Why We’re Pivoting Our Approach
For the past four years, The Frankie Fund has been a lifeline for families facing the unthinkable—losing a child while struggling with funeral costs. Based in both Cincinnati, Ohio and Rising Sun, Indiana, we serve families throughout southern Indiana and the greater Cincinnati area, and we’ve learned valuable lessons about community fundraising that we want to share with you.
Our Festival Journey: What’s Worked (And What We’ve Learned)
Our most successful fundraising efforts have come from setting up booths at local festivals throughout Ohio and southern Indiana. These face-to-face connections have allowed us to share Frankie’s story and explain our mission directly with our neighbors. Over the years, we’ve tried various approaches:
- Flower basket raffles that drew crowds and generated conversations
- Donation drives for gift items that people could support
- Candy donation stations with simple contribution jars
- Interactive voting jars where people could “vote” with their donations on different topics
These grassroots efforts have been the backbone of our fundraising, particularly in Rising Sun, Indiana, where Rachel—Frankie’s mom—lives and where our story began.
The Challenge We’re Facing
Here’s the honest truth: we’ve reached a saturation point in our local festival circuit. The wonderful people of Rising Sun and surrounding communities have been incredibly generous, but we’re seeing the same familiar faces at events, and we’ve tapped into much of our immediate local support network.
More challenging has been the shift we’ve noticed in recent years. Fundraising in 2024 and 2025 has become more difficult as people seem less responsive to charitable appeals. Whether it’s economic pressures, compassion fatigue, or simply the overwhelming number of causes competing for attention, we’ve found that empathy—while still present—requires more effort to activate.
What We Need: Your Ideas and Support
This is where we’re asking for help from our broader community. We need fresh approaches to make our festival booths more engaging and draw new supporters. Specifically, we’re looking for:
Donated Items for Giveaways
- Gift baskets or themed packages we can raffle
- Local business gift certificates or products
- Handmade items that showcase local talent
- Family-friendly prizes that create buzz at our booth
Creative Booth Ideas
- Interactive displays that respectfully tell our story
- Engaging activities that draw families over to learn about our mission
- New ways to make charitable giving feel meaningful and impactful
Partnership Opportunities
- Local businesses willing to sponsor booth materials or donate products
- Community organizations that might co-host fundraising events
- Social media influencers or community leaders who could help amplify our message
Expanding Beyond Our Comfort Zone
This second half of 2025 campaign represents our effort to reach beyond our established supporter base. We’re launching digital fundraising efforts, exploring new communities, and asking supporters like you to help us think creatively about sustainable fundraising.
The need hasn’t decreased—if anything, with rising funeral costs and economic pressures on families, the demand for our services continues to grow. We’ve supported well over a dozen families in our first four years, giving away thousands of dollars in direct assistance. Our average contribution is $750 per family, but in an ideal world, we believe it should be $5,000 or more.
Many families can’t afford funeral services even with our help, and those who run their own fundraisers often face additional costs like lost wages during their grieving period. Our dream is to cover all funeral costs completely, allowing any additional funds families raise to help them through their immediate financial needs during this devastating time.
How You Can Help Right Now
- Donate directly to our online campaign—every dollar goes straight to funeral providers
- Share our story with friends, family, and social media networks outside our immediate area
- Donate items for our upcoming festival booths or suggest creative booth ideas
- Connect us with businesses or organizations that might want to partner with us
- Volunteer at one of our upcoming festival booths to help share our mission
Looking Forward
We believe that with fresh ideas, new partnerships, and expanded outreach, we can serve even more families in the coming years. The Frankie Fund exists because no parent should have to choose between grieving their child and paying for their funeral. We’re committed to honoring Frankie’s legacy by ensuring that every family receives the support they need during their darkest hour.
Complete Transparency: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, we want you to know that 100% of your donation goes directly to paying funeral costs—nothing else. We don’t use donated funds for web hosting, advertising, administrative costs, or any other expenses. All operational costs are covered by Frankie’s family through The Henzi Foundation, ensuring your generosity reaches families exactly as intended.
If you’re reading this from the Cincinnati, Ohio area, southern Indiana, or anywhere else, and you have ideas, items to donate, or want to help us reach new supporters—please reach out. Together, we can ensure that Frankie’s legacy continues to bring comfort to families in their darkest moments.
The Frankie Fund is a program of The Henzi Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. We maintain complete transparency: 100% of all donations go directly to funeral expenses with zero administrative costs deducted. All operational expenses including web hosting and advertising are personally funded by Frankie’s family to ensure your donation reaches grieving families in full.
“So far we’ve given away $13,132 as of June 23rd, 2025”
rachel henzi, treasurer and inspiration for the fund
