Charity Digital – Topics – How to focus on in-memory fundraising

Charities are seeing a boom in collecting in-memory and tribute donations as donors increasingly want to raise money for good causes on behalf of a loved one.

Sometimes such fundraising tributes are in memory of a deceased friend or family member. They can also be used to support a loved one who is being treated for a specific medical condition, or simply to celebrate someone else’s birthday.

Recent research has shown that online fundraising that pays tribute in this way has increased significantly over the past year. Advising charities looking to improve their tribute fundraising marketing includes ensuring they tell eye-catching stories to support donors considering this form of giving.

Here we look at the results of this latest research and how charities can best adapt to this emerging giving trend.

Important Findings

A study by online fundraising platform goDonate found that online tributes, or in-memory fundraising, increased by almost half (46%) between 2020 and 2021.

This includes an increase in the average number of donations made for each donor honor or in-memory fundraiser. That average went from 20 to 23.

In 2021, one in eight donors said that donating to a charity was the primary reason for the donation in memory of or in tribute to someone. In the previous year, this proportion was one in ten.

Sometimes online in-memory or tribute pages are set up, but they don’t draw attention. According to goDonate’s findings, the proportion of sites that do not raise funds has also decreased. It found that 83% of Pages created raised funds in 2021, up from 74% in 2020.

The average amount raised for each tribute fund set up was £943 in 2021. The average donation value is £44.69, including donations where someone conducts a collection from a funeral.

In a third of the cases, money is donated via PayPal.

While an increase in mortality rates due to COVID-19 was a factor in the surge in in-memory donations, goDonate’s figures suggest that this form of giving has retained its popularity even as mortality rates have fallen in the wake of the pandemic.

Invest in in-memory fundraising programs

Vicky Reeves, Managing Director of goDonate: “The statistics show that now is the time for charities to invest in online honor funds and in-memory programs.

“Many organizations are already doing this and reaping valuable revenue from this channel. However, it’s important to remember that successful tribute funds and in-memory initiatives involve many different components.

“From collecting and managing data to using eye-catching advertising tools to engage donors, it’s important to get these things right.”

How, when, address whom

Other research includes advice on when to go about promoting tribute and memorial donations, and top charity supporters to target.

Funding for tributes is typically done throughout the year by charity supporters. However, in 2021 there was a slight increase in the number of funds that launched during the winter. That includes the early months of the year and Christmas, “a time often associated with reflection,” according to goDonate’s report.

Weekdays, especially Monday and Wednesday, are important days to set up funds to pay tribute to a loved one. The launch of these pages drops significantly over the weekend.

Female charity supporters are an important target group. Two-thirds of all in-memory fundraisers are women. This is common with other forms of fundraising, goDonate says.

Donors interested in honors and commemorative donations would like to receive broader and ongoing communications from charities. Six out of ten say they receive such material via email. This is higher than more general online charitable giving, where the percentage is less than half.

Those paying tribute are more likely to add Gift Aid to their donation. While the average Gift Aid conversion for online donations was 69% in 2021, this increases to 72% for tribute and in-memory donors.

Tribute fundraising in action

goDonate’s advice on in-memory donations is to ensure fundraisers are personalized to make them “as relevant as possible to their supporters.”

Animal rights group Battersea is a good example of such a personal campaign, says goDonate through their Pet Tribute Fund. This provides supporters with an opportunity to raise funds in memory of a beloved pet that has passed away.

The promotion includes the staging of the charity’s annual Pet Remembrance Day event. Battersea features emotional case studies on its website using user generation content techniques from its supporters sharing memories of their pet and why they wanted to celebrate their death with a gift to Battersea.

“When we lost Bean earlier this year we were devastated, Bean was such an important member of our family and the house seemed so empty and quiet without him,” one supporter said of their dog.

“We wanted to reach out and help other dogs and animals who might not have had the love and security that our little boy enjoyed. It seemed right to honor Bean with a Pet Tribute Fund.”