Monthly Archives: March 2023

Funeral Crowdfunding

With record-breaking inflation around the world, funeral homes Willoughby Hills, OH can get quite expensive – especially if the loved one died a sudden or unexpected death. Taking care of all the funeral arrangements within a short period can be a little too much for many middle-class families.

Many people don’t prepare or set aside money to cover this expense, leaving the whole burden for the left ones. Many families, resort to funeral fundraising to give the last sendoff to the deceased.

What is Funeral Crowdfunding

If you use social media, you are probably already familiar with the term ‘Funeral Crowdfunding.’ In simple terms, crowdfunding pertains to the donation of money by the general public to support a family bear the expenses of funeral services.

Even though funeral crowdfunding is a fast-expanding industry and helps needy families, it has some major downsides. Below is a short list of some of the problems you might face when setting up crowdfunding for the funeral expense of a loved one:

1. Taxation Issues

Donations gathered under funeral crowdfunding are considered gifts and don’t fall under the ambit of taxation. But some donations that found national attention can reach millions of dollars and catch the attention of the IRS.

That’s why crowdfunding websites are mandated to inform the IRS if donations for a funeral exceed $20,000 or get more than 200 contributors. And unsurprisingly, the administrator of the campaign can get a big tax notice and face legal complications.

2. You May Not Get Enough Funds

Since burial funerals can easily cost thousands of dollars, any fundraising campaigns fail to drum up enough money to bear the expenses.

It can be even tough moments for the bereaved if the campaign earns half or even less expenditure as they have to arrange for the remainder of funds within a short bracket of time.

3. Beware of Funeral Homes’ Ripping Customers Off

Funeral homes often take advantage of grieving customers and charge exorbitant prices for their services. If a campaign manages to earn sufficient funds, it encourages funeral homes to upsell services. That is, they charge overpriced services to match the donations.

4. The Whole Funeral Crowdfunding Story Might be Fake

There is no way of knowing if a story on social media is true and if money is going to the bereaved family. Many families have also been found to lie about the total funds collected and keep apportion of the funds as profit.

The ease of setting up a fundraising campaign coupled with a lax procedure to authenticate its veracity compels crooks to initiate a fake campaign and solicit money out of people’s pockets.

These funds have an equal probability of being misused. And there’s no brainer that most of these campaigns fail to achieve the desired target.

All these points prove that it’s best to preplan your funeral service and start saving for it not tomorrow but today. This will save your family from a lot of hassles when the time for funeral homes Willoughby Hills, OH, comes.

Say Goodbye to a Terminally Ill Friend

All the memories and happy times you spent together flash in front of your eyes as your friend prepares for cremation services Willoughby Hills, OH. And if anything, saying a final goodbye to a terminally-ill friend is one of the most overwhelming experiences of life.

Many people shy from visiting a friend who may breathe his or her last in the coming days, but the one thing the dying wants is the presence of close ones near him to share and relive the good old memories, to have one last laugh, to know that someone will remember them after their passing.

That’s why you should go and visit a friend if you care about them. Saying a final goodbye will make both you and your dying friend feel good and satisfied.

Here are some simple tips you should bear in mind while visiting a dying friend.

1. Be Supportive and Optimistic

Many people feel anxious to visit a dying friend as they don’t want to face or say goodbye to her. The very acknowledgment of the fact that someone is about to die can make most feel uncomfortable and it’s natural. You may feel weak and restless knowing you can’t do anything to help your friend.

But just imagine the comfort and solace your visit will bring to the friend. You don’t need to talk about death or say goodbye; just being there and having a conversation like a friend will give you enough strength and comfort to passing through that critical time.

2. Listen More, Speak Less

You need to control your emotions and be as supportive as you can be. Don’t take the lead yourself, instead of respecting the patient’s choice and letting them set the topic of discussion or standard of interaction.

Those last few minutes of your company should be all about the dying friend. Once you have initiated a conversation, just be there, holding their hand, and let them speak whatever they want to. If they want to talk about illness, let be it; if they want to avoid that topic, then find other topics that give them comfort and a few moments of happiness.

3. Do Share Your Thoughts

The most awkward part of visiting a dying friend is starting a conversation. Your friend may also feel awkward about what to speak. No matter how difficult it’s for you to talk to a dying friend, you have to speak.

The easiest way is to start asking questions on random subjects to get rid of the elephant in the room. Don’t directly jump onto the topic of illness or death, instead, let them decide what they want to talk about.

4. Say Goodbye

And lastly, you have to say goodbye, and that’s the hardest part. You have to control your emotion and say a final goodbye to your friend. It should be heartfelt for both you and your friend and help them get ready cremation services Willoughby Hills, OH.

Why Do Funeral Rituals Matter

Funeral homes Waite Hill, OH have gone through a lot of changes in the last few decades. During this time, funeral traditions have changed quite a lot, but the primary rituals have somehow remained the same.

Regardless of your faith or the socio-cultural traditions you follow, funeral rituals hold a special status in our lives. If you’re having doubts about the very need or importance of following specific funeral rituals, we have some convincing reasons in store for you.

Give it a read and find out how funeral rituals can help the grieving family navigate through the grief journey.

1. Offer One Last Tribute to the Deceased

Funerals carry immense importance not just for the surviving family, but for the departed soul as well. It gives the family a chance to offer a perfect send-off to the loved one, the one they deserve for the wonderful life they have spent.

The funeral traditions and related services you arrange for them remind them of their contributions. We think of our relationship with the deceased, the moments we shared – both, good and bad – with them, and how they sparked a positive change in our lives.

And more importantly, you get to fulfill their last wishes one last time.

2. Get Emotional Support from Loved ones

The very purpose of a funeral service is to express your grief and sorrow to your loved ones and the community. They are public statements asking “Come, Stand By Me” and unsurprisingly, your family and friends voluntarily choose to support you, sympathize with you, and don’t let you feel alone and isolated.

You get hope and confidence by seeing your friends and family around you during the lowest phase of your life. And is probably the most powerful aspect of arranging funeral ceremonies.

3. Adapt to the New Reality

Funeral rituals are vital to helping the bereaved accept the reality of death and that the loved one has gone forever. During funeral services, you get enough time and space to process the loss and slowly, adapt to the changed reality.

Purposeful funeral ceremonies also offer a gentle understanding of the divine reality for the visitors as well. When they see the dead body lowing into the casket for one last time, they are made to think about the inevitable end of man.

4. Start the Healing Process

Research shows that arranging funeral traditions begin the healing process for the bereaved. Meaningful traditions help us transition from “Mind Understanding” to “Heart Understanding” and we are left with no option but to embrace the pain of loss.

Knowing that you have fulfilled their last wishes and given a perfect send-off brings comfort and solace. Also, grief counselors argue that it’s absolutely normal to grieve or cry over the loss as it helps our defense system to expedite the healing process.

5. Unite the Community

Rituals are expressions of our values and beliefs that are meant to bring people together. Visiting a person who is mourning a loss of a loved one and extending both moral and sometimes financial support develops a true sense of community spirit around funeral homes Waite Hill, OH.

Arranging a Funeral Service

No words can justify the pain of cremation services Waite Hill, OH. Your life suddenly comes to a stop as you try to process the loss.

During such an emotionally trying time, you have to hold together to arrange for the one last goodbye to the deceased, the one they truly deserve. Planning a funeral is amongst the most challenging events, as grief and sorrow of losing the beloved can cloud your judgments.

Because of this, we are here with a list of tips to help you get started with the funeral arrangement when the time comes:

1. Look for a Funeral Director

The first thing you should do is start looking for a professional funeral director. He or she is the person who will guide you throughout the funeral process along with providing emotional support and comfort.

Many people have a misconception that hiring a funeral director costs extra money, but it cannot be further from the truth. You just cannot save anything by arranging all the services yourself, rather most people end up spending more.

A funeral director has years of experience in handling various tasks associated with funeral services. Because of his direct contact with all the funeral service providers, such as catering, music, burial, religious clergy, florists, etc., he gets you discounted prices.

2. Choose the Type of Service

If anything, the surviving family needs to honor the deceased’s last wishes about the type of service they wanted. But if they haven’t made a will, then the onus lies on the family to choose how to say goodbye.

In America, the two most common types of funerals are burial and cremation. Religious and cultural traditions play a key role in deciding whether to go with a burial funeral or cremation. Else, the family can make a consensus depending on the budgetary allocations.

In the last decade, cremation has become more prevalent in America due to fewer costs associated with it.

3. Funeral Rituals

Another critical aspect of funeral planning is honoring the religious propensities of the deceased. If he had a strong faith in the denomination, then the final services would follow religious rites and rituals. Else, there are many secularist human traditions that you can choose from.

The concept of non-traditional funerals is gaining traction in the states and your funeral director can better guide you on what’s best for you.

4. Think About Hearse to Transport the Body to Gravesite

Mostly, the casket is transported in a hearse, but that’s not the only option you have. Now, people are increasingly opting for non-traditional ways of transporting caskets like floats and horse-drawn carriages.

5. Plan for Post-Funeral Service

Many families plan a wake or memorial service to honor and remember the deceased. Close friends and family are invited to the deceased’s house or a private location like a hotel or funeral home.

Compared to the funeral, this event is less formal, where the guests commemorate the life of a person. But you can skip this event if you want or hold it anytime you deem suitable. You control the events at cremation services Waite Hill, OH.

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