Funeral Directors And Charity Donations?

[EDDIE51]

Can anyone come up with definitive information as to if or not funeral directors take a % of donations made via them to a deceased chosen charity?
I ask because as I said on here, a close friend recently died of cancer. Tomorrow we are holding a sponsorship event to raise cash for his chosen charity . His wife says that the money has to be given to the funeral directors to pass on. The actual funeral was 7 weeks ago now.
I have heard that undertakers take a % of the donation as a fee for acting as agents between the deceased's family and the charity. If there is any truth in this we will not donate the proceeds via the funeral director , there could be £1000 or more involved so a % will be a sizeable sum that is intended only for the charity . Thanks for any help.

[gness]

Eddie....lots of folk have an event in memory of......long after the funeral....why would the funeral directors be involved?
Needs careful checking I think....x

[bednobs]

why dont yo just ring them and ask?

[naomi24]

I've never heard of funeral directors taking a percentage of donations to specified charities. Money raised from fund-raising events doesn't 'have' to be given to funeral directors, but may be at the request of the family. Funeral directors will pass money on to chosen charities long after the funeral has taken place.

[EDDIE51]

At least one has done it
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/03/funeral-director-stole-charity-donations-from-grieving-families/
bednobs , I would not believe a word a funeral director said lying barstuards the lot of them .

[EDDIE51]

We will definitely be sending the money direct to the charity , so we have a record of exactly what was given and when.

[naomi24]

Eddie, see that word 'stole'? That is not the norm - and funeral directors are not usually 'lying barstuards', as you put it.

[Mamyalynne]

If you can't check with the Funeral Director , or wouldn't believe them anyway, then ignore your friend's wife's wishes and donate directly to the Charity in his memory.

[woofgang]

Why does she insist that it goes through the undertaker? That just seems odd to me. If she wants to use their office facilities some time after the funeral, then I could understand that they might want to make some kind of admin charge...after all its making work for them.

[ummmm]

No they aren't all lying b'stads.

If you are concerned then just give directly to the charity.

[woofgang]

EDDIE that's a nasty and unfounded thing to say. I have been involved with three different funeral directors in three parts of the country and they have all been respectful helpful and honest.

[ummmm]

And I agree with Woof. Their time is worth money.

[bednobs]

that lady in your article didnt take a percentage - she stole the money wholesale

[Buenchico]

Some funeral directors make it clear that they don't make any deductions. e.g. http://stneotsfuneraldirectors.co.uk/2012/12/how-much-of-your-donation-actually-goes-to-charity/

However it's still possible that some might make some form of administration charges.

Many charities now encourage 'in memory' donations to be made via JustGiving. Although they take 5%, they also check that Gift Aid is claimed, where applicable, on donations (which most funeral directors, operating on their own, wouldn't do and which would probably wouldn't be claimed if donations were made direct to the charity), meaning that the charities actually end up with more money that way:
https://www.theguardian.com/voluntary-sector-network/2013/oct/03/justgiving-charity-donations-funeral-memory

[Mamyalynne]

Don't base your opinion of an entire profession on your own experiences or a few grubby stories - that's crass.

[naomi24]

In my experience they don't deduct the cost of collecting donations and sending them to chosen charities. That would appear mercenary and that's an impression that no undertaker would want to give. Their job is, for obvious reasons, a highly sensitive one. Their bills include that sort of thing.

[hereIam]

No way. If the donations are passed to them after a funeral, they just pass them on to the family without any deductions whatsoever. I know this from experience.

[campbellking]

HereIam, unfortunately that's not true. One of the girls at work lost her stepdad recently, and made it known they would be making a collection at the crematorium for the local Carers Association who had supported the family. The funeral directors then made it clear they would be taking a percentage of what was taken, my friend then made it equally clear that her family would be personally taking charge of the collection box and did not expect any deductions to be made.

[hereIam]

It was true in MY experience.

[hereIam]

Twice.

[bednobs]

hence why eddie should just ask the FD - it looks like there is no 1 universal
way