Crowdfunding is a helpful development in the funeral business. With less than 25% of adults preplanning and prepaying for their own funeral arrangements, many families are caught off guard when it’s time to pay for a funeral or cremation.

Maybe they don’t have much cash available. Their credit cards are maxed out. The deceased didn’t have any insurance. How can you come up with funds when you don’t have the money?

Crowdfunding has become a big business in so many areas of life. Many projects are used to raise money for memorial services. Now crowdfunding sites specifically for the business of death are multiplying.

At the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) convention and expo in Salt Lake City, your faithful correspondent talked with two such businesses: Fund the Funeral and MyRespects.com.

Fund the Funeral

Jonathan Fisher, Co-Founder of Fund the Funeral, is a third generation funeral director. He saw how crowdfunding raised money for funerals that was sometimes misappropriated. The funeral homes might not get paid.

Three years ago, he started this site to specifically raise money for memorial services while making sure the funeral directors were paid for their services rendered. In this video, Fisher explains how their funeral crowdfunding service helps both the families that need funds and the funeral homes that work with them.

MyRespects.com

MyRespects.com was launched in September of 2018. With this crowdfunding company, the money has to be transferred to the funeral home before the service is done. It’s possible to recoup dollars spent at the funeral home, getting back cash spent through a credit card or loan.

Austin Milliken, CFO of MyRespects.com, explains more in this video.