Funeral tribute card company encourages online in memoriam donations

Howard Lake | 24 July 2013 | News

Funeral tribute card company A Giving Tribute is helping to promote online in memoriam giving to charities as part of its service.

The company, established in 2009, lets family and friends create online tribute cards in memory of the deceased, together with a photo of them if they have one. These are then printed and delivered to the funeral director who displays them at the funeral on a cream or black 'Tribleau' display board. The aim is to add some more colour to funerals, 80% of which now request charitable donations instead of floral tributes, and provide a lasting and personal tribute to the deceased.

Founder Liz Mowatt explains that, when the company adds funeral details to its website, it always tries to include information on any charity supported, with details of why it is important to the bereaved family. They also link to an online giving link on the charity's website, where possible.

“A Giving Tribute has evolved over the past few years but the one thing that has remained is our desire to help charities,” said Mowatt.

She explained: "We have been told from funeral directors that families can be reluctant to ask friends and relatives to spend money at a funeral and this even can include asking them to donate to charity. Adding details of the charity and the online giving URL is an opportunity for the bereaved family to really touch their friends with why the charity is important to them or to the deceased, and is far more powerful than simply being told "donations if desired to charity XYZ".

"The bereaved family send an email (that we send them) which invites friends and relatives to visit the site to learn of the funeral arrangements and to then create their complimentary tribute card in memory."

Online donations via a charity's website will also boost Gift Aid income. Too many cash collections at funerals do not include a Gift Aid declaration on an envelope.

The service is available to all charities and there is no charge. A Giving Tribute do not earn any commission of course on donations received via the charity's giving page.

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.