Promotion: External Audience

Our top tips for promoting your tribute funds, some communication suggestions and what you need to include on your website.

Five key principles for promoting tributes

1. Focus on your supporters

A tribute fund, while being a great way to encourage donations, is first and foremost a bereavement care tool. It allows your bereaved supporters to remember the person they’ve lost, and celebrate their lives, all online, whatever the restrictions they may be facing.

They can connect with family all over the world, and share their memories, stories and photos, to help them grieve and help support them.

Any promotion using this as the focus, with fundraising as a gentle secondary message is a safe bet and is unlikely to cause offence; you’re thinking of your supporters and trying to help them.

This is often a good first step in tribute fund promotion, to get your supporters used to the idea if you’ve not promoted tribute funds previously.

2. Talk about outcomes

We know that people give to people; donors give to causes that they can empathise with and they like to see tangible results.

If you can, share how the tribute funds set up for your charity have made a difference. For example, how much the tribute funds have raised this year, and the equipment/service that this sum can pay for.

If possible make this a case study example and include people rather than just objects, but anything measurable can make an impactful story. 

3. Real-life examples

A great way to illustrate how positive a tribute fund can be for a family, as part of long-term bereavement care is to share the story of an existing supporter. Case studies are a fantastic way to do this, and allow you to tell a story, illustrate the impact of a tribute fund, and your need for funds all at once.

If possible include a personal photo and a quote from the supporter, stock images are all too obvious and will detract from the story. You can always send a suggested quote to the family to help them, they can edit it as they wish and this gives them a steer on what you’d like them to convey.

4. Events and activities

As well as a remembrance tool to share memories and make donations, a tribute fund page is also a central hub for fundraising events and activities for families.

For example, if a family want to host a game night in memory of an avid card player, or take on a skydive in honour of someone special, this can all be collated into their tribute fund, including photos and even videos of these special events.

The tribute fund can show the family how much they are all raising collectively, and seeing that sum increase and being able to do something tangible can be of great comfort to bereaved families. 

Families often don’t realise that all of this can be done on their unique tribute fund page, so it’s worth pointing out to them. Let your existing tribute fund holders know and spread the word to reach a wider audience of potential fund holders. 

5. Milestones and memories

MuchLoved offers a variety of ways to help mark milestone occasions on a tribute page, from virtual candles that can be lit, to virtual gifts and cards that can be added to a page.

Adding a gift or candle to a supporter’s page can not only help to build a strong long-term supporter relationship, but is also a good way to promote tribute funds; both publicly and to the families that have a page. Share the ways that a page can help and support a family, focussing on what it can offer bereaved supporters. 

Your website: your shop window

• Even more important during the coronavirus pandemic, make sure the link to tribute funds on your website is clear. Consider how easy it is for bereaved people and in-memory supporters to find tribute funds on your website
• Ensure there is a very clear and simple message about what a tribute fund is and how it can help bereaved supporters.
• Make your tribute fund a strong sub-brand of your charity and use it consistently throughout your charity
• Have a clear funeral collection offering on your website, and make sure your information is up-to-date for the current regulations.

Promoting your tribute funds

• Ensure you have good clear promotional materials with obvious web links and contact information
• Try different formats to deliver the information, from a simple leaflet, business card, notebook, pen, or even a bookmark
• Promote tribute funds at charity events - include promotional items in an event goodie bag
• Promote your tribute funds to funeral donors. They may not be aware that their funeral collection could go towards a longer-term fund in memory of their loved one.
• Create a generic, yet simple leaflet or postcard that can be used in multiple locations
• Create a bereavement pack and include a leaflet about tribute funds
• Mention tribute funds in your in-memory ‘thank you’ letters
• Have a fund ambassador, an existing fund holder to share information about your fund scheme. Involving a real-life fund holder who can talk about their own experiences can promote a powerful message
• Create a short promotional video which can be used on your website and social media
• Consider paid social media ads and promotion
• Promote your tribute funds in your physical locations if you have them, such as charity shops or care centres
• And finally, build relationships with Funeral Directors. Your tribute service collects and processes donations from funerals set up by Funeral Directors, but it can also be used to set up collections directly on your website. Building good relationships with Funeral Directors may mean they choose to recommend your charity to the families they work with. Find out more in the section on partnering with funeral directors.