How do we create meaning from loss? Grief is painful and often leaves us feeling helpless.
Establishing a memorial fund for a deceased family member or friend who was a musician and/or loved music is a beautiful way to honor them. Setting up a memorial fund helps to carry on the spirit of your loved one and strengthens their legacy by supporting the causes they cared about the most.
With so many ways to set up memorial funds, Save The Music has created a guide to help you start a memorial fund for a loved one who was a musician or was passionate about the arts and supporting music in schools
What is a Memorial Fund?
Loss affects each of us differently. Memorial funding gives us the chance to improve the lives of others through the name of the person we’ve lost.
There are many reasons setting up a memorial fund can be beneficial, including creating a legacy by supporting an organization dear to your loved one’s heart. Save The Music is often a choice for those who loved music. Whether your loved one was an avid musician, a music teacher or just someone who enjoyed listening to music, what better way to carry on his/her legacy than by ensuring future generations can make music in the classroom?
With budget cuts, memorial funding can help support Save The Music’s work of investing in and supporting public school music education.
If you want to honor a loved one who loved music and carry on their passion, creating a memorial fundraiser is the perfect way to do it.
How to Set Up a Memorial Fund
Want to know how to start a memorial fund for someone who was passionate about music? Here’s what you need to know about how to start a memorial foundation for Save The Music.
Step One – Create a Save The Music Memorial Fundraiser via our Donation Platform, Classy
If you’re interested in learning how to create a memorial fund for Save The Music, you can do so right on our donation platform which is provided by a platform called Classy.
Start by clicking here and selecting “Become a Fundraiser.” You can either fundraise as an individual or create a team of individual fundraisers. If one has already been created, you can join an existing fundraiser. Please note that you have to create a Classy account first or if you already have one, log into your existing account.
The next step is to name your team. For memorial funds, most teams are named after loved ones – for example, “In Memory of [Name].” You’ll then want to set your fundraising goal and add a headline. Classy has the option to set your page’s short URL which will make it easier for people to remember the link to your memorial fund.
Next you can choose a team photo, perhaps a favorite picture of your loved one. From there, you’re all set! You can invite others to join your team and help support fundraising efforts. You are also able to post comments, share updates like milestones, matches or incentives, and thank donors.
Step Two – Write the Story of Your Loved One
While setting up a Classy fundraiser is easy following the above steps, you may need to spend more time writing the story of your loved one on your team page. For many people, this is the most heart-wrenching part of the process. How do you condense a loved one’s life into just a few hundred words?
Share stories of your loved one to showcase your favorite qualities about them. Write about how and why your loved one cared about music education. Illustrate the impact your family member or friend had on the arts community to demonstrate how impressive they were and how much they’ll be missed.
Photos and videos of fond memories together are also an excellent way to tell their story. Friends and family will also get joy from seeing your loved one again, so don’t be afraid to add these to your memorial fund.
A wonderful example of a Save The Music fundraiser is this memorial fund created for Drew Keys Stoch, a gifted musician, composer and producer. Organizer Lisa Stoch lovingly shares on her page:
He lived his life all consumed with music, music was his oxygen, his food, his sleep and spreading his message of Rasta vibrations, light, positivity and blessings. Drew gave free concerts in Haiti benefitting the Earthquake victims, entertained our troops overseas, worked with an array of charitable organizations including Food for The Poor. The outpouring of love from all over the world has been overwhelming. The love, respect and admiration that musicians, fans and producers have been sharing with our family and friends demonstrates how everyone that knew Drew loved him as deeply as we do. His talent was extraordinary as was his soul. We will miss him every day. FLY DREW FLY!!
Step Three – Share Your Fundraiser
Once you’ve created your memorial fundraiser, it’s time to share your loved one’s story with the world.
The key to successful memorial funding is family and friends. Encourage them to share your fundraiser with their communities on social media, an excellent tool for spreading the word quickly.
You may even want to try social media advertising if you want to expand your memorial fund’s reach beyond family and friends.
Conclusion
Save The Music has worked tirelessly to give children the musical opportunities they deserve. As school music programs are cut, we work to plug the gap – and your support helps us do that.
We would be honored to help you memorialize your loved one’s passion for music and carry on their legacy by supporting programs in school. Your loved one’s memorial fund will advance our mission of supporting students, schools, and communities through the power of music.
Contact Save The Music to learn more about memorial funding and learn particularly about how we’re supporting online music education today.