Crowdfunding continues to be a beneficial tool for families facing the unexpected loss of a loved one.

But an unexpected tragedy isn’t the only reason families turn to the community. We’ve found that families use crowdfunding for many reasons:

• Sometimes the family wants to be able to afford a better memorial service for their loved one.
• Other times the family wants to raise money for a charity to honor their loved one.
• There could be medical expenses that the family needs help with.
• The family could be looking to raise money for a college fund for the deceased’s young children that were left behind.

Whatever the reason, crowdfunding can be a powerful tool that highlights how tight-knit communities come together to support each other. So we wanted to highlight the top 10 Tribute Pay crowdfunded campaigns of the past year as well as highlight the different ways communities came together to give the departed the dignity they deserved.

The Top Tribute Crowdfunding Campaigns

When we spoke with funeral directors, here are what some of them had to say:

One funeral home from Ohio has had three successful campaigns used in a variety of ways to help their families.

• One was for a young man who left behind small children. The crowdfunding was offered to help with the funeral and children.
• Another was a young woman with small children. While the funeral expenses were met, the money raised was to assist with the financial future of her young children.
• Another was for a tragic case of drug abuse, and the crowdfunding was used to help assist with the funeral needs.

The funeral director said:

“In general, we as directors present the option as a way to assist the family without having to go through gofundme. This ensures that everything is used for the family and that a huge portion is not taken away. So far it has been a great tool to offer and I’m sure as we get more comfortable with it, we will be utilizing it more. People like to see that there is a goal to attain for the family and it makes it easy to direct them to our website to help the family.  I think this is important because we are capturing their attention that WE are helping the family, there are other options on the website as well and that they can see who is taking care of the family if they are not familiar with the funeral home.”

Another funeral director from Utah said:

“Just a couple thoughts I have thought of on crowdfunding that I have seen is the positive effect it has on the family. Most the time when we have used it is when an unexpected death has occurred and the family was not financially prepared for the expenses. It has allowed others to serve those in their time of need and receive the blessing and feeling of helping someone in their time of need. But it also allows the family who is receiving the help to feel the love of those around them when the donations have been made.  It gives them a morale boost in a time they really are feeling low and stressed. Not only did they just lose a loved one but now have the stress of how to pay for it. And the crowdfunding has worked great in a lot of cases allowing them to raise the money and raise it quick.  It can be a great thing for families. And it takes the awkwardness out of the conversation with the funeral home and the family too.”

To see more about how funeral directors across the country are using crowdfunding to help their families, click here. Below are some of the top campaigns from 2016 that made a positive impact in their communities.

10. Auclair Funeral Home

Amount raised: $2,025

9. Nyman Funeral Home

Amount raised: $2,080

8. McVay Perkins Funeral Home

Amount raised: $2,700

7. Stephens Funeral Home & Crematory

Amount raised: $2,730

6. Oman Funeral Home & Crematory & Stephens Funeral Home & Crematory

Amount raised: $2,800

5. Farmer Funeral Homes

Amount raised: $3,110

4. Fails Funeral Homes

Amount raised: $3,500

3. Walker Funeral Homes & Crematory

Amount raised: $4,516

2. Rogers Funeral Home

Amount raised: $4,867 (Exceeded by their goal by more than 130%)

1. Walker Funeral Homes & Crematory

Amount raised: $6,491