Aunt Edna passed away. You loved Aunt Edna, she taught you how to rollerskate and curse like a sailor. Everybody liked her. But unfortunately she left behind very few funds.
The problem with raising money for a funeral or memorial is that you are often grieving, stressed from lack of capital, and also trying to plan all at the same time.
You need money fast. So what are the best options?
Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire “always depended on the kindness of strangers.” But you’re not cuckoo Blanche, you’ve got Family & Friends who want to help. So let’s make it easy for them to get you the necessary cash to pay for Aunt Edna’s memorial.
Crowdfunding
“There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”
That should really be the tag line for all the crowdfunding sites. They’ll say “The Service is Free!” Or “No Platform Fee!” My favorite, on fundthefuneral.com: “Fund the Funeral is 100% Free!” Dig deeper: “Fund the Funeral charges a flat fee of 5% on each donation made.”
As my Father would say: “Sonsofbitches.”
Just like Funeral Homes, nothing is ever easy and confusion is the name of the game. But let’s try to find possible options with the “lowest” fees. We want as much money as possible to go directly to you to pay for Aunt Edna’s memorial.
All Crowdfunding sites use an Online Payment Processor (Stripe, PayPal, Due, Square, etc) to allow people to donate via a credit or debit card, PayPal, Venmo, Bitcoin, etc. You are going to have this fee, there is no getting around it. Someone has to pay it.
The Standard Online Payment Processor Fee is: 2.9% + $0.30 for each transaction.
So which crowdfunding sites only charge this fee…
Funeral crowdfunding sites to avoid:
Funeral Fund – 5% platform fee + online payment processor’s fees
Fund The Funeral – 5% platform fee + online payment processor’s fees + money goes directly to the funeral home, not you.
Memorial Fundraising – No platform fee! No online payment processor’s fees! Money goes directly to the funeral home, not you. So how do they make money? The funeral home pays them from the money they raise for you. Of course nowhere on their website does it say that. Or how much. Probably because it’s founded by a former funeral director.
As we’ve stated before regarding pre-paying anything to a funeral home: don’t do it. Crowdfunding can he a helpful, necessary tool. Please choose sites that only charge the Online Payment Processor Fee and where the money goes directly to you, not a funeral home. Aunt Edna would want you in charge, not someone she’s never met.
Mark Noonan, Founder – Farewell Project
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