Only a third of charities have acknowledged the pandemic in their funeral giving, which could be leading to a loss of donations, according to research by Legacy Foresight.
In-memory giving is worth around £2.2bn a year to UK charities, and Legacy Foresight is urging charities to update funeral support in line with Covid-19 restrictions.
It reviewed the websites of 40 leading charities and hospices, to assess the information offered to supporters around funeral giving.
The results found that just a third of charities made any acknowledgement of the pandemic.
Less than two-thirds of charities were offering supporters an online collection page as an alternative to a physical collection at the funeral.
Only 10% signposted supporters to the latest government guidelines on planning and attending a funeral, and just one charity offered to support the donor with any future memorial event that they might be considering for a later date.
'Unprecedented opportunity'
Memorial deprivation is now affecting thousands of families who have not been able to mourn the way they would want due to funeral restrictions, and Legacy Foresight predicts a new wave of compensatory memorial events could arise as restrictions are lifted.
Kate Jenkinson, head of in-memory consultancy at Legacy Foresight, said: “Charities have an unprecedented opportunity to support families who are planning memorials for their loved ones, but they urgently need to make their information about funerals more agile and responsive to the times.
“Offering dynamic and reliable information around funeral giving – including relevant donation options – is one of the best ways charities can help those who come forward in memory of a loved one. It should be a core part of their overall strategy of support in these times.”
