Crowdfunding is the best way to raise money for funerals, memorials, and their associated costs.
Using a crowdfunding platform, you can set up an online donation page that is easily shareable with your friends, family, and broader network.
First, you start by picking a crowdfunding platform (check out this list of top crowdfunding websites to help make your decision). Once you’ve found the right crowdfunding software, you’ll want to design a compelling page.
An effective crowdfunding donation page will include: an informative title, an aggressive but attainable goal, at least one high-quality photo, and a thorough description explaining what the campaign is meant to accomplish.
For funeral costs and memorial funds, crowdfunding can be especially effective as a fundraiser for a number of reasons:
Ready to start a crowdfunding campaign? Create a fundraising page in minutes and start raising money for funeral costs and memorial funds.
The average funeral in the U.S. is between $7,000 and $10,000. Most families don’t have that kind of money just lying around.
If you need help with the funeral costs for your loved one, look into crowdfunding for assistance!
While cremation is a less expensive option than a traditional burial, it can still be a financial burden for families that are already grieving.
If you or someone you care about is struggling with cremation costs, start a crowdfunding campaign.
Many families struggle financially after losing a husband, father, mother, wife, or other main provider. It can be especially difficult if there are small children.
You can help support a grieving family in need by setting up a crowdfunding campaign for them.
After a loved one, usually a young person, has passed, many people like to set up a scholarship fund in their honor.
You can raise money from your friends and family members to help you start a scholarship fund to memorialize your loved one.
A memorial service is an alternative to a funeral service and is used by surviving family members to celebrate their loved one’s life.
If you need to raise money to pay for a memorial service, you can use crowdfunding to reach out to your network.
Some people like to remember their loved one by dedicating a building, tree, bench, or other tribute to them.
However, these dedications can often be expensive. Try crowdfunding to help pay for your loved one’s dedication.
Pair these ideas with your crowdfunding campaign and raise more money for funeral expenses and memorial funds.
An easy way to raise money and bring friends and family together after the passing of a loved one is to host a memorial dinner.
You can ask people to donate the food and drinks and have a general donation jar for individuals to contribute to throughout the evening.
As people eat and mingle, they can reminisce about the life of their loved one. A memorial dinner is a great way to help cover the cost of a funeral or memorial service while remembering the life of the person you care about.
In addition to your crowdfunding campaign, your family can sell merchandise, like t-shirts and hats, to raise money after a loved one has passed.
These shirts, hats, or other pieces of merchandise can be worn during another fundraising event, like a run or walk, or at a memorial service.
The shirts can be customized with a phrase or picture to make them truly unique. Selling t-shirts or other merchandise can be a great way to remember your loved one and raise some extra money.
Balloon or lantern releases are memorial ceremonies that you can host to remember your loved one and raise some money to support their surviving family members.
Invite friends and family and let them know why you’re raising money. You don’t necessarily have to charge per balloon or lantern.
However, you can have a general donation fund that people can make contributions to during the ceremony. A lantern or balloon release can also be held in conjunction with another fundraising event, like a dinner or a walkathon.
A potluck can be a great way to feed the grieving family of someone who has recently passed away. It can also be an easy opportunity to raise money for the surviving family members.
People can bring along tasty dishes and a donation to help the family members during their difficult time.
If your loved one had a green thumb, you can celebrate their life with a tree-planting event. For this funeral fundraising idea, sell saplings to attendees and have someone speak about the individual who has passed away.
If you’re trying to raise money for a dedication plaque, it could even be placed under one of the trees!
If your loved one enjoyed cooking, you can compile and sell a cookbook that contains all of their favorite recipes. You can even have members of the community contribute their own!
You can sell the recipe books at another fundraising event or you can list them on an online storefront.
Hug-a-grams are similar to appreciation or candy grams, but instead of sending a personalized note, you give hugs. A hug can be exactly what someone needs after losing a loved one.
People can buy hugs from you to send to their friends and family members for a small fee. Plus, you can include a personalized note with your hug, letting the person know who it was from.
Inform your family and friends about your fundraiser and encourage them to purchase a hug for a loved one. Also encourage those who receive a hug to send one to someone else so that you can raise even more funds.
Sometimes you just want to stay at home and relax and maybe read a book or watch a movie. If you’re looking for a low-cost funeral or memorial fundraising idea, host a “non-event” event!
For this fundraiser, you can send out invitations to an event that isn’t going to take place. Tell people that “nothing will happen on Thursday night at 8:00 pm.” Your “guests” can stay at home and relax.
Along with your invitation, ask for donations to support your loved one’s funeral or memorial service. Everyone will be grateful for a night of no socialization, and you’ll raise some money.
If you’re wondering how to raise money for a funeral or memorial, you can hold a penny drive as an inexpensive way to raise funds.
All you need for this fundraiser is some jars and the cooperation of a few local businesses. Request permission from business owners to put your collection jars in their establishment along with a short explanation of why you’re raising money.
Make sure to let people know about your penny drive by sharing your fundraiser on social media and through word of mouth. Include the names of the businesses where your jars are located so that people know where to make a donation.
A memories night can be a simple fundraiser that lets everyone remember the good times they had with your loved one.
You can have food and drinks, but at the core of the event, your family and friends tell one of their favorite memories of your loved one in return for a donation.
Additionally, you can record the stories into a journal as a way to keep all their best moments in one place.
Bake sales are easy fundraising ideas for funerals and memorials because they are effective and don’t require a lot of money to hold.
You can bake cookies, bread, and other tasty treats to sell. In addition to your own goods, you can ask your family to donate their homemade baked goods to your sale.
Let the community know about your bake sale in advance and set up your table somewhere with a lot of traffic. Remember to let people know why you’re raising funds.
Singing can be a great way to comfort and brighten a person’s mood, and it’s a great way to remember someone who has passed away. You can organize a sing-a-thon (or hymn-a-thon) with your friends and family.
During your singing event, you can charge admission and sell concessions throughout the day. Start the event by singing some of your loved one’s favorite songs.
You can also create a system where attendees can request a particular song by donating a few extra dollars.
Charity auctions can be a great way to raise more money and interact with your supporters, friends, and family members to celebrate your loved one’s life.
Ask for charity auction items from local businesses; try to get as many items donated for close to nothing. That way, you can put your budget into creating a great atmosphere for your attendees.
Hire an auctioneer, send out invites, and cater in food and drinks. Make sure that everyone is aware of the rules of your charity auction beforehand. People will walk away with some unique items and experiences, and you can raise more money!
Silent auctions are a fun way to get a little more face time with your supporters while they bid on unique and appealing items up for grabs. Plus, if you find the right auction items, you have the potential to raise a lot of money!
Ask local businesses and individuals if they would like to donate items to your silent auction. Common items include gift cards to restaurants, signed memorabilia, lessons from a professional of some kind, gift baskets, and more!
You can enlist the help of a mobile bidding tool to create a tech-enhanced bidding experience for your attendees. Mobile bidding software also makes checking in, checking out, and item monitoring easier on your auction volunteers and staff.
Walkathons are perfect for active supporters who like to show their passion for a cause. Walkathons are well-suited for healthcare-related issues and causes, but they can technically be used for any type of fundraising effort!
You’ll need to determine a location and time for your walkathon. Choose a season that is a good temperature with minimal risk of rain. Make sure you have a backup location just in case!
Then, send out invitations and design some merchandise like t-shirts and water bottles. You can sell these for an extra fee to raise money above any entrance costs you charge. Make sure you have medical and first-aid supplies nearby in the case of an accident.
Flower bulb sales are always a favorite, and they can be the perfect way to honor your loved one!
You can sell your loved one’s favorite flowers and some popular ones like tliups and daises, as well! There are plenty of providers that sell flowers at low rates so your fundraiser can be less expensive and more profitable for you!
Your friends, family, peers, and community will love purchasing these flowers to brighten up their homes and show their support.
Similar to a memorial dinner, partnering with a restaurant will take some stress off you during this hard time.
Partner with a local restaurant for a dinner to honor your loved one, and see if the business would be interested in donating some of the night’s proceeds!
Your job with this fundraiser will be to promote your event. Share your event on social media, with flyers, and through word-of-mouth so you experience a good turnout.
If your loved one enjoyed community service or helping others out, what better way is there to honor them than serving your community? You can offer skills like wall painting or plumbing repairs based on your resources and capabilities.
You can charge a flat fee or work hourly until you’ve completed the job. Just remember to agree on all the terms and conditions before you begin working.
Honor your loved one by doing what they loved and helping your community.
The passing of a loved one often means cleaning out a home filled with personal belongings. You can hold a community yard sale with the items that don’t hold sentimental value.
You can make it a community event by encouraging your friends and peers to sell items of their own at your sale, too. Pick a location and date, put a price tag on every item, and get to selling.
Remember to promote your event via social media and word-of-mouth. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, so you’re sure to raise money with this fundraiser.
Selling candles is a wonderful and thoughtful way to raise money for your loved one.
There are plenty of wholesale candle providers that you can partner with to make your fundraiser easier. Plus, you can choose to sell seasonal scents or scents that remind you of your loved one.
Your community will love to purchase these candles to show their support and keep their homes fresh and fragrant. Don’t forget to promote your fundraiser via social media and word-of-mouth.
Selling wreaths and ornaments is an easy way to raise money for your loved one during the holiday season. Plus, if you’re great with crafting, this fundraiser will be both easy and incredibly inexpensive.
You can design all your wreaths and ornaments in a particular style or take requests to create personalized items for each customer.
Keep in mind, you can tailor this fundraiser to fit any religion by selling the respective items so they suit your loved one’s beliefs.
During times like these, it’s common for individuals to realize how grateful they are to have their friends and family. Help them express their gratitude with your appreciation grams.
You can charge members of your community $1 to send out a personalized appreciation gram to another individual to let them know how happy and thankful they are to have them.
Your community will love the positivity these appreciation grams spread. Plus, you can offer to add candy to the notes for an extra charge.
If your loved one loved coffee, why not sell it to fundraise? This popular beverage has the potential to raise a lot of money.
You’ll want to decide if you’re going to sell coffee beans, cups of hot coffee, or both! Look into partnering with a local shop or a wholesale provider to get your blends at a discounted rate.
Promote your sales in advance so everyone knows where to get their coffee and how to support you.
This easy and inexpensive fundraiser is the perfect way to raise money and honor your loved one.
You need a pack of 100 envelopes that you’ll label 1 through 100. You’ll hang each envelope on a cork board located in a high-trafficked area. Then, your supporters will choose an envelope and donate the amount written on the outside.
This 100 envelopes fundraiser has the potential to raise a lot of money quickly.
Create and sell custom calendars to raise money and honor your loved one.
You can mark off your loved one’s birthday, anniversaries, favorite holidays, and other days that were important to them. You can add your favorite photos of your loved one and quotes that remind you of them.
Remember to promote your calendars to let your community know about your sales. Depending on the time of year, you may want to make your calendar 14 or 16 months long so your customers will be able to use it through the following year.
If you don’t have the energy to host a fundraising event, look into starting a text-to-give campaign.
With a text-to-give software provider, all you need to do is spread the word about how to donate. Your supporters will text a specific number with the monetary amount they’d like to give, confirm the contribution, and voila, they’ve made their donation.
This fundraising idea is easy and requires almost no effort on your part. By capitalizing on the love adults have for their cell phones, you can raise plenty of money.
Selling custom-made bracelets is the perfect fundraiser to memorialize your loved one.
With little work on your end, you can work with a designer or provider to make and distribute your product. Choose materials and designs that reflect your loved one.
From there, all you’ll need to do is promote your bracelets and let your community know why you’re fundraising. Keep in mind, you can reach even more people by advertising your product online than you would with word-of-mouth.
Hold a concert to memorialize your loved one and invite your entire community to join you for an evening of tribute and tunes.
You can hire any type of musical performer from jazz to rock to classical. You may want to pick an artist who performs your loved one’s favorite genre.
You can charge an admission fee and accept additional donations throughout the night.
Create a memorial photo book in honor of your loved one.
Encourage friends, family, and members of your community to submit photos to create a photo book focused around your loved one.
Partner with a printing company to produce the book and sell it to members of your community to raise money and properly honor your loved one. Your friends, family, and peers will love this reminder of the individual who passed.
Host a screening of your loved one’s favorite film for a memorial event.
You don’t even need a theater to hold this fundraiser. Instead you can host your event in a nearby park or use a local school’s auditorium.
Remember to promote your event, sell admission tickets, and accept additional donations throughout the night.
An angel festival is a fun, lighthearted way to remember your loved one. Plus, you’ll bring your community together for this event, creating a strong and supportive team.
Recruit teams to make life-size angels out of any materials they can find. The only requirements are that the angels have wings be be full-size! During your event, your supporters will then vote on which angel is their favorite by dropping donations into the angels’ respective donation jars.
Remember to promote your event to get your entire community involved, excited, and ready to donate.
The chain of hearts fundraiser is a wonderful way to spread positivity, show support, and honor your loved one.
All you have to do is sell paper hearts to the members of your community. Once your fundraiser is over and you’ve sold all your hearts, you can bring the participating members of your community together to make a chain.
You can hang your chain in a high-trafficked, central location. Just remember to promote your fundraiser so everyone knows how to support and donate.
If you’re building a physical memorial, like a pathway, for your loved one, this is the perfect fundraiser for you!
You can sell engraved bricks, which you’ll use in construction, to your community. You can encourage supporters to put heartfelt messages about your loved one on the brick in order to honor them.
You can sell bricks of different sizes and colors, depending on what you’re building. Remember to spread the word about your fundraiser in order to maximize your fundraising.
At times like these, health is on a lot of people’s minds. To promote healthy and active living, try the “Give It Up” fundraiser.
Participating community members will give up a bad eating habit for the duration of your fundraiser. It can be something small like giving up Friday Pizza Night or skipping your daily Starbucks trip.
The money these individuals don’t spend on their bad habits will then be donated to your cause! Depending on how long your fundraiser runs, there’s potential to raise a lot of money!
Organize a one-mile walk in memory of your loved one. This way, you can promote a healthy lifestyle while bringing your community together and raising money.
You’ll need to pick a date for your event and map out a safe, moderate route. You can charge a participation fee and accept additional donations on the day of your event.
You’ll definitely need to promote this event in order for it to be successful. Give your supporters a shareable link so they can spread the word via social media, but don’t neglect the old fashioned ways of promotion like flyers and word-of-mouth!
Honor your loved one by making their favorite dish.
Pick a date and location for your event and invite your community to make their versions of your loved one’s favorite dish. Whether it’s mac and cheese, casserole, lasagna, or wings, recreating your loved one’s favorite dish will leave everyone with full stomachs and wide smiles.
You’ll need to promote this event in advance to create a large event. Don’t forget to charge an admission fee or charge per plate!
If your loved one adored literature and reading, then hosting a used book sale is a great way to honor them and raise money to cover funeral or memorial costs.
You can ask for donations of gently used books from your community. You’ll need to set aside a date and high-trafficked location for your event, and don’t forget to put a price tag on every book!
Keep your audience in mind as you collect books to sell. For example, if there are a lot of young families in your area, you might want to collect a good number of children’s books. Either way, don’t forget to promote your event so people know how to support you!
Perhaps your loved one had a fondness for art or was even an artist himself! If art was a passion, consider holding an art show.
You can display your loved one’s works, as well as other local artists’ pieces. Make sure you find a venue that can properly house the art to be displayed. You can look into local schools’ auditoriums or gymnasiums to keep the cost of this fundraiser low.
Don’t forget to charge a small admission fee and keep a general donations jar handy. If you’d like, you can also put some artwork up for sale to raise even more.
Sell handmade scarves in your loved one’s favorite colors in order to raise money. If they suffered form a specific illness, you can also look into scarves that reflect that disease’s dedicated color to promote awareness at the same time.
You can consider making these scarves yourself to keep your costs low. All you’ll need to do is gather your materials, like needles, yarn, and scissors, and find a pattern to follow online.
Spread the word about your scarf sale through social media. You may even want to start a webpage to sell from so you can keep track of orders and inventory, depending on how popular your scarves get!
While a gala will take some planning ahead, it will be a great way to raise money to cover funeral or memorial costs.
Sell tables to members of your community and encourage attendees to donate items and deals for others to bid on throughout the event. You can invite individuals to speak about your loved one during your gala.
A gala is a great way to gather your community and honor your loved one. Be sure to spread the word about your event via social media, with flyers, and through word-of-mouth.
If your loved one was a car enthusiast, this is the perfect way to both honor them and raise money at the same time.
Ask your community if those who own classic cars would like to donate their cars for an afternoon. You’ll want to pick a nice day because you’ll have to host this show outdoors. For viewing, line up all the cars in a parking lot or on a field.
You can charge admission for viewers to walk through your event and view the cars. Keep a general donations jar handy in case your attendees are feeling extra generous.
To keep the mood light and spirits up, host a walkathon with dogs!
You can invite your community to bring their furry best friends for an afternoon of strolls or even look to an organization with certified support animals to bring the pups. Either way, an afternoon with dogs will make everyone feel better.
Don’t forget to set up water stations for humans and dogs! You can charge an admission fee but should also set up a donations table. Your walk-and-paw-a-thon is sure to be a great event.
To promote a healthy lifestyle by encouraging appropriate intake of water, you can sell custom water bottles to your community.
You can work with a wholesale provider to design and order your custom bottles. Once you receive your product, all you’ll have to do is sell!
Remember to promote your sale through social media and word of mouth! Keep in mind, you can also accept general donations while you sell your bottles.
This fundraiser is a twist on the classic penny drive.
All you need for this fundraiser is an umbrella! You’ll hang it upside down from the ceiling and let individuals toss their change and loose bills into it in order to donate.
You’ll want to hang your umbrella in a high-trafficked location in order to get the most donations. Check on your fundraiser regularly so it doesn’t overflow!
Honor your loved one by creating custom t-shirts your community can purchase and wear to show their support.
To make the fundraiser easier on you, work with a t-shirt provider who can help you design the shirt and decide on colors, text, and designs.
T-shirts will not only help you raise money, but allow your friends, family, and peers to help support you, all while creating a keepsake to treasure.
Honor your loved one by hosting a yoga class in their honor.
Yoga can be incredibly healing and restorative, which makes it an ideal fundraiser for those grieving and healing from the loss of a loved one.
To organize a class, secure donated studio space and an instructor, sell tickets or ask for donations during the class, and make sure everyone knows what the funds are covering.
A “Count the Candy” fundraiser is the perfect way to bring levity to a dark time.
Pick your loved one’s favorite candy and place it in a jar, asking people to donate and guess how many pieces are in the container. Closest guess wins.
This is a variation on the jelly bean guessing games. You can keep the donations for your cause and bring some joy to the community during a tough time.
This party will be a celebration of the life of your deceased loved one.
Organize an entire party around their favorite color from the dress code to the decorations to the food to the refreshments, keeping the focus on happy memories.
Raise money by either asking for donations or selling tickets for a small fee. This can be a small affair or a large event, just make sure everyone sticks to the theme.
Create a campaign to celebrate the life of your loved one for FREE. Pay absolutely nothing until you receive your first contribution.
At only a few cents for every dollar you raise, Fundly is one of the most affordable ways to raise money. You shouldn’t have to worry about the cost of fundraising when raising money to celebrate the life of your loved one.
Get set up quickly and easily, whether you’re tech-savvy or not. Our team is always here to help! We understand that you’re grieving over the loss of your loved one, and we want your crowdfunding experience to be as easy as possible.
No need to raise a minimum amount, meet a deadline, or pay penalties if you don’t reach a goal. You get to keep all of the funds you raise, minus any fees.
Create a memorial or funeral crowdfunding campaign in just a few minutes and start raising money quickly and easily. You can immediately start sharing the campaign page with your social networks and via email.
Reach your friends, their friends, and beyond with Fundly’s deep social integrations. You can easily share your crowdfunding page with your social networks on Facebook and Twitter as well as via email.
Even though the Matt Hughes Memorial Fundraiser campaign came up just shy of its goal, the supporters were able to raise an impressive amount to remember the life of their loved one. Nearly 50 people came together to raise over $13,000 for funeral and memorial costs.
This crowdfunding campaign highlights Matt’s life and talks about how he dedicated his life to his friends, family members, and coworkers. Supporters can celebrate his life by interacting on the campaign page and donating to the fundraiser.
The Big D Foundation is the product of a memorial fund set up in honor of Bob “Big D” DeLorenzo. The Big D Foundation provides a full athletic scholarship to West Virginia University.
The crowdfunding campaign to seed the fund raised an astonishing $50,000 in honor of “Big D,” who dedicated his life to education and athletics. The fundraiser smartly paired crowdfunding with a golf tournament to help reach the $50,000 fundraising mark.
The Beth Kennedy-Duvall Lancelotta Memorial Classic is a day of “community, tennis, and shared memories” in honor of Beth’s legacy. The memorial fundraiser is set up to fund a school scholarship.
This is a full-day event and fundraiser that smartly decided to incorporate crowdfunding to increase funding. This campaign ended up doing so well that the organizer was able to increase the fundraising goal halfway through the campaign.
Sadly, Scott Hart passed away at the young age of 26. In order to help support his wife with a memorial fund, this crowdfunding campaign was created.
The campaign raised more than $3,000 over the initial goal of $10,000, with final funding totaling $13,450 from over 125 donors. This campaign shows the potential a fundraiser can reach when it is shared across a large enough audience.
When you set up a fundraiser to celebrate the life of your loved one, you aren’t just raising money; you’re remembering them and helping other people remember them, too! Post images and videos of your loved one when you set up your campaign. That way, your donors will feel more connected to your fundraiser.
Learn more about shooting and posting great crowdfunding photos.
You don’t have to go into every detail of your loved one’s life, but you should at least bring up highlights from the recent years and mention any stories from their past. This helps to further connect donors to your campaign. They can even tell their own stories in the comments section!
Check out these examples of great crowdfunding descriptions.
Once you’ve set up your campaign, uploaded images and videos, and told your loved one’s story, it’s time to share your fundraiser! You can use social media and email to get the URL to your friends and family members. Post about the campaign often to ensure that more people feel moved to donate to your loved one’s campaign.
Learn more about sharing your crowdfunding campaign with your network.
As you hit fundraising milestones, let your donors know about your progress! They will want to know how your crowdfunding campaign is going and how they can help even more. You can also post updates about how the family is doing and the date, time, and location of the memorial service, funeral, or other remembrance event.
After my grandma passed away, my family was devastated. Not only did we all miss her immensely, we also had to find a way to pay for her funeral and burial ceremony. Luckily, we used Fundly’s platform and were able to celebrate my grandma’s life thanks to the support of her friends and family.
After my sister passed away, I immediately knew that she would have wanted us to start a scholarship fund in her name. I used crowdfunding as a way to tell her story and receive support from the community.
My dad tragically passed away a few months ago. It was so unexpected and no one in my family was really prepared. We set up a Fundly page to help pay for the funeral, and the donations started coming in right away! I’m so thankful for the support of my friends, family members, and the community.
Every crowdfunding campaign can use a little help every now and then!
Whether you need advice about shooting and uploading crowdfunding photos, writing descriptions and updates, or sharing your fundraiser with your friends and family members, we’ve got your back.
Click below to learn more about the top seven crowdfunding tips that can be used for all types of fundraising efforts and campaigns!
You’ve heard the stories about fundraisers surpassing their goal, but how often does that really happen?
The answer? More frequently than you might think! In fact, individuals and organizations often meet and exceed their goals when they use Fundly to set up a fundraiser and share it with their friends and family members.
Check out these ten crowdfunding campaigns that all exceeded their fundraising goals by sizable margins in just a matter of weeks!
Crowdfunding has been used to raise money for everything from creative projects to medical costs and more!
Why is it so popular? Well, it might have something to do with the fact that a crowdfunding campaign is insanely easy to set up and share with your friends, family members, coworkers, and other peers.
See for yourself! Take a look at our Ultimate Guide to Crowdfunding and learn how you can make the most of this fundraising craze!
Fundly is dedicated to providing you with the tools you need to raise money for whatever your cause may be.
