Fundraising tribute cards offer alternative to funeral flowers
Howard Lake | 31 October 2011 | News
A Giving Tribute® is a new service that aims to offer a more personal alternative to funeral flowers and one which can generate funds for charity in memory of the person who has died.
The company gives friends and family the opportunity to pay tribute to the deceased with a personal ‘Visible Tribute Card’ which is displayed at the funeral following an optional (“but encouraged!”) donation to the chosen charity via the company’s website.
Liz Mowatt of A Giving Tribute describes the service as ‘The Caring Alternative to Funeral Flowers’. “Each tribute is unique, just like the person who has died” she said. “Collectively they provide a great insight into their character, hobbies, friendships and what the deceased meant to people – the full spectrum of their life, adding colour, vibrancy and a really personal connection for everyone attending”.
The tribute cards are kept by the bereaved and can be displayed in a special commemorative book available from their funeral director.
Mourners wishing to create a Giving Tribute can do so on the A Giving Tribute’s website adding their own photo and a personal message. The site includes stock images and suggested words, given that it can be hard to find the right words. The mourners can read and share the funeral details and print out maps of the funeral and wake locations.
Liz Mowatt added: “The good news for the charity sector is that 100% of all donations are passed to the charity with absolutely no deductions or charges.” In addition, the full donor and Gift Aid details are passed on to the charity.
A Giving Tribute emails all donors on behalf of the charity to advise them of the grand total collected.
The Visible Tribute Cards created before the funeral are dispatched to the Funeral Director in a weatherproof ‘wreath’ that displays each card, to be viewed as mourners leave the funeral. The charity logo is shown on the central card of the wreath.
Mowatt invited charities to register to benefit from the scheme. “It costs them absolutely nothing and yet really promotes their cause”, she said. “They have their own page to advise visitors of their valuable work and fundraising initiatives, perhaps even to encourage Memorial Tribute Funds on their own site if they wish – this may be a natural progression for mourners to make.”
www.agivingtribute.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.