Sharing your memorial fundraiser is a crucial step if you want people to see your memorial page and donate to your fundraiser. Otherwise, how will your friends, family, and others who knew the deceased know about it?
For most people, though, sharing a fundraiser and requesting donations for end-of-life expenses (or for giving to a charity in your loved one’s honor) can be uncomfortable. If you’re not sure how to go about sharing your memorial fundraiser, you’re not alone.
We’ve put together our best tips and advice for sharing a memorial fundraiser to help you get the most from your fundraising efforts, whether you want to cover key costs or donate in your loved one’s honor.
1. Start with Your Personal Network
The best place to start when sharing your memorial fundraiser is with people who know you and who knew the deceased. You can reach out to these people quickly and on a personal level.
Consider who is in your life, or who was in your loved one’s life, who would feel honored to contribute to funeral expenses and other costs. Write a personal email or text message to each of those people, letting them know about the memorial page and fundraiser.
Here’s an example of an email you could send to a close family member or family friend who already knows about the person’s passing. This example is worded for donations to cover funeral costs, but you can also use it if you’re giving to a charity by altering the wording to fit.
Example 1
Hello David,
I hope you and Shelly are well. As you know, we lost our beloved mother on Friday. I wanted you to know that she loved you and your family deeply and that you were a cherished part of her life. We all appreciate the smiles you brought to her face.
The funeral invitations are forthcoming, but in the meantime, I wanted to invite you to visit the memorial page we’ve created.
The funeral information will be posted there, and there’s a place where you can leave a tribute if you wish. We are also requesting donations to help cover the funeral expenses.
We thank you from the bottom of our hearts if you do decide to donate to the fundraiser. Of course, your presence at the funeral is tribute enough.
Love,
Christine
And here’s an example of an email that you could send to a more casual friend or a more distant loved one who might not know about the passing.
Example 2
Dear Johnson family,
As you may already know, our cherished mother passed away on Friday. We know that you were a joyous part of her life, and we wanted to invite you to visit the memorial page that we’ve set up in her honor.
We encourage you to leave a tribute message if you wish. We’ve also created a funeral expense fundraiser as part of the memorial, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts if you do choose to donate.
Sincerely and gratefully,
Christine
2. Branch Out to Your Social Media Network
Next, consider posting your memorial fundraising link on your social media networks. If you have a close friend or family member who has a greater network online, you can ask them to share it instead.
Compose a brief message about how much your loved one meant to you and everyone else in their life, and why you’re asking for donations.
You can share this message on Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram as a post or story.
If you’re posting to Instagram, consider posting it as a Story, which allows you to include a direct link to the memorial page. Otherwise, you can create a post and use this message as the caption. You’ll need to post the link to the memorial fundraiser in your Instagram bio and direct people to your bio to find the link.
Also consider posting the message and link on LinkedIn, Pinterest, and other social media sites.
Here’s an example of the message you could post on social media along with your link.
Example
As many of you already know, our beloved mother passed away on Friday. We will be holding a small ceremony in her honor next week, but we wanted to invite her larger circle of friends and family to share tributes to her life, as well.
We’ve created a memorial page, linked below, to do that. We invite you to write a tribute there and share what she meant to you in your life.
We have also created a fundraiser to pay for funeral and burial expenses, and we’re so very grateful to everyone who is willing and able to donate.
3. Offer a Timeline for Donations
If you’ve ever seen and considered donating to a fundraiser before, you might have thought, “Maybe I’ll come back and do it later.”
This often means forgetting to donate at all. You can resolve this, in part, by providing honest timeline goals.
As part of your memorial fundraiser story, as well as part of any text, email, or social media message, include a date by which certain funds need to be raised.
Here’s an example.
Example
If you would like to donate (thank you so much!) we request that donations be made, if at all possible, by October 25th.
That way, we can pay the cemetery, funeral home, and celebrant in a timely manner. If you would like to donate after that date, we would greatly appreciate it if let us know you’ll be doing so!
4. Ask Others to Share
The more people who see your funeral fundraiser, the more people who can potentially donate.
Reaching out to your social circle and posting to social media is a great start, but you’ll reach far more people if your network shares the fundraiser with their extended networks.
At the bottom of your email or social media post, include a message like the following.
Example
Mother was an inspiration to many and a true humanitarian. If you would like to help us pay for a ceremony as meaningful as her presence was to us, please consider sharing this post with your network.
5. Create a Memorial Hashtag
You may know that people commonly use hashtags for their wedding events. But did you know that you can use a hashtag for a funeral or memorial?
Whenever someone posts a photo or social media message that contains the hashtag, it gets categorized on that platform with all of the other messages containing the hashtag.
This is very useful because you can simply search the hashtag on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, and view all of the posts and photos from and about that event.
Choose a hashtag that’s unique and easy to remember, and encourage your social media network to also use the hashtag if they post something.
Here are some examples of funeral fundraiser and memorial hashtags:
- #rememberingmarthafitzgerald
- #inlovingmemorymartha
- #marthafitzgeraldremembrence
- #marthamemorialfundraiser
- #fitzgeraldmemorialfundraiser
6. Share the Link in the Funeral Invitations
As part of your funeral invitations, you can
simply write in the link address to the memorial page and fundraiser you’ve set
up. This is helpful not only in gathering donations but also in sharing
critical funeral information.
For example, you can send out invitations to the funeral before you’ve had time to nail down the exact details, such as the wake and reception. Let the recipients know that they should visit the link written in the invitation for more details about the funeral or memorial events.
If you’ve created a hashtag in memory of your loved one, you can also include this in the funeral invitation.
7. Share the Link in the Obituary
If you’re writing an obituary or death notification to send to the local newspapers, consider including the link address to the memorial page and fundraiser.
This is a great way to share information about the funeral services, as well as get the word out to even more people in the community.
Especially if your loved one who passed away was elderly, there are likely many people who won’t find out about their death online but will find out via the obituary. They may wish to visit the memorial page, write a tribute, and even donate to the fundraiser.
8. Post the Link Address at the Service
If you’re holding a funeral or memorial service, you can post the link address to the memorial page and fundraiser at the venue.
In addition to including it in your funeral invitations, posting the address in the entrance of the church, funeral home, or wherever you’re holding the service, can help reach every funeral attendee.
Simply create a small sign to post next to your loved one’s photo with the link address to the memorial page, which includes your fundraiser.
9. Post Updates and Thank Yous
As your fundraiser gathers donations, make sure to reach out and say thank you to everyone on your social media. You can also personally email or text close friends and family members who have donated.
Not only is this a necessary and gracious step to thank everyone who has contributed, it also helps spread the word even more. People who might not have seen your original post might see the thank-you post and decide to donate.
Don’t wait until the fundraiser has ended to start saying thank you. Once just a few people have donated, you can post a message like the one below.
Example
I want to say thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to everyone who has written tributes or generously donated to the fundraiser for our departed mother.
It truly warms our hearts to read the tributes about what our mother meant to you and to see the donations we’ve received. I know that it would have made Mom so happy to see her beloved friends and family members coming together in her honor.
If you would like to help us cover memorial costs, the fundraiser is still active. Thank you, again, from the whole Fitzgerald family.
It’s Always OK to Ask for Help
Whether you’re collecting funds to donate in your loved one’s honor or to pay for funeral expenses, it’s always OK to reach out and ask for help. You may be surprised how many people in your social network and community want to help you achieve your goals in honoring the person you’ve lost.