By The Leader Staff
As more and more consumers turn to digital platforms to help them with all aspects of their lives, the deathcare industry is no exception to the rule.
Consumer expectations for funerals are constantly changing, with more emphasis on interactivity, particularly with obituaries. Flowers at funerals are giving way to more personalized expressions, including contributions to nonprofit organizations that were important to the deceased.
Given these increasing preferences toward donations – either in lieu of or in addition to traditional flower arrangements – funeral homes, cemeteries, and cremation businesses need to offer secure online memorial donations to stay relevant.
Make My Donation, Inc., and its related company, OrgHunter LLC, offer an “In Memory Of” donation platform, which can be incorporated into any funeral home, cemetery, or cremation website.
With Make My Donation, funds can be securely and immediately donated in memory of a loved one with the click of a button.
Unique features of the Make My Donation platform include:
- Unparalleled transparency and real-time information on over 2.5 million charities
- Comprehensive screening of all the charities in the database
- Exclusive partnerships for online donations to over 50,000 U.S. Catholic churches and schools
Make My Donation serves as protection for funeral homes that otherwise simply list charitable organizations at the family’s request, without any knowledge if the charity has maintained a good status with the federal government.
“If a family uses an online obituary to direct donations to a charity that is no longer in good standing, it can open the funeral home, cemetery, or cremation business to the kind of scandal that owners want to avoid at all costs,” said Isaac Miller, chief operating officer of MKJ Marketing, on the recent addition of Make My Donation to MKJ’s marketing websites. “The extensive screenings Make My Donation and OrgHunter perform on all contributions is critical to providing protection from bad publicity and potential regulatory actions.”
This is important because the IRS has very strict requirements for charitable giving.
“For example, charitable contributions must be submitted directly to a 501(c)(3) organization, as opposed to going into a for-profit entity, such as a funeral home’s bank account, then being relayed to the charity. Make My Donation ensures compliance with all state and federal regulations – a claim other solutions cannot make,” said Michael Koplas, chief financial officer for Make My Donation.
MKJ provides expertise to Make My Donation on product development and expansion within the funeral profession, drawing on over 900 market research studies from within the industry.
“Make My Donation is a digital solution to a very real challenge,” said MKJ Chief Executive Officer Glenn Gould. “Funeral homes’ websites need to be more than just obituaries and directions. We want the public to consider your website as a place for solutions. We hear frequently in our research that consumers are moving away from sending flowers for funerals. Make My Donation is safe and secure, and they have created relationships with millions of recognized, nonprofit charities through a system that ensures the donation goes to the purposes intended.”
Donations through Make My Donation are 100% tax-deductible, and donors automatically receive a thank you message and an income tax receipt.
Click here for more information about Make My Donation and learn how it can be added to any website.
