Memorial Fundraisers
What a memorial fund is
A memorial fund is money raised after someone dies, so the family isn't carrying the funeral costs alone in the same week they're planning the service. Usually that means the funeral home's bill, burial or cremation, a headstone, and the paychecks nobody is earning while all of it happens. Funerals and memorials are common reasons people raise funds on GiveSendGo. The page you create is a fundraiser, the person who sets it up is the fundraiser creator, and whoever's bank account receives the money is the recipient. Those last two don't have to be the same person. So if you're the friend who can still function this week, build the page and name the family as the recipient. The money goes to their account, not through yours.
How to start a memorial fund
You don't need the service date, a final number from the funeral home, a nonprofit, or an EIN. Nothing in the setup asks for any of it, and anyone can start a fundraiser, including on someone else's behalf.
- Pick the recipient's country first, because it's locked once the fundraiser is created, and the recipient has to live there and have a bank account there.
- Set a goal and choose the Memorial category. A realistic number does more work than an ambitious one.
- Write the title and the story in your own words, then add a photo or a short video.
- Publish it now, or save it and come back when you can find the words.
- Add the recipient's details so the money can move: a bank account in the fundraiser's country, a valid tax ID, a government-issued photo ID with date of birth, a phone number, and a residential address that isn't a PO box.
- Share it more than once. Our help desk lists these key elements every time: consistent sharing, updates as things change, and a specific breakdown of what the money covers.
What it costs
GiveSendGo doesn't take a cut. There's no platform fee. What's deducted is the payment processor's fee: 2.7% + 30¢ per gift for US fundraisers, 3.5% + 30¢ outside the US. On a $100 gift to a US fundraiser, $97 reaches you. On a $50 gift, $48.35 reaches you. Outside the US, a $100 gift lands at $96.20, and non-USD fundraisers can also pick up currency exchange fees set by the processor.
GiveSendGo runs on the optional tip at checkout. Every giver sees a suggested tip they can set to any amount, including $0, and that covers our operating costs and mission outreach. So no percentage of what a family raises comes to us.
Before you publish, check your optional giving settings. If you set a percentage to GiveSendGo while creating the fundraiser, that amount is added on top of each gift and shown to the people giving at checkout, and some of them read it as a platform fee. You can edit it anytime from your fundraiser's Settings.
When the money reaches the family
Your first gift becomes available 5 days after it's received. Every gift after that becomes available on a rolling 3-day basis. Once you request a transfer, it typically lands in your bank within 2 to 3 business days. Non-USD transfers can take longer.
You can request a transfer yourself from the Transfers tab whenever funds are available, or set them to go out weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. Before any of that, though, the recipient has to be verified.
- Review starts later than you'd expect. It begins once the recipient has uploaded their ID and the fundraiser has received its first gift, whichever comes later, and it usually finishes 1 to 2 business days from there.
- Three things get checked: the fundraiser's content, the recipient's identity, and the recipient's bank setup.
- Nobody is exempt, because identity verification through the payment partner is a standard financial-industry requirement.
- The status says where a transfer stands. Processing means it was accepted and is moving. Paused means something needs review, and it resumes once that's resolved. Transferred means it's with your bank, which posts it on its own schedule.
What a memorial fundraiser can cover, and what isn't allowed
Nearly anything a family actually needs when facing a loss is allowed here, including the hard situations other platforms turn away, and the category you choose doesn't affect how well a fundraiser can do. The limits are short and published:
- A fundraiser can't promote or glorify violence, and it can't raise money for illegal activity.
- Abortion procedures and gender-transition surgeries for minors aren't allowed.
- Nobody can impersonate someone else or mislead the people giving.
- Every fundraiser has to be transparent about how the money will be used.
GiveSendGo also follows the laws of every country it operates in and its payment partners' rules, so occasionally a fundraiser that meets our guidelines still can't be processed.
If you came here to give
Plenty of people open this page to help a family they will never meet rather than to start something. The fundraisers listed above are real ones in this category, and each one appears here only after it has been published 5 days and raised $100 or more in online gifts.
When you give, you can leave a comment with your gift, and it stays on the page beside it. Recipients who opt in can also get a prayer call from GiveSendGo. Card details run through a PCI Level 1 certified processor, the top tier in the payments industry, and are never stored on GiveSendGo's own servers. Your name and email are never sold or passed to anyone else.
Common questions
What is a memorial fund?
A memorial fund is money raised after a death to cover what the family is facing: the funeral home, burial or cremation, a headstone, a marker, and often lost income. On GiveSendGo it's a fundraiser in the Memorial category, started by a fundraiser creator and transferred to a named recipient's bank account.
How do I start a memorial fund?
Log in, go to My Fundraisers, and click Start a GiveSendGo. You'll pick the recipient's country (it's locked once you create the fundraiser, so pick carefully), set a goal, choose a category, write your title and story, add a photo or video, then publish now or save it for later. You don't need a nonprofit or an EIN. Anyone can start one.
How do I ask people for help with funeral expenses?
Say what happened and what the money covers, plainly, in your own words, and then ask directly. A realistic goal and a specific breakdown of the costs do more than a long story. Add a photo or a short video, post updates as the week takes shape, and share it more than once. Consistent sharing rather than a single post is what the help desk names as the difference between a fundraiser that works and one that stalls.
Can I raise money for cremation costs?
Yes, funerals and memorials are one of the categories people raise for here, and that covers cremation, burial, a headstone, and final expenses. GiveSendGo hosts the fundraiser, and the money comes from the people you share it with.
Does GiveSendGo take a cut?
No, GiveSendGo charges $0 in platform fees. What's deducted is the payment processor's fee: 2.7% + 30¢ per gift for US fundraisers, 3.5% + 30¢ outside the US. On a $100 gift to a US fundraiser, $97 reaches you.
When does the money reach the family?
The first gift becomes available 5 days after it's received. Every gift after that becomes available on a rolling 3-day basis. Once a transfer is requested, it typically lands in the bank within 2 to 3 business days. Non-USD transfers can take longer.
Can the money go straight to the family instead of to me?
Yes, the recipient is whoever's bank account receives the funds, and it doesn't have to be the creator. The recipient must be 18 or older, live in the fundraiser's country, and have a bank account there. Every recipient completes identity verification before any transfer. A church or an organization can receive funds using a Business bank account type, but an authorized person still completes that verification. The recipient's country can't be changed after the fundraiser is created.
Is a gift to a memorial fundraiser tax-deductible?
Nothing given on GiveSendGo is tax-deductible unless it goes through GiveSendGo Charities, the 501(c)(3). That includes the Giver Army, which is Charities' recurring giving program. The one exception is a recipient that is itself a verified 501(c)(3). GiveSendGo itself is not a 501(c)(3), does not verify any recipient's tax status, and does not issue tax receipts for a personal fundraiser. When the recipient is a nonprofit, the receipt comes from them, not from us.
Does the family owe taxes on what's raised?
In most cases, no. Funds raised are treated as personal gifts rather than taxable income, as long as nothing is given in exchange, and GiveSendGo doesn't issue 1099s or report gifts to the IRS. If a business, a political cause, or rewards for givers are involved, the IRS may treat it differently, and that's a question for a tax professional.
Can I keep the fundraiser out of search?
You can set your fundraiser to private: it stays out of GiveSendGo search results and category listings, so only people you send the link to will find it. Your name still shows to anyone who opens it. A newly published public fundraiser can take up to 48 hours to appear in search.
