How Do I Donate in Memory of Someone?
Cardio Renal Foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charity organization. Your donation advances our mission to provide a solution beyond dialysis.
When someone dies after a long fight with kidney or heart disease, the people who loved them often want the same thing: for something to come out of it. A memorial gift — a donation made in a person's memory — is one of the oldest ways to do that. It turns flowers that fade in a week into funding that keeps working. This guide explains how memorial giving works, what "in lieu of flowers" actually sets in motion, and how to make a gift that the family will know about.
What a Memorial Gift Is
A memorial gift is any donation made in memory of someone who has died. A close cousin is the tribute gift, made in honor of someone still living — a patient fighting their way through dialysis, a caregiver, a doctor or nurse who went above and beyond. Charities record the name with the gift, and most will notify the family (for memorial gifts) or the honoree (for tribute gifts) that a gift was made in their name. The amount is normally kept private; the fact of the gift is what gets shared.
What "In Lieu of Flowers" Means
When an obituary or funeral notice says "In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to…", the family is asking mourners to send the money they would have spent on flowers to a chosen charity instead. It is a request, not a rule — sending both is always acceptable — and it usually reflects something the person cared about, or the disease their family wants to see beaten. If a notice names the Cardio Renal Foundation, this page is how to carry out that wish.
How to Make a Memorial Gift
- Online: use the Donate button on this site and, where the form allows, note that the gift is in memory of your loved one. To be certain the dedication is recorded and the family is notified, you can also email us the details at donations@cardiorenalfoundation.org — the name of the person you are remembering, and the name and address of the family member who should receive the acknowledgment.
- By mail: contact us at (646) 770-3946 or the email above for current mailing instructions, and include the same dedication details with your check.
- Through your IRA or your will: memorial giving can also be built into larger plans — a qualified charitable distribution during your lifetime, or a bequest that carries your own name forward. Both are covered elsewhere in this education library.
For Families: Setting Up Memorial Giving
If you are arranging a service for someone who lived with kidney or heart disease, you can name the Cardio Renal Foundation for memorial gifts in the obituary and funeral program. Our legal name is Cardio Renal Foundation Inc, EIN 33-4359765. Funeral homes handle this wording routinely — just give them the name. If you would like us to know in advance so acknowledgments to your family are handled promptly, a short email to donations@cardiorenalfoundation.org is all it takes.
Why Families Choose Research
Dialysis keeps people alive, and everyone who has sat in that chair — or in the chair beside it — knows its cost in time and strength. Memorial gifts to the Cardio Renal Foundation support education for patients and families facing these diseases today, and research aimed at a fundamentally different future: one where dialysis is a last resort instead of the default. A gift in someone's name says the fight they fought is still being fought.
Giving from a donor-advised fund? You can recommend a grant to the Cardio Renal Foundation from your donor-advised fund at any time — just name Cardio Renal Foundation Inc, EIN 33-4359765, as the grantee. You will also find us in the PayPal Giving Fund — see our Donor Advised Fund page for how it works.
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And if you are on the other side of this page — the family member writing the obituary and choosing the words — our companion for your task is how do I ask for donations in lieu of flowers?
At the Cardio Renal Foundation, gifts from readers like you keep plain-language education like this free for the patients and families who need it.
This article is informational only and is not legal or financial advice. For gifts involving estates or funeral arrangements, your funeral director or attorney can help with the details.