I am looking for a word....it has to do with funerals.....sorry for topic of funerals

The word describes this :

When at the funeral, someone collects money for the family to go towards the funeral expenses. There's a special Italian word for it. Usually someone has a box or an envelope that the money goes into. It might be a word that is "made-up" by Italian-Americans, it might be one from the old country. Either way, I was in search of that word or phrase which pertains to this practice.

Thanks for all help.
D.

Well, the only reference I found with Google was your post. Next stop was Babelfish, which translated "collection box" into "scatola dell'accumulazione". Maybe someone else knows.