In memory giving nets record amounts, says JustGiving

The deceased are rapidly becoming Britain’s most important fundraisers, as in memory giving nets record amounts for worthy causes.

According to data from JustGiving more than £27 million was raised on the website last year – with donations also up 32 per cent so far this year.

In fact, donating to a charitable cause is now the preferred mark of respect with two thirds of British adults (67%) choosing to make a donation to charity over flowers.

This giving takes place on close to 90,000 ‘in memory’ fundraising pages set up on JustGiving each year by friends and relatives raising money on behalf of loved ones, or in continuation of their fundraising efforts while they were alive.

However, despite this rise, the vast majority of ‘in memory’ giving still takes place at funeral and memorial services, where cash donations do not enjoy the same Gift Aid benefits as those made online.

Experts at JustGiving estimate that up to £25 million is lost in unclaimed Gift Aid per year on such ‘real world’ donations.

JustGiving is today calling on in memory fundraisers to move donations online so that charities can receive as much money as possible through Gift Aid.

Such online ‘in memory’ projects also raise more because they create a digital legacy for the deceased that can live on and even grow over the years.

Examples include:

Brighton Marathon runner Sam Harper-Brighouse, whose death triggered gifts of over £32,000 to his JustGiving page for Arms Around the Child

Opera singer Katherine Jenkins, running the London Marathon this year in memory of her father and raising over £26,000 for MacMillan Cancer Support.

The death of Margaret Thatcher, which led to a surge in donations to charities in her memory as well as of those who were affected by her policies, raised £52,000

In memory giving doesn’t just benefit the charities – it can also help people through the grieving process.

For example, Sands the Stillbirth and neonatal death charity, receives a significant proportion of their income from in memory giving each year.

Joe Levenson, director of communications for Dying Matters, which raises awareness of the importance of talking openly about death and grief, explained: “Fundraising in memory of someone who has died can be a great way to ensure that their legacy lives on, especially if they made it clear whilst they were alive that this was something that they wanted to happen or that they had a personal commitment to a particular charity.”

Fundraiser Alison Whitehead is one example. She has continued to raise money in memory of her late husband since he died from cancer in 2005, raising over £33,000.

Anne-Marie Huby, managing director at JustGiving, commented: “The ability to raise fund for good causes in memory of a lost loved one isn’t a new idea, but it’s being made so much easier and more effective through the Internet.

"The result is a permanent online legacy that reflects the person’s passions and personality in life that can help friends and family make sense of their loss and become an uplifting way of keeping their memories alive.”