tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1410527928650560979.post5654733390257536419..comments2024-03-22T03:36:37.800-04:00Comments on Donor Relations Guru: In Memoriam and In Honor GiftsDonor Relations Guruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15768044971685878089noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1410527928650560979.post-58786647531271802472013-12-05T15:05:07.550-05:002013-12-05T15:05:07.550-05:00Really great post and follow-up comments. Like mon...Really great post and follow-up comments. Like money in general, I find people tend to not want to talk about death and the logistics around it. The best advice has already been said, but I'll reiterate: Make is simple for the family. Make it simple for donors to tell you who their donating in memory of. And make it simple for the family to get the list of donors so they can thank them too. <br /><br />My spouse and I made a pretty substantial gift in memory of a good friend last year. The organization did not have a mechanism for allowing the family to see a list. In fact they told the family that the donor list was confidential and now the property of the organization. Over $10,000 had been generated by Randy's passing and his wife didn't learn that until much later when she made a ruckus and asked for changes to be put in place to make the system much more family focused and user-friendly. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03529654023086619718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1410527928650560979.post-79472313978707183722013-11-21T16:17:03.172-05:002013-11-21T16:17:03.172-05:00We had a high profile Bostonian ask for gifts to b...We had a high profile Bostonian ask for gifts to be made in her memory to our organization. If we learned anything (and this is 2.5 years, 1,500 gifts, and $4M plus later), it's to have more than one person be able to change the online donation form so that people could both write in the in memory name as well as pick it from a drop down. This all happened 10 days before I started here and I spent my first few weeks calling and following up with donors who thought they had made a gift, but it didn't completely go through. It was a great opportunity for me to connect with donors in my early days, but was so much work on our operations team side. I know this is the not typical case at all, but the technology section is a big deal and we want to make it as easy as possible for donors and the mourning family. Robinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1410527928650560979.post-21683643696384628452013-11-21T14:05:29.682-05:002013-11-21T14:05:29.682-05:00Thanks for the great reminders, Lynne. Our departm...Thanks for the great reminders, Lynne. Our department is taking over this process later this fiscal year and I can hardly wait to get in there and improve it! I love your idea of providing the families with notecards. I've included this in my budget for next year. Your friend is lucky to have you at such a difficult time.Michalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07102148305005432139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1410527928650560979.post-49976319054549873422013-11-21T10:55:34.150-05:002013-11-21T10:55:34.150-05:00I have personally gone through this process and it...I have personally gone through this process and it is a lot of paperwork. I have also guided quite a few widows/widowers through this process when they want to set up a fund at UHart. I suggest that they bring someone with them because in the early stages, they are in the robotic stage and unable to absorb what is really going on around them. I address most of the questions and paperwork to the other person. As strange as this sounds, having experienced the loss of my husband really does help me to connect to the donor and help them get through the process. I also suggest that they not only put "in lieu of flowers" in the obit but that they suggest to family and friends that instead of anniversary, birthday or holiday gifts that they contribute to the loved one's fund. It is a very difficult time and they don't want their loved one to be forgotten. So be mindful of the mourners who think they will raise lots of money for a fund when in reality - very little comes in. Unless the donor funds the scholarship themselves - often not enough is raised to create a new fund. Just put yourself in their heads best you can and you will make the connection they need.Tonihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04066483972587947847noreply@blogger.com