Suggestions for online website to set up a memorial donation fund?

I set up a scholarship fund in my dad’s memory at the school he attended. I contacted the school district and they simply said to send donations directly to them in the mail. I would contact the the city regarding your situation. All of these donations are tax deductible and the recipients will send out the acknowledgment and deduction letters. I simply love your idea!!

Contact the city to find out how donation checks would be made out if someone was to give one. Then in the obituary and in the program for her service, you can write "In lieu of flowers, donations made out to 'City of Anytown' with 'City Park Maintenance Fund' in the memo line and mailed to 123 Main St., Anytown, USA are appreciated." You can make that address your own, then forward the checks to the city all together, or you can check with the city to see if they'll just let you have people send the checks there directly.

Otherwise, a GoFundMe might be your only option.

Do obituary with statement that in lieu of flowers that donations be made to ——

I do not do anything but direct to charity or cause. Too many chances of fraud if individuals are involved.

I think you can set up an account or trust with a bank?

I'm sorry to learn of your mother-in-law's death, and hope that you and your family find peace in creating a fund to honor the park.   That's a very generous and considerate option.

I don't  know if funeral homes do this, but you might ask; they might even coordinate with the park to include a donation option on the memorial page of their website for your MIL.  I've seen similar requests for donations to other than family on some local websites.

I actually think goals are lovely. We do after all know what a preferred bench or garden would cost. And they give people something to work for, or toward. I would just do the GoFundMe, but I hope for yourself others have ideas that would appeal to you more. You might consider discussing this with the mortuary you are working with; I would think they might know.

Ime “directive” funding - like what you want to do via a memorial fund or “in lieu of” - to a city or county owed property is hard to do. It’s hard for the entity to segregate the $. It ends up going into general funds.

BUT if there is a foundation or organization affiliated with the park, that’s who gets the memorial donation / “in lieu of” donation in your moms name. And you can put this in her obituary. Call 1 of her old coworkers to find out if there’s something like this. It likely exists.

You should expect to plunk down $ to have this started.

like in my city, New Orleans, we have a huge city owned - City Park - and it’s source of funding is from city budget. The $ is not enough to pay for its upkeep in any way shape or form. City Park has a nonprofit, 501 (c)3, Friends of City Park, that does it own fundraising events (Lark in the Park, Xmas in the Oaks) and takes “in memory of” $ for specific projects in City Park that Friends of pays for. Parks and libraries often have “Friends Of” existing nonprofits. Again contact one of her old coworkers to see what might exist.

Another way is to do the “in lieu of” is to an existing Foundation known for public good spending throughout your city or area. For my city, I’d go to The Helis Foundation; if your in Texas, it might be The Brown Foundation. Knowing about Foundations or which one to support are a bit more subterranean to find out about.

Colleges & universities have a “planned giving” department set up for death bequests. You don’t have to be an alumni either, although if you are one you get hit up each year to do planned giving. LOL. The same department can also take Memorial / “in lieu of”. College Univ ones tend to need a base amount - maybe a low 1k or maybe5k - to start the directive giving in her name, like for a scholarship.


You do need to moved fast in this so it can appear in her obituary.