Memorial Gift Program

The loss of a beloved pet is a heartbreaking experience that we all must face at some point in our lives. For many pet owners, their furry companions are more than just animals – they are cherished members of the family. When they pass away, it can leave a void that is difficult to fill. In these moments of grief, the Texas Veterinary Medical Foundation’s Memorial Gift Program offers a meaningful way for veterinarians and clients to honor and remember their furry loved ones.

Sending a memorial gift is a beautiful way to pay tribute to the special bond and unconditional love that we share with our pets. For many clients, the memorial gift program has provided a way to cope with the loss. When you make a memorial gift, TVMF will send a card to the family of the individual or pet you are honoring, letting them know that you have made a gift in memory of their loved one.

Strengthen the Bond

For years, veterinarians have used the Memorial Gift Program to serve as an effective client-relations tool. Anyone who has lost a family member, loved one, or beloved pet may find a memorial gift to be a comforting gesture. The Memorial Gift Program works to benefit your practice while remembering your clients in their time of grief. The benefits to you include:

  • Helps you deal with the difficulty of client grief
  • Serves to strengthen the bond you have with the client. This client is likely to be a customer for life.
  • Increases “word of mouth” promotion of your practice
  • Is completely tax-deductible
  • Gets your staff involved so you can spend your time practicing veterinary medicine
  • It’s simple!
  • Donate Online: It’s safe and secure

Remembering a client through the grieving process is vital to your continued relations with that client, but most veterinarians have a difficult time handling this emotional situation. TVMF has given considerable thought to helping you deal with client grief and has developed the Memorial Gift Program to help you handle this challenge.

Getting Started is Simple

How can your clinic participate? Because all practices are different, there are two ways to participate in the program.
  • TVMF sends the memorial card on the clinic’s behalf:
    • Memorials can be made by Mail, Phone, Fax, or Email. Click here to download a .pdf form you may use to submit your gifts.
    • Click here for directions on submitting your memorial gift donations online through your TVMA member portal.
    • Single donations can be made by using the online donation form on our website here.
    • A minimum contribution level of $10 per memorial covers program costs and helps fund more programs for the profession. We believe a $10 contribution is an appropriate memorial to the departed companions of our clients.
    • Click here to view a sample of the card.
  • Purchase blank memorial cards from TVMF to send directly from your clinic.
    • Click here to purchase cards.
    • $150 donation includes 15 cards, envelopes and TVMF brochures.
    • Click here to view a sample card.

The Benefits

What benefit does your gift provide to the Foundation?

Increasingly, the Foundation is called upon to do more for veterinary medicine, and we look to our Memorial Gift Program to supply the resources. As the primary source of income for the Foundation, the Memorial Gift Program helps fund all of the Foundation’s efforts, including TVMF’s LEAP Program, student research projects, community outreach and education, Rusk Veterinary Assistance Grants, and disaster relief.

Will the Memorial Gift Program help your client relations? Just ask these practitioners…

There is nothing I’ve done in 30 years as a veterinarian that has had such a positive effect on my bereaved clients as this program. My clients are tremendously moved upon seeing a contribution made to the Foundation in their pet’s name. My only regret is that I didn’t become involved in this program sooner. —Dr. Lloyd Fiedler, Dallas

“The Memorial Gift Program is so easy to use. If a long-time client’s animal dies, I just tell my receptionist to send a contribution and she handles it from there. All we have to do is fill out the donation form and send it in. We have received notes from many people who mention that they really appreciated the gift. We always cared – they just didn’t realize it before.” —Dr. Sonja Lee, Lubbock

“The program has been a tremendous plus for our practice. It has worked better than other things we have tried to console grieving clients. The memorial gift seems to bind the client to our practice. We care very much about our clients, and this program definitely shows it.”—Dr.Rolf Lippke, Conroe 

To get involved in the Memorial Gift Program, call 512/452-4224. The Memorial Gift Program is the primary fundraising tool of the Texas Veterinary Medical Foundation and has been well received by the veterinary community in Texas. In fact, many regular contributors to the Memorial Gift Program regard it as one of their most effective practice-building activities.