This is actually a really good question. I think a lot of people assume that the only time you would buy a donor wall is if you were placing someone’s name on the wall, you know… in memory of. But this isn't necessarily the case. You can also purchase donor walls and donor plaques to show appreciation towards donors, commemorate someone for doing something heroic, or even to mention who planned your building.

And there are moving stories when it comes to donor walls. One of the stories I have seen lately was for a gentleman that had suddenly died of cardiac arrest. His wife wanted to set up a memorial for him and needed help with the contributions. She ended up building the memorial for her husband and with it she also added a donor wall, to thank all the people that contributed money to the memorial.

The wall included the contributors name, how much they contributed and in what way they knew this man. Not only does it pay tribute to the person that had passed away, but it also pays tribute to the contributors as well. It's just a really nice way to not only say goodbye, but to also say thank you as well.

You can be an individual business, company, or as we can see above, even an individual person that simply wants to celebrate a person's life. The donor plaques are also a really nice option if you want to pay tribute to a handful of donors - one of my all-time favorite plates is the Tree Of Life. This is a standing plaque with bronze tree trunk and gold plated (or silver) leaves which the names of the donors are etched on. Very inspiring, very beautiful and very well-made.