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Music in Worship is Selah's occasional newsletter for church musicians, with interviews and helpful articles for choir directors, organists, and leaders of congregational song

Choral particulars
Does Your Choir Budget Need More Funds?
David Schaap

Consider establishing memorial anthems in your church as an additional source of support for the music program. Many churches allow people to donate money towards memorial flowers, but a memorial anthem is a longer-lasting alternative.

Some suggestions to get your program going:
· Keep an accurate and up-to-date list of who donated what, when, and in whose memory (or honor).
· It is preferable for you to keep control over anthem selection, so have the donors give you a date or choice of dates they would prefer, and then select an appropriate new anthem as the memorial.
· Publish the memorial credits every time the anthem is performed. This is a bonus to the donor, but it will be much appreciated.
· Publish all donations and the anthem title in your church's newsletter on a regular basis to keep the congregation aware of this opportunity.
· If you have a calligrapher in the congregation, ask them to letter the memorial on the anthem cover. Or use the rubber stamp method. But make sure that the anthems are marked.
· Periodically publish a complete list of all memorial anthems, arranged alphabetically by the name of the person in whose memory the anthem was purchased (or by date of purchase, which allows you to keep a running list).
· Start with your choir members as potential donors. They know the value and excitement of learning a good new anthem. And the whole choir will work harder on it!

If such a program as this allows you to add even an additional three to four anthems a year, you're that far ahead.