a fund named after their loved one, for which they and family
and friends can fundraise in whichever way is appropriate to them, the issue of sensitivity can
be appropriately and positively addressed.
Donors taking up named tribute funds will often demonstrate a significant capacity to raise
money for the charity in their loved one‘s name. Indeed, sometimes they can easily raise in
excess of £1,000 in the first year, and some will raise significantly more than this. If managed
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well, it can act as a great recruitment device for a range of support including Major Donor level
gifts.
Many donations and fundraising events are to a lesser or greater extent prompted by such a
desire and the concept behind establishing a formal Tribute Fund scheme is to create a
‗wrapper‘ in which to recognise such donations. By creating a scheme that both personalises
and records in-memory donations in a sensitive manner, Tribute Funds can be shown to
demonstrate a significant capacity to raise both money and supporters for the charity
concerned.
For donors who feel a tribute fund is too great a commitment there also exists an opportunity to
create a straight-forward, regular giving product for these donors based around key dates such
as birthdays, anniversaries, or other special dates such as Father‘s Day or Valentine‘s Day.
The beauty of the funds as redefined by the majority of charities running them, is that they are
NEVER restricted. The family have the joy of knowing that there is a fund named after the loved
one, and of knowing that all their donations have been credited to it.
The important point thereafter is all about record keeping and databases. Regular updates to
the involved family members can underline how their donations are being spent - but that
should be mainstream work, which of course they are funding but the reports can be very
detailed. Therein lies the simplicity – it‘s not about creating additional work, only additional
income streams.
As for sensitivity the whole thing is a celebration of that person's life. It's what the family will
want to do, no more no less!
Will we be successful?
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Tribute Fund Schemes will work much better with some causes than others. Your charity
needn't have an obvious 'cause of death' link in order to develop in memoriam and tribute
income either, organisations such as Guide Dogs, once actively marketing this method of giving,
has seen their in memoriam income increase by 330% in only four years. There have also been
knock-on benefits to legacy pledges too.
It is important to note that you are more likely to achieve significant results if you are a cause
related to death, operate a tangible site (such as a hospice or a shelter) or have a well
established national profile.
Apart from these criteria, another good indicator is your current level of in memory (and to some
extent legacy) income. Some people working in the field say that if your ‗in-memory‘ income is
already above £25,000 p.a. then a Tribute Fund scheme should be successful if implemented
with care and commitment two key components with this very sensitive area of fundraising.
Getting going
As with all fundraising you need to plan it and have a strategy of how you will implement this
method of fundraising.
Create a strategy
Do take time to create a strategy. This can be very simple and short but it will help formalise
your ideas and importantly get the scheme up and running. You will need to think about your
message, the target audience, how you will reach them, materials and other resources, what
are the targets?
Set objectives
Set some very clear achievable objectives regarding launch date, recruiting numbers of Tribute
Fund holders and increasing in-memory income. Within your objective setting process also
have some longer term objectives and some relating to donor care.
What will it be called?
The scheme needs to be named with possibly its own brand to give your fund a distinct identity
e.g. The Butterfly Fund or The Forget-Me-Not Fund.
Consider the tone & style
This is also the time to pay considerable attention to the tone and style of the scheme in both
design and copy content in order to reach the right balance for your charity. Do seek advice
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from people close to your organisation who may be potential supporters to make sure you get it
right.
Processes
Ensure that a system is in place for managing the data of each Tribute Fund holder, including
identifying all donations registered for their fund and reconciling to a specific scheme bank
account.
Have a launch
Start to create marketing & PR plans for launch date, cultivating relationships with Funeral
Directors in your area and raising awareness about the new scheme. Please remember that
any promotion planned should be entirely on an opt-in basis only.
Who will administrator the scheme?
Finally but crucially you must select a dedicated in-house Scheme Administrator to ‗own‘ the
project. This will be key to the success of the scheme.
Using a Memorial Website service
The most successful Tribute Fund schemes offer multiple ways to raise money, encompassing
both traditional as well as ever more ingenious alternative ways of fundraising.
A memorial website service such as MuchLoved will offer the dual role of not only collecting the
online donations for each fund, but also acting as the vehicle for recording and keeping track of
overall fund progress, including offline donations.
Offering a memorial website service, along with its many remembrance and commemorative
features, can therefore prove a sensitive and appropriate method for underpinning the whole
Tribute Fund scheme.
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The MuchLoved integrated donation service securely processes all online donations including
Gift Aid and acts as a real time record of the fund‘s running total for all relevant people to be
able to view.
As well as supporting the success of the scheme, the memorial website facility will also reduce
your charity‘s administration time and is also a helpful way of keeping in touch with all Tribute
Fund holders over the medium to long term.
Communication - internal
Do ensure that there is extensive training and promotion of the scheme internally. This should
include:
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Training of all staff who will have phone or other contact with Tribute Fund holders. Once the
scheme is underway, they should be made aware of the names of all the key Tribute Fund
holders so that they recognise them personally.
Nominating a specific person to be the Memorial Website champion (who may or may not
be the Scheme Administrator). They can then positively assist new Tribute Fund holders
create and develop their memorial website, which is also a great way to help build a
relationship.
Getting 'buy in' from other teams and departments, so that they are both keen and
authorized to help promote your scheme.
Spreading the word through internal newsletters, bulletin boards or intranet, highlighting
successes and achievements.
Ensuring that the scheme is well integrated into your charity‘s website with a high visibility
link through to a specific information and registration area. Over the launch period, a
homepage link will help with initial awareness amongst your supporters.
Communication - external
The long term success of the scheme will depend on excellent communication and relationship
building. Here are some ideas for helping make certain that this is the case:
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Create a donor communication strategy outlining how and when to thank them, also
whether or not to introduce them to other fundraising opportunities.
Explain how donations are spent, preferably with a shopping style list showing examples
of what different sizes of donations can be used for, to act as a focus and/or motivation
for continued fundraising.
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To both build and maintain a lasting relationship with each fund holder, consider good
ways to thank them for their efforts, such as site visits, presentations and other tokens of
appreciation.
Contact previous In Memory donors about your scheme, perhaps including a card that
they can keep or pass to a friend or relative.
Create articles in newsletters, promoting the scheme regularly and consistently within
regular feedback media.
Consideration should be given to publicity in local newspapers and other media.
Highlight and celebrate a successful or poignant fund if you have the full support of the
fund holder.
Build prospect lists. Adding a simple tick-box asking whether people are walking,
running or cycling In Memory of a loved one when they register for an event can create
opportunities to promote the concept of Tribute Funds.
Tribute Fund Pack
There is a whole range of materials that you can create to support your scheme, particularly in
relation to prospective Tribute Fund holders.
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An explanation leaflet is essential and preferably this should be developed into a
branded Tribute Fund pack sent to everyone who enquires or responds to a marketing
effort, including the following sections:
Why donations are so crucial to the charity (and thanking them for considering
fundraising)
An explanation of the scheme and a couple of testimonials / case studies
Instructions on creating the online memorial website (if applicable)
Other Fundraising Ideas
Next Steps….How to actually set up their Fund
Useful Leaflets and Cards: pre-printed Pew Cards, Funeral Directors Leaflet, Notification
cards, Regular Giving Forms
Scheme Administrator Contacts Details, Helpful Bereavement Organisation links
...And don’t forget....
Each Tribute Fund Scheme can, and should, be unique but certain things will be common to all:
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Remember to say ―Thank You‖ and say it often!
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Keep everything personal – have one named contact for tribute fund holders and ensure
personal contact is maintained. If there is a change of Scheme Administrator, let
everyone know as people will feel this person is important to them.
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Don‘t forget the additional donors to the fund as well as the fund holders. They are all
potentially new long term supporters and as such need to be looked after too.
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Remember that becoming a Tribute Fund holder requires a significant on-going and
emotional commitment on the part of the creator. In the event that a prospect decides
against creating a Tribute Fund themselves, they might prefer to set up a regular giving
gift or nominate another person to run the fund instead. Respect people‘s wishes at this
very difficult time.
Celebration gifts
With all this talk of death, dying , bereavement and grief let‘s for a short time turn our attention to
happier times and another important aspect of giving that is becoming more popular –
celebration gifts. Again, as with most methods of fundraising, if treated with care and
consideration (and I mean thanking, valuing and appreciation of the donor and their gift on the
whole!) these can be the fruit of successful relationship building or the start of a longer term
relationship.
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Bereavement
NB. This section is to help you understand a little about bereavement and the grieving process and is not designed
to turn you into a bereavement counsellor – refer people on to specialist help and talk to the specialists yourself to
help you deal with common issues that you may find re-occur when dealing with in mem or Tribute Fund
supporters.
SAFE PASSAGE
When you truly enter into your sadness, you come to a precious moment of understanding the
absolute value of the life of one human being. And if you can hold to the meaning of one life and
one death, you will come to the meaning of all existence. The peal inside your cavern of grief is
this instant of knowing, and after your mourning time, you will remember what you have learned
and never allow a single life to be devalued again.
Molly Fumia
In an uncertain world, a certainty we all face is death. The loss of a loved relation or friend may
cause deep and painful grief. Death is a part of life, and grieving a natural process.
Many find comfort in the words of Henry Scott Holland
DEATH IS NOTHING AT ALL
Death is nothing at all, I have only slipped away into the next room.
I am I, and you are you; whatever we were to each other, that, we still are.
Call me by my old familiar name, speak to me in the easy way which you always used, put no
difference in your tone, wear no force air of solemnity or Sorrow.
Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we shared together.
Let my name ever be the household word that it always was.
Let it be spoken without effect, without a trace of a shadow on it.
Life means all that it ever meant.
It is the same as it ever was.
There is unbroken continuity.
Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sigh'?
I am waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just around the corner.
All is well.
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A little about grieving
Sooner or later we all lose someone near and dear to us. Someone who has been important in our
life. The grief that follows is a part of the normal process of coming to terms with a major change in
personal circumstances.
Grief is NOT an illness — it is a natural response, and may go through several stages before we
can come to terms with what has happened.
Grief is particularly acute immediately after a death. Even when expected the shock of death
can be emotionally highly disturbing. It can dominate our thoughts to the exclusion of everything
else for several days. We may operate on ‗auto—pilot‘, living in a dream world, with the
formalities and funeral gone through in a haze.
Gradually we enter an interim stage of grieving. Unexpected reminders can trigger a reaction.
Something on TV may bring back memories. Certain dates — such as Birthdays or Wedding
Anniversaries may be hard to endure. Christmas, New Year and Holiday times can be difficult.
There is no set time—scale to the process of grieving. Factors such as our personality, our
health & our finances play a part in getting things back into perspective.
This can be a difficult time. Some overwork in an attempt to block out their grief. Eating patterns
may change. Sleep may be distorted. A person may under- perform and/or become forgetful.
Self image and self confidence can deteriorate through a combination of the above — and may
lead ultimately to a breakdown of a relationship through a Partner failing to recognise that
ongoing grief is the root cause.
Grief is immensely complex. Of course many find their own way through — but an increasing
number need support. Thankfully social attitudes are changing. We are realising that not
everyone can ‗pull themselves together‘ or ‗put it behind you and look to the future‘
Growing around grief
The traditional theoretical model of grief assumes various 'stages' to be worked through,
culminating in resolution.
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Today more people are recognising that grief does not 'go away'. Instead it becomes part of 'the
new you'.
This is a different way of looking at grief and recovery, and was described by a mother who had
lost her child.
The circle represents her life and is totally filled with her grief - it is all
consuming and affects every part of her life.
Dark despair was everywhere.
She realised that her grief would never entirely disappear, but she assumed
that overtime it would become much smaller until it was encapsulated in her
life in a small and manageable way.
What Happened?
Her grief remained just as big, but a new life grew
around it.
The experience of grief had changed the shape of her
life.
Although it remained with her, and at times overwhelmed
her again like a huge wave, she was increasingly able to
live her new life, with her grief experience contained
within it.
This model illustrates that personal grief never goes away. It explains that 'dark days' can
suddenly come 'out of the blue'. It also gives permission to grow a new life, to integrate a loss
without guilt, and to move forward.
Ack: The Bereavement Trust
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Examples of Success
A rose by any other name
In 2006, The Meningitis Trust launched its Tribute Fund scheme. In just six weeks, 45 Funds
were set up. Their Tribute Fund Officer started by getting the Tribute Fund message out to their
supporters by mailing all those who have given to the charity in memory over the last five years.
Once a Fund has reached an intermediary level it‘s often nice to give something personal for
Fund holders to remember their loved ones. At MT they have been doing just that. They offer a
rose once a Fund has reached £500, to plant in memory of their loved one. The Meningitis Trust
supporters love the sentiment, as this excerpt from a letter they received shows: "Many thanks
for the beautiful rose. It arrived safely and looks lovely. Thank you for all your kindness and help
with the setting up of Adam's Tribute Fund. It means more than you will ever know!"
But what's really interesting is that the Meningitis Trust is one of the first charities to offer its
Tribute Fund holders a 'privately consumed' commemorative gift. Some experts in this field
refer to the 'graveyard gap' (that with the decrease in burials and therefore graves and
headstones, people no longer have a memorial to their loved one or a place where they can go
and spend quiet time) and some schemes offer a 'publicly consumed' memorial to their Tribute
Fund holders - something that everyone can see. These are proving very popular and are
helping the bereaved to close the graveyard gap.
John’s story
In 2005 the MND Association launched a bold campaign with the aim of informing people about
the devastating degenerative effects of Motor Neurone Disease. John Bell, diagnosed with
MND in 2001, agreed to be photographed for a series of cross-track posters at central London
tube stations. The photographs show John at different stages of his illness: from being a
healthy, active young man, to being confined to bed, unable to walk or speak.
John and his family documented their experiences of MND at John's Journey, including a
heart-wrenching video. Thousands have visited the site, leaving messages of praise and
encouragement for John and his young family, and Tony Blair sent a personal message of
support to John. The MND Association invited the Bell family to set up the John Bell Tribute
Fund, which has now raised over £25,000. John died not long before his 33rd birthday. The
courage shown by him and his family is an inspiration to all.
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Blissful progress
BLISS, the premature baby charity, is delighted with the progress of its Precious Star Fund
programme. Within the first 12 months one of the Funds reached the £5,000 level, at which
point a star in the sky is named after the baby remembered by the Fund.
Rachel Beckett, Individual Giving Manager, told said: "This programme has been so well
received by our donors. They really love the idea, and many of those fundraising for their
Precious Stars seem to be finding it a very positive experience. One of our Funds has even had
a website built specially to help the family raise more money" (Joshua Star Fund).
Interestingly, not all the Precious Star Funds have been established in memory of premature
babies, as you might expect, reflecting the broad appeal of this idea to BLISS donors. This is
one of the reasons that the Funds are given a nice prominent spot on the BLISS homepage and
this is the source of many of their enquiries.
Rachel concluded, "I feel that the Precious Star Fund scheme gives something back to our
donors that they really value. I'm confident that by this time next year there will be a whole
constellation of our Precious Stars in the sky!"
MNDA
The Motor Neurone Disease Association achieved the extraordinary landmark of being the first
charity to achieve £1million of income (excluding Gift Aid) through their Tribute Fund
programme.
MND Association - approaching a million
The Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association helps all those affected by MND. This is a
devastating illness, which destroys the body‘s motor neurones, the nerves that send messages
from the brain to the muscles that control voluntary and involuntary activities: speech, mobility,
breathing, swallowing - all the things which most of us take for granted. About half the number
of people diagnosed with MND will die within 14 months.
The MND Association does incredible work, supporting people living with the disease, their
carers and their families and funds research into the disease so that one day their vision of a
world free of MND will be realised.
The Association launched its Tribute Fund programme in 2004 and there are several
contributing factors to the scheme's success, but crucially, it has been implemented and
managed extremely well.
Legacies and Tribute Fund Manager, Stephen May, stated: "Our Tribute Funds are a highly
personal service provided by a small, dedicated team and supported by streamlined processes
and timely, relevant communications. We are also constantly developing and enhancing our
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programme. For example, after a year of in-house development, testing and pilots, we
introduced a new, optional service - Branch Tribute Funds.‖
Guide Dogs - wagging their tails
Guide Dogs for the Blind Association has a really successful Tribute Fund scheme, proving
beyond doubt that this kind of fundraising can work for charities which aren‘t medical causes
and don‘t deal with cause of death.
Guide Dogs have implemented a well-executed programme, staffed by professional and
enthusiastic individuals who wholly believe in the scheme. Their systems and processes work,
the Guide Dogs staff are happy to be on the end of the phone, and are very comfortable dealing
with the bereaved in person – all contributing factors to this fantastic success.
They also have the ‗Name a Puppy‘ trump card, which ticks so many boxes for Tribute Fund
supporters. When a Guide Dogs Tribute Fund reaches £5k, the family of the deceased can, if
they choose, name a guide dog puppy; most name the puppy after the person the Fund
remembers. This has proved a massively popular ‗commemorative option: it literally allows the
name of the deceased to live on through the good work of the charity. The family grow closer to
the charity, enjoying regular ‗Pupdates‘ and the chance to meet and cuddle their named puppy
early in its training.
In fact, once the once-daunting £5k target has been reached, many families feel so inspired
(and have been looked after so well by the Guide Dogs team) that they go on to reach for £10k
and beyond. Brilliant fundraising.
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www.achieve-consultants.co.uk
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