When a member’s family is bereaved, the association’s WhatsApp group becomes a funeral committee overnight. Money moves fast, by M-Pesa and often to one person’s phone, and the questions follow just as fast: who has paid, how much is in, and where it went. A clear contribution list answers them before anyone has to ask.
Here is a free template, the messages to send with it, and the habits that keep a funeral appeal above suspicion.
Download the free funeral contribution list
The template is a small Excel file (42 KB) that opens in Excel, Google Sheets or WPS Office on a phone. It has four tabs:
- Summary: the target, how to contribute, total pledged, total received, total spent and balance in hand, plus a ready-made update message for WhatsApp that fills itself in.
- Contributions: one row per contributor, with the amount pledged, the amount paid, the M-Pesa code and the balance.
- Expenses: every payment the committee makes, with the receipt and who approved it.
- How to use: a short guide. Yellow cells are for you to fill in; grey cells calculate themselves.
Get the funeral contribution list (Excel)
Free. Enter your email and the download starts here; we will email you the link too.
A sample contribution request message
Replace the brackets and send it once, from the chair or secretary.
Dear members, it is with great sadness that we announce the death of [Name], [relationship, e.g. father of our member Jane Wanjiku, Class of 1998]. The funeral committee is collecting contributions to support the family. Please contribute through Paybill [number], account [name]. Our target is KSh [amount] by [date]. We will post an update every evening. Thank you for standing with the family.
In Kiswahili:
Ndugu wanachama, kwa masikitiko makubwa tunatangaza kifo cha [Jina], [uhusiano]. Kamati ya mazishi inakusanya michango ya kusaidia familia. Tafadhali changieni kupitia Paybill [nambari], akaunti [jina]. Lengo letu ni KSh [kiasi] kufikia [tarehe]. Tutatuma taarifa ya michango kila jioni. Asanteni kwa kusimama na familia.
The daily update
Post one update every evening while contributions are open. The template writes it for you from the totals:
Update on contributions in memory of [Name]: KSh 186,500 received from 74 contributors, against a target of KSh 300,000. Spent so far: KSh 40,000. Balance in hand: KSh 146,500. To contribute: [Paybill number], account [account name]. Thank you for standing with the family.
Share totals in the group. If members want to see who has contributed, agree that first, and never post anyone’s phone number.
Naming the WhatsApp group
If you open a separate group for the funeral, give it a name that says what it is for, and keep it respectful:
- In loving memory of [Name]
- [Name] funeral committee
- Celebrating the life of [Name]
- [Family name] family support
Set it so only admins can send messages if it is for announcements, and close it after the final account.
Five habits that keep a funeral appeal trusted
- One account in the committee’s name: the association’s paybill or bank account, never a personal phone number. No paybill yet? Safaricom’s Short-Term Paybill runs for up to six months and needs no business registration, but one named person applies for it and it pays out only to a bank account. For a funeral, Safaricom asks for the applicant’s ID, bank details, and a burial permit, death notification or mortuary admission letter.
- Two people approve every payment, usually the treasurer and the chair, and every payment has a receipt.
- A receipt for every contributor, even a one-line message with the M-Pesa code.
- An update every evening while contributions are open.
- A final account within a week of the funeral: money in, money spent, and what happened to any balance, agreed with the family.
The better way: a standing welfare fund
An appeal starts from zero at the worst possible moment. A welfare fund, where members contribute a small amount every month, can pay out on the day a member is bereaved, and the committee can spend its energy on the family instead of the money. How to run a welfare fund in the open.
Alumnipad keeps your member list and each member’s welfare contributions in one place, and runs appeals with a target and progress members can see. Plans start free for up to 50 members, and SMS and WhatsApp reminders come with the Professional plan and above; see what each plan includes.
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