Meningitis Trust in memoriam funds raise £500,000 in two years
Howard Lake | 7 August 2009 | News
The Meningitis Trust has raised £500,000 from its tribute fund programme in its first two years.
Tribute funds enable people to remember someone special with a donation in their name. For example, Nick and Maggie Sibley set up the Daniel Sibley Tribute Fund in memory of their son, Daniel, who died of meningitis aged 18, just days after coming home from Lincoln University. Nick said: “The fund has been fantastic. It gives us something to focus on and gives us a purpose. On down days, you feel like you are doing something.”
Doug Edwards, Tribute Fund Manager at the Meningitis Trust, said: “The tribute fund programme has been a huge success for the Trust. We now have 165 funds set up. It has been a chance to reactivate and engage with supporters, as well as bring new supporters to the Trust.
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“In doing so, we have been able to reach out to more people to offer our professional support services. We now have more than 800 people supporting tribute funds. We have found tribute funds give families a positive focus and a special way to remember their loved one by fundraising in their name.”
From January 2009 donors have been able to give to tribute funds online.
This March the Trust opened a memorial garden, which serves as a permanent tribute to those who have died from meningitis. When a tribute fund raises over £5,000 an oak peg, engraved with the name of the person they are remembering, is placed in the garden. There are now over 40 pegs in the garden, honouring loved ones.
Kevin Kibble of In Memoriam specialists Whitewater, who helped the Trust set up the tribute funds, said: “The Meningitis Trust has developed a superb offering for its supporters; creating the right balance of support for their bereavement and the encouragement for them to carry on fighting for others. This is a classic example of doing the right thing well.”
http://meningitis-trust.tributefunds.com
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.