Written by It’s now a year on from the sudden passing of TV celebrity and ambassador for Battersea Dog’s and Cat’s Home, Paul O’Grady; and the tribute page set up in his name by the charity continues to attract many donations.
Paul O’Grady was an immensely popular TV and radio presenter with a passion for animals, especially dogs. The first series of ‘Paul O’Grady: For the love of dogs’ aired in September 2012, with Paul also becoming a very much ‘hands-on’ ambassador for Battersea until his untimely death in March 2023.
In October 2023, on what would have marked the 11th anniversary of Paul becoming their ambassador; Battersea announced plans to further help thousands of animals in need, with money raised from public donations following his passing. The tribute fund page continues to support lives at Battersea, with the fund collecting more than £10,000 over the past 12 months.
Battersea’s state-of-the-art clinic facilities have been named in Paul O’Grady honour and money raised from the tribute fund set up in his name has been allocated to help dogs and cats with complex medical needs.
Battersea uses the goDonate inMem platform for online tribute funds, and when Paul O’Grady suddenly passed away, within 24 hours the charity had created a tribute page in his memory and sent an email to their supporter base. The mainstream media also picked up this news story and within just a couple of weeks the tribute fund page raised over £295,000.
Now at a staggering £305,000, the inMem online tribute fund continues to grow and aid the vital support and care Battersea gives to the animals that come through its doors.
Battersea noted, “Every year, we invest hundreds of thousands of pounds to provide the very best care for animals and, where possible, these animals are treated by our expert veterinary team; however, in some cases external specialists and surgical teams are needed. Battersea will use the tribute fund on life-saving and transformative medical procedures for these animals in their care.”
Recently revealed, Paul O’Grady himself left an incredible £500,000 in his will to Battersea. Underpinning his dedication to the charity and reaffirming the appropriateness of creating a tribute fund in his name to support lives at Battersea.
A fully-branded dedicated tribute-fund offering gives your charity the ability to pivot quickly and create a fund on behalf of a charity ambassador or celebrity with a connection to your cause. This provides a reassuring place for your supporters to offer tributes and raise funds.
Find out more about our inMem tribute platform here.