Memorial Funds

You may also be interested in:

• Leaving a Legacy

• Donations in Lieu of Flowers

The olive tree is associated with everlasting life and eternity. A memorial fund will continue to bring life for many years to come.

A Memorial Fund is open to contributions from anyone and can be supported in any way that you choose. You may prefer to remember special occasions or you can give a regular gift. If you would like additional ideas for fundraising, we will help you in whatever way that we can.

Every gift acts as a tribute to your loved one, and a wonderful contribution towards the work of BibleLands.

A Memorial Fund is easy to set up and manage and carries no obligations. A member of BibleLands’ staff will also be on hand to help you. You just choose whether you wish to continue making personal contributions to the fund or whether to tell others about it. The fund is permanent and remains open as long as you wish.

All funds raised will be used to support BibleLands’ Project Partners in the Middle East.

I thank my God every time I remember you. Philippians 1:2-4

Raising Money for your Memorial Fund

You can use your Memorial Fund in the way that suits you best. For some this means a fund to which they make their own contributions to commemorate special dates or anniversaries.

For others, it is an opportunity to involve family and friends so that everyone close to the person you have lost can have the opportunity to honour their memory. The choice is yours and you decide who to tell about your Fund and how you use it.

You may like to advise friends and relatives that a fund has been set up using our special Memorial Fund Announcement Cards which can be printed off, or obtained by post from Christine Gallagher.

Many people are keen to raise additional money for their Fund and this can be done in a variety of ways. Here are some ideas that we hope might prove to be a useful starting point.

Regular Gifts

Many people like to remember a loved one on a special day of the year, such as an anniversary, birthday, Christmas or on the same day each month.  It is very quick and easy to set up a regular donation by Direct Debit. You can choose to donate on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis; whichever is most convenient for you. This method of giving is of enormous value to BibleLands – enabling us to plan and budget much more efficiently for the future. If you would like to set up a regular payment on a specific date please print out and complete a Direct Debit form and send it to Christine Gallagher or contact her on:

Sponsored Events

Sponsored events are a great way of inspiring and encouraging friends, relatives or work colleagues to join and support you in raising money for your BibleLands Memorial Fund.

For example, why not organise a sponsored walk with friends or family, or a sponsored silence for the younger ones? Could you take part in a 5k race or take on the challenge of a Marathon? You could even join an overseas trek or try a parachute or bungee jump. There is not limit to what you can do, and it can be on any scale with a large group of people or just a few. We can provide you with BibleLands sponsorship forms, which can be adapted for use with any event.

Commemorative Events

If your loved one had a special interest or hobby, you might want to consider holding an event in their memory. For example, a golf day or five-a-side football tournament, a garden party or barbecue. We can also help you with ideas and give you advice on how to set up and run your event.

A Bequest

A gift in your will is perhaps the most special way of honouring the memory of your loved one. If you are thinking of amending your will and would like more information about how to do this for your Memorial Fund, then please call us in confidence. For all queries about BibleLands Memorial Funds, please call 01494 897909. Further information on leaving a legacy is available here.

An A-Z of some other ideas

Auction of Promises, Abseiling, Aerobics, Art Sale

Bring & Buy Sale, Barn Dance, BBQ, Bouncy Castle, Book Sale, Bridge Night

Collection Boxes in local shops and businesses, Cake Bake & Coffee Morning, Car Boot Sale, Craft Fair, Car Washing, Cheese & Wine, Concerts & Recitals, Carol Singing, Cycling Event

Dinner Dance, Dance event, Disco Night, Dog Walking

ebay Auction, Easter Egg Hunt

Fun Runs, Fashion Show, Face-Painting, Fancy Dress, Fête, Five-a-side Football Tournament, Flower Show

Garden opening, Golf Tournament, Guess the Name/Height/Weight/Amount, Gala Evening

Haircutting

It’s-A-Knockout

Jumble Sale, Jogging Event

Karaoke Evening

Line-Dancing, Lucky Dip, Lunch Party

Marathon Events (sports, dancing etc), Murder Mystery Night, Masked Ball

Nearly New Sale, New Year’s Eve Party

Original Artwork Sale

Picnic, Plant a tree, Pancake Day, Party Games, Parachute Jump, Photographic Competition, Pet Show, Plant Show

Quiz evenings, Question of Sport Night

Races

Sponsored events, Salsa Evening, Swimming

Theme evenings, Treasure Hunt, Talent Night, Tea Party, Teddy Bears Picnic, Tug-of-war

Uniform Free Days, University Challenge Competition

Variety Show

Wine Tasting, Whist Night, Walking Event, Welly Throwing Competition

Zoo Quiz

An example:

Jennifer Walker lost her husband, Arthur, in 2004.  Both Jennifer and Arthur had been supporting BibleLands for some years.

Arthur had a lifelong interest in model trains and built up a fantastic collection. Following Arthur’s death, Jennifer decided to sell the models to keen enthusiasts and friends, who were invited to make a gift to BibleLands’ work in memory of Arthur. The money raised was used to fund a piece of equipment that enables blind students at a special school in Lebanon to use computers by touch.

Jennifer is delighted with the way that the money has been used: “It seemed so appropriate to my family and me that money raised in his memory should go to BibleLands. It helps so much to know that the money will be so well spent.”