Crowdfunding isn’t a trend. For many families, it’s their only choice. Just look at this recent story from reporter Michaela Winberg of the Billy Penn — More than in other cities, Philly families resort to crowdfunding for funeral costs.

If you look at third-party crowdfunding sites specifically for Philadelphia, you’ll see that nearly half of all the campaigns are for memorial services. According to the article, “of the top 45 crowdfunding campaigns in Philadelphia currently listed on the site, 25 are looking for help paying for memorials.”

It’s not just in Philadelphia either. Communities across the country turn to crowdfunding. NerdWallet obtained data from four popular third-party crowdfunding sites. They found that the “Funerals, Memorials & Tributes” category is not only one of the largest, it’s the fastest growing. And on top of that, funeral crowdfunding campaigns tend to raise more money than other charitable fundraisers, with the average campaign raising $3,000. In fact, since 2010, more than $340 million has been raised for funeral-related campaigns.

Over the past two years alone, the numbers have skyrocketed. In 2016, there were an estimated 70,000 active crowdfunding campaigns. Fast forward to 2018, and there are more than 360,000 active campaigns.

 A Headache for Funeral Homes?

As more families rely on crowdfunding, some funeral directors have pointed out problems with it. In the Billy Penn article, Winberg points out that the Pennsylvania Funeral Directors Association doesn’t recommend crowdfunding because in some cases, even though the money is raised, it doesn’t necessarily make it to the funeral home for their services.

The problem is, funeral homes can’t ignore crowdfunding altogether, as it has no signs of slowing down. How can a funeral home embrace charitable donations from the community, while also ensuring they receive payment for their services?

A Crowdfunding Solution

It’s stories like this that led to the creation of Tribute Crowdfunding. It’s designed to give a funeral home control over any crowdfunding donations made. It works by integrating directly with your website through Tribute Pay.

With Tribute Crowdfunding, there’s no longer the hassle of dealing with these third-party sites. Instead, people donate directly on a loved one’s Tribute Wall. These donations then go directly to your funeral home. At the end of a campaign — after the funeral expenses are covered — your funeral home can then write a check to the family for any additional funds raised.