How to Set Up a Memorial Giving Page: A Step-by-Step Checklist

A Guide to Building a Memorial Giving Page

Key Takeaways

A memorial giving page is a single shareable link where friends and family can donate in someone’s memory, usually set up through a charity, a fundraising platform, or a memorial website.
The most important decision up front is who receives the money — a registered charity or the family directly — since that affects tax treatment and which platform makes sense.
Most pages can be built in under 20 minutes: choose a platform, write a short story, add a photo, and publish.
A working link belongs in the obituary itself, so anyone reading it can give without a separate search.
Simple record-keeping as gifts come in makes thank-yous far easier later than trying to reconstruct who gave, after the fact.

Before You Start: Charity or Family?

This is the one decision worth making before anything else, because it determines which platform fits and how donations will be taxed for donors.

If the goal is to support a cause the person cared about, the page should route to a registered 501(c)(3) charity. Gifts are generally tax-deductible for donors who itemize.

If the goal is to help the family directly — with funeral costs, a surviving spouse, or children — a personal fundraising page is the better fit. These gifts are treated as personal gifts, not charitable donations, and typically aren’t tax-deductible.

It’s fine to want both. Some families set up a giving page to a charity and mention separately, in conversation or a card, that direct help is also welcome. Just avoid mixing the two on a single page — donors should always know exactly where their money is going.

The Checklist

1. Choose a platform

A few options cover most situations:

The charity’s own memorial or tribute giving page — many hospitals, universities, and national organizations (American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, local hospice programs) offer a dedicated “give in memory of” form. This is often the simplest option and sends funds straight to the cause with no go-between.
A general fundraising platform (JustGiving, GoFundMe Charity) — lets you search for and select almost any registered charity, then customize a page with a name, photo, and story.
A dedicated memorial website (Ever Loved, Memory Giving) — combines an obituary-style page with a donation feature, useful if you also want a place for guest messages and photos.
A personal fundraising page (GoFundMe, Facebook Fundraisers) — the right choice when funds are going to the family rather than a charity.

2. Confirm the charity and get the details right

Full legal name of the organization (not just a nickname or shorthand)

Confirmation that it’s a registered 501(c)(3), if tax deductibility matters to your donors.
Whether the gift should go to a specific fund or program within the organization, and its exact name.
Whether the charity has its own memorial giving page already — check before building one from scratch

3. Write the page

Three brief paragraphs are plenty: who the person was, why this cause, and how the gifts will be used. It doesn’t need to be polished — a simple, honest description always lands better than something that feels overwritten.

“In loving memory of [Name], who spent [30] years teaching third grade at [School]. In lieu of flowers, the family is inviting gifts to [Charity/Fund Name] to support [specific purpose — a scholarship, a program, a cause]. Every gift, in any amount, is a meaningful way to honor her memory.”

Name of the person being honored.
A sentence or two about who they were, or their association with the cause.
What the gift specifically supports.
A photo, if the platform allows it.

4. Set the practical details

Page title and URL — keep it simple and easy to say out loud, e.g., “In Memory of Michael Davis.”
An end date, if the platform requires one — many families choose a date well in the future, or no end date, so the page can stay live indefinitely.
A fundraising goal, if you want one — entirely optional and not necessary for the page to work.

A page only helps if people can find it. The link should go wherever people are already looking:

The obituary itself, alongside or in place of the “in lieu of flowers” line
The funeral or memorial service program
A pinned social media post, so it’s easy to find without scrolling
A follow-up message or text to close family and friends who may not see the obituary

6. Track gifts as they come in

Most platforms show a running list of donors, but not always the amount, and rarely in a format that’s easy to reference weeks later. A simple running list — name, date, and organization if you’re using more than one — makes the next step far easier.

7. Say thank you, on your own timeline

There’s no deadline for this. Some families send individual notes as they’re able to. Others post a single public thank-you after the service, or fold an acknowledgment into a later update. Either is appropriate — sustainable is more important than immediate.

8. Decide what happens to the page afterward

Some families let the page stay live indefinitely as a lasting tribute; it costs nothing to leave it up, and it gives people a place to give later, even months on. Others close it after a set number of weeks and do a final tally. If the charity handles the page directly, ask what their standard practice is—many keep memorial pages active permanently unless asked to remove them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need the charity’s permission to set up a page in their name?

It depends on the platform. Charity-hosted memorial pages are built through the organization directly, so you don’t need separate permission. On a general platform like JustGiving or GoFundMe Charity, you can typically select a registered charity without contacting them first, though letting them know is a courtesy that also helps them track and acknowledge the gifts.

Is there a fee to set up a memorial giving page?

Creating the page itself is usually free. Most platforms take a small processing fee from each donation to cover payment processing, and some deduct an additional platform fee—it’s worth checking a platform’s fee structure before choosing one, since it affects how much of each gift reaches the cause.

Can donations on one page go to more than one charity?

Some platforms support this, letting donors choose from a short list when they give. If that flexibility matters, look specifically for a platform that offers it, since not all do.

How long should a memorial giving page stay active?

There’s no standard length. Some families close the page a few weeks after the service; others leave it open permanently as an ongoing tribute. It’s a personal decision, and most platforms don’t require an end date unless you set one.

What if we want to support the family instead of a charity?

Use a personal fundraising page rather than a charity-linked one, and say so clearly in how you describe it. These gifts help the family directly but are treated as personal gifts rather than charitable donations, so they generally aren’t tax-deductible for the giver.

Keep the Plan, Not Just the Page

A giving page is built for a specific moment, but a written record of someone’s wishes lasts beyond it. The Funeralwise After Me Planner gives you a place to note a cause or organization ahead of time, so the family setting up the page later isn’t starting from a blank page during one of the hardest weeks. The Quick Plan is free and takes just a few minutes.

For the etiquette side of memorial giving — how much to donate, what to write in a card, and how to word a donation request in an obituary — see our guide, Donation Etiquette When Someone Passes: What to Give and How

To learn more about using crowdfunding, see https://www.funeralwise.com/using-crowdfunding-funerals-memorials/.

Contributors:

Rick Paskin, Managing Director and former funeral home and cemetery executive.

Molly Gorny, Director of Digital Marketing and author of 100+ funeral industry articles and blog posts.

Last Reviewed and Updated by Molly Gorny: 08/21/2026