In North America, the average cost of a funeral can be anywhere between $7,000 and $10,000, which is a large sum of money to come up with if you are unexpectedly facing the burden of paying for the funeral arrangements of a family member. In previous years, family members left to bear the expenses were left to pull for donations, take out loans, and even opt for less-expensive funeral arrangements. However, thanks to the modern convenience of crowdfunding, you may have a better option.

Crowdfunding involves setting up a funding site to ask for donations to cover the costs of a specific thing and this can work for raising enough money to cover the costs of a funeral. However, in order for your crowdfunding efforts to be successful, there are a few simple keys you should keep in mind.

1. Take advantage of well-known crowdfunding sites. - With free website hosts, you may be tempted to take a few minutes to just create your own website requesting for help paying for funeral expenses. However, it will be a much better idea to go with some of the awesome crowdfunding sites that are already set up for the precise purpose of crowdfunding. These sites usually take a small percentage of the donations to cover operating costs, but in exchange you get the advantage of using a site that is well-known enough for people to feel comfortable about making donations. Additionally, top-notch crowdfunding sites make it easier to create a page without a lot of guesswork or extra effort on your part. Look around for the best personal crowdfunding sites for more information. 

2. Be transparent in your requests and descriptive with your content. - At a time when you need funding to help cover the costs of a loved one's funeral expenses, being shy about sharing with others the true desperation of your situation will not be encouraging enough to get people to donate to your cause. Make sure your description of why your family needs help is open and honest. Be forthcoming with the dire need about the financial situation.

3. Put effort into spreading the word about crowdfunding efforts. - Creating a page on a crowdfunding site is only part of the process of effectively raising funds to cover funeral expenses. Make sure you put a fair amount of effort into getting the word out about what you're doing. Share the site on social media and refer family members to do the same. Have the crowdfunding site address published with the obituary to ask for donations. The more effort you put into getting the page recognized, the more successful you will be with donations.  

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