IN MEMORY FAQS

Gift Aid is a simple way to increase the value of an in memory or Hero Fund donation to charity. If you are a UK taxpayer, the charity could claim 25p on every £1 donated from the Government at no extra cost to you. Which is great news for our wounded veterans.

If donating to a Hero Fund online or using one of our Hero Fund donation forms, you’ll be offered the opportunity to add Gift Aid to your contribution by filling in an attached declaration.

Gift Aid can only be claimed on personal remembrance donations. So if you’re organising a collection or sponsored event in memory, individual donors will need to sign a Gift Aid declaration if they want us to reclaim the tax on their contribution.

Gift Aid cannot be claimed on:

• Donations on behalf of a group of people
• Raffles and auctions
• Collections (unless individual donors complete a Gift Aid donation).

To sign up for Gift Aid, please complete an online declaration here.

To find out more, take a look at our Gift Aid page, contact our Supporter Care team on 0300 303 9888 or email supporter.care@helpforheroes.org.uk.

There are lots of simple and fun ways to fundraise online in memory of a loved one. Here are a few favourites - tried and tested by our friends:

Hero Funds

The easiest way to collect sponsorship or donations online and be confident they’re being recorded as being in memory of your loved one, is through a Hero Fund remembrance page. 

Hero Funds are Help for Heroes’ own tribute funds, enabling you to create and personalise an online fundraising page in the name and memory of your very own hero.

It’s easy to track how much money your event has raised, and you’ll be able to see these contributions added to the overall total.

To find out more and see how easy it is to fundraise through your own Hero Fund remembrance page, visit our Hero Funds page or ring 0300 303 9888 and ask to speak to Beth Brook.  

Facebook Fundraisers

If you use Facebook to keep in touch with friends and family, creating a Facebook Fundraiser is an easy way to organise a collection.

If you choose to support us, please remember to select Help for Heroes Official as your chosen charity and let others know who your collection is commemorating.

You can do this either in the title of your fundraiser, for example “Jill’s sponsored walk in memory of Grandad” or in the “Why are you raising money?” section when you create your collection.

To find out more about starting a Facebook Fundraiser, visit our handy page: helpforheroes.org.uk/give-support/ways-to-give/creating-a-facebook-fundraiser/

If you’d like to receive an acknowledgement and ensure your donations are recorded as being in memory of your loved one, please contact our Supporter Care team on 0300 3030 9888 or email supporter.care@helpforheroes.org.uk.

Just Giving

If you already have a Just Giving account, creating a memorial page on the site could be a convenient option for you. You can mark your collection as being in memory and name the page after your loved one. 

If you’re seeking sponsorship for an event you’re organising or taking part in, you can also mark your collection as being in memory.

Again, if you would like to receive an acknowledgement and ensure your donations are recorded as being in memory of your loved one, please contact our Supporter Care team on 0300 3030 9888 or email supporter.care@helpforheroes.org.uk.

We kindly ask that you don’t send cash donations through the post. If you’re given cash gifts by family and friends, please contact our Supporter Care Team on 0300 3030 9888, or email supporter.care@helpforheroes.org.uk, and they’ll be able to help.

We’re very sorry to say we’re not currently able to record Direct Debit payments as being in memory of someone. We appreciate this might be a disappointment and apologise for any frustration caused.

We hope to be able to offer in memory regular giving in the not-too-distant future. In the meantime, we hope you might find our Hero Fund remembrance pages offer you a comforting and convenient way to commemorate your hero on a regular basis. 

To find out more about Hero Funds, please visit our Hero Funds page or call Beth Brook on 0300 303 9888.

Some people find that setting a fundraising target for their event or Hero Fund helps them to feel positive and stay motivated. Having a target can also help friends and family understand what you’re hoping to achieve and feel more involved. But ultimately, it’s entirely up to you.

The only time we’ll ask you to raise a specific amount is if you sign up for a challenge in which there’s a minimum fundraising target. If you do enlist in such a challenge, your goal will be clearly explained when you register.

For every other type of in memory giving, you won’t be given any targets, timelines or minimum donation amounts. You can give as much as you can afford, whenever you can afford it; knowing we’re incredibly grateful.

Letting us know of your plans means we can look out for donations and ensure they’re correctly attributed to the tribute in memory of your loved one. If we’re not aware of your collection, it may be difficult to identify all the contributions and give you an idea of how much has been raised.

Whether you’re sending in a collection or making a personal or company donation, here are all the details you need.

• To donate over the phone: call our friendly and helpful Supporter Care Team on 0300 303 9888.
• To donate online: visit helpforheroes.org.uk/give-support/ways-to-give/in-memory/ and click on the Donate in Memory button. Please be sure to let us know your gift is in memory, and your loved one’s name, so we can record your tribute properly.
• To donate by cheque: please send your donation to Help for Heroes, 14 Parkers Close, Downton Business Centre, Downton, Salisbury, SP5 3RB.

Please enclose a covering letter letting us know who you are commemorating and, if possible, the name of the individual or funeral director who is organising the collection. This will help us make sure your gift is added to the right collection.

Nowadays most funeral directors, celebrants and faith leaders will ask about donations as part of helping you to organise your loved one’s service.

They may ask you to contact your chosen charity directly, or they may suggest an online memorial platform such as Much Loved or Memory Giving. And while some funeral directors may create an online tribute page for you, others will suggest you set up a remembrance page and add your own photographs and messages.

If there’s anything you’re unsure about, or if you’re not very technically minded, don’t be afraid to ask for help. You may find a friend or relative is happy to create and share your collection as their way of helping out at a difficult time.

If you decide to ask for donations to Help for Heroes, we can help you by registering your collection. Our sympathetic and experienced Supporter Care Team can tell you everything you need to know, and also arrange for you to receive funeral collection envelopes if these would be helpful. Simply supporter.care@helpforheroes.org.uk or call 0300 303 9888.

Once you’ve created your online fundraising page or registered your collection, the next step is to share the details with others. If you are publishing your loved one’s funeral details in the local newspaper or in a parish or community newsletter, please remember to specify that you’d like donations to your chosen charity.

Of course. If your loved one’s funeral has taken place but you haven’t yet sent in the collection, the funds can be paid straight into your Hero Fund online, over the phone or by cheque.

If you’ve registered your funeral collection with us, please let us know you’ve decided to add the donations to a Hero Fund – just so that we’re aware.

If you’ve already sent in the funeral collection, we’d be happy to reallocate it to your Hero Fund and add it as an offline donation. You’ll be able to see this figure reflected in your tribute’s total.

Every in memory gift is as precious and unique as the person it remembers. Whether you choose to hold a collection, organise an event, leave a gift in your Will or make a personal donation on special days; we’re honoured to help you remember your hero in your way.

We hope the other pages in our Give in Memory section will give you some ideas of ways to commemorate your loved one, and we’re always happy to listen to your fundraising ideas and help in any way we can.

It’s entirely up to you to say how you’d like friends and family to pay tribute. Afterall, you knew your loved one best. Did they love flowers and dream of being surrounded by floral tributes? Or did they think the money could be put to another use? Only you will know.

These days, many funeral notices stipulate “family flowers only” and the next of kin asks everyone else to contribute to a favourite charity. In that way, a balance can be struck between the passing beauty of the family’s bouquets and the lasting good done in the deceased’s name and memory

When someone has died, their next of kin may ask family and friends to donate to a charity in their memory.

This may be a charity that the deceased themself supported, an organisation that helped them or a loved one, or perhaps a cause that reflects their life and values.

These gifts are usually known as ‘in memory’ donations but they may also be described as ‘in memoriam’, ‘in honour’, ‘remembrance’, ‘tribute’ or ‘memorial’ donations. 

Unless you’ve signed up for an organised event with a pre-set target, you don’t need to worry. We know it’s not easy to fundraise and every donation really does help our wounded veterans and their families.

The easiest way to collect donations or sponsorship online and in memory of your loved one is through a Help for Heroes Hero Fund remembrance page.

Hero Funds are Help for Heroes’ tribute funds, enabling you to create and personalise a remembrance page in the name and memory of your very own hero. You can share your fund via social media and email at the click of a button. You can also create linked events to mark special occasions or encourage sponsorship for your fundraising challenges.

With a Hero Fund it’s really easy to keep track of how much money has been raised in memory.

To find out more and see how easy it is to fundraise through your own Hero Fund remembrance page, visit our Hero Funds page.   

A memorial service takes place after the funeral, often months but sometimes even years after the person being remembered has passed.

For some, this offers an opportunity to bring people together after the initial shock of a loved one’s death has passed. For others it can provide a chance to share memories with people who couldn’t make the funeral; perhaps because they live overseas or because coronavirus pandemic restrictions prevented them from doing so.

Memorial events don’t have to fit a religious or cultural template in the same way that funerals often do. They can be whatever you want them to be; whether formal or informal, humorous, poignant, relaxed or active (coronavirus restrictions permitting, of course). Many families like to arrange something that reflects their loved one’s personality and interests, but it’s really up to you.

Memorial events and collections are also a positive way to mark special occasions such anniversaries, or to feel your loved one is involved and remembered during milestone family moments such as weddings and at Christmas. Indeed, couples sometimes request in memory donations in lieu of wedding presents as a touching tribute to a family member or friend whose absence is felt deeply on their special day.    

To organise a memorial collection, please call our Supporter Care Team on 0300 303 9888 or email supporter.care@helpforheroes.org.uk.