4 Ways to Create a Meaningful Tribute Fundraising Experience

A thoughtful experience makes all the difference in fundraising. That’s even more true when people fundraise on behalf of someone else.

The donor experience is a long-standing priority at Classy. However, we recognize that not all fundraisers approach the experience the same way. One of those special circumstances is tribute fundraising to collect donations in memory of those who have passed or are ill.

In many instances, fundraising has a playful and gamified nature. We saw the opportunity to evolve this experience for tribute fundraisers—small changes that can make a big difference for supporters. Today, we’ll talk about four ways fundraisers can create a meaningful donation experience when fundraising for a memorial or tribute.

How Nonprofits Set Tribute Fundraisers Up for Success

Tribute fundraising allows donors to raise money on behalf of someone. At Classy, we ensure the funds donated go directly to a nonprofit that can help support further research and development or work to help other people struggling with a similar circumstance.

Nonprofits have a few options when collecting donations in memory or tribute. The first step is to create a branded memorial or tribute peer-to-peer campaign to give fundraisers a starting point. From there, supporters can customize their fundraising page to speak to exactly who the fundraising will benefit.

You can then promote these campaigns on your website to give visitors an easy way to become fundraisers. Once set up, anyone can start a fundraising page and know the funds collected will go directly back to your charity.

The Importance of Tribute and Memorial Donations

Tribute giving continues to be one of the most popular forms of giving. Across all demographics and even for some organizations, it makes up the largest percentage of overall donation volume.

Simply put, donors are motivated to donate on behalf of someone else because people feel called to support those they know. This is especially true when their donation is in tribute or memorial of someone. In our recent survey of US donors, nearly a quarter said donating as a memorial to someone is their primary motivation for giving.

Online Giving Trends of 2022 also found that tribute giving made up over 25% of gifts for each generation of donors, increasing to 41% for Baby Boomers.

(Source: Nonprofit Source, 2022)

People Are More Likely to Donate When Their Friends and Family Ask

The psychology of peer-to-peer giving shows that people are more compelled to give when supporting someone close to them. Our upcoming Why America Gives report showed how many donors make decisions based on their inner circles. We saw 71% of donors say their primary cause awareness is their friends and families.

People Want to Have an Evolved Tribute Fundraising Experience

Understanding the importance of this giving category, Classy introduced more control for fundraisers to customize their fundraising page when choosing to fundraise in memory or honor of someone else.

While nonprofits can create a peer-to-peer campaign focused on fundraisers raising in memory or as a tribute, fundraisers can also take the extra step to brand their individual fundraising page specific to their beneficiaries. Fundraisers can then tweak any existing peer-to-peer fundraising campaign by electing to fundraise in honor of someone.

Below, we’ll talk about how you can make sure memorial donations are thoughtful and some ways we’ve made it easier on the Classy giving platform.

1. Make It Easy to Create a Tribute Fundraising Page

People may not know that they can create a fundraising page to tribute someone. To increase awareness, as you bring fundraisers through the process of creating a peer-to-peer fundraising page, present a simple way to indicate that the page is, in fact, to honor someone else.

Classy enables this through a check box functionality. This way, before setting a fundraising goal, adding start and end dates, and customizing the page’s information, supporters can enter the process confident that the page will reflect their intentions.

2. Provide Flexibility Around Fundraising Goals

Some supporters who choose to create a tribute fundraising page to collect donations on behalf of someone who’s passed away or is sick may not want to set a fundraising goal. Instead, they may ask for anything their community can contribute.

Classy Tribute Fundraising Pages help supporters in this scenario, with features like a goal and leaderboards displaying top donations removed. This way, only the organizer sees the total raised. That allows the supporter to decide if they’d like to share the results and when the fundraiser should end.

3. Bring the Honoree to the Forefront

Modern fundraising pages let supporters customize their headlines and photos for a personal touch that resonates with their network. So when someone hosts a tribute fundraising page, you’ll want to make sure there’s a straightforward way to show them they can put the honoree’s name and photo there instead.

Instructional text will help guide a supporter to input the name of the individual or group they’re raising money for and offer them the option to bring more personalization through a photo they choose. That way, each page visitor can quickly see the person they’re donating to and the person who invited them to the page.

4. Take a Softer Approach to Page Language

When someone raises money on behalf of someone in need, it’s essential to acknowledge that their position can be challenging. One way to ensure the experience is thoughtful, from start to finish, is to add language tweaks from a typical peer-to-peer fundraising page.

These may be subtle but will mean a lot to the supporter creating their tribute fundraising page. One place Classy includes these tweaks for nonprofits is within fundraising tips displayed during the process. Another is in the instructions about adding an image to reflect the action of this specific fundraiser audience. You can also consider making these language tweaks in the emails you send to fundraisers upon the campaign launch and completion.

Offering Every Supporter a Great Experience

Supporting the sector that changes the world each day means knowing what modern donors need and helping nonprofits attract, convert, and retain more funds.

When supporters have a great experience, they pass that onto those who support their fundraisers, reflecting to your organization. With these small touches to your support experience, you’ll add intentional and thoughtful details that people will always remember.

Ready to explore Tribute Fundraisers on Classy?