Donate in memory or celebration
Do you have fond memories of visiting the V&A with a family member or friend? Or perhaps your loved one had a passion for art and design. Making a donation in their memory is a wonderful way to celebrate their life and helps us to protect the V&A's collections for the next generation.
Your donation could be used to: acquire new objects for our world-leading collections, support vital conservation work, fund research and new exhibitions or it could help us to run engaging education programmes for children and adults.
If you would like your donation to go towards a specific area of the V&A’s work or collections, please let us know and we would be happy to discuss how your gift could be used.
To find out more, contact legacy@vam.ac.uk or +44(0)20 7942 2898.
Funeral collections
You may wish to offer friends and family the option of giving a donation to charity at your loved one’s funeral or memorial service. Your funeral director can help arrange this for you, or you can send the donations directly to us by cheque, bank transfer or via an online tribute fund.
For more information on arranging a funeral collection or specifying that you would like donations for the V&A to be collected at your own funeral please get in touch.
Tribute funds
A fundraising page is an easy way to collect donations in memory of a loved one. It also allows you to create an online space where friends and family can share memories. You can do this with MuchLoved or JustGiving – simply search for 'The Victoria and Albert Museum' when selecting your charity and all of the money raised will be sent directly to us.
We would be grateful if you could contact us once your page is set up so that we can keep track of all payments, and let you know how the donations have benefitted the museum. Please email legacy@vam.ac.uk or call us on +44 (0)20 7942 2898.
Make a gift in celebration
A gift to the V&A is also a unique way to celebrate a special moment in a friend or loved one's life, such as a birthday, a wedding or anniversary.
To make a donation in celebration, you can complete the form below or, if you would like to get friends and family involved, set up a fundraising page with JustGiving and share on social media.
How in memory gifts have helped
In memory gifts are an important source of support for the V&A. We are always extremely grateful when a family chooses to celebrate the life of their loved one through a gift to the museum, and wherever possible, we use the money raised to fund a project that reflects the interests of the person being remembered. Below are some examples of conservation projects and acquisitions that recent gifts have supported.
Jonathan Nevitt was an art enthusiast and collector of ceramics throughout his life and had supported the V&A for many years. Donations raised from family and friends in his memory were used to acquire a large collared bowl by preeminent twentieth century British studio potter, John Ward. The bowl is an outstanding example of his use of material, technique, sense of form, colour and use of matt glazes. It can be seen on display in the V&A Ceramics Galleries.
Andreas Christou had a keen interest in the Victorian era and had aspirations of working at the V&A as a curator. When he sadly passed away during his university studies, his friends and family set up a fundraising page to collect donations in his memory. The money raised was used to fund the conservation of three Victorian photo albums: two relating to the V&A collection, and one by the 19th-century photographer, Felice Beato.
Annabel Freyberg was a journalist, author, and frequent visitor to the V&A. She had a passion for ceramics, and in 1999 published a book entitled Ceramics for the Home. Generous donations in Annabel’s memory contributed to the acquisition of an extremely rare ceramic bowl by Hans Coper. The large bowl, which reflects the artist’s dual interest in modern painting and ancient art, is now on display in the V&A’s Ceramics Galleries.
Ways to donate
Online
You can make an individual donation through JustGiving. Simply click ‘donate’ and you can leave a message to tell us about your gift.
Tribute funds
An online tribute fund can be set up on MuchLoved or JustGiving.
By post
To donate by post, please download and fill out the form below. If you are enclosing a cheque, please make this payable to the 'The Victoria and Albert Museum'.
Please return your completed form to:
Head of Legacy Giving
Victoria and Albert Museum
South Kensington
London SW7 2RL