Abstract Background Incentives play an important role in improving research participation, and establishing ethically acceptable incentives is essential to preserving research integrity. The Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) project uses minimally invasive tissue sampling (MITS) to ascertain the cause of death in children under five. Community beliefs about death and research with the dead necessitated a formative study on community perceptions about CHAMPS. Here we describe community perceptions about CHAMPS incentives, which include transportation of the body to place of burial, a US$40 contribution towards funeral expenses, and payment of the mortuary bill. Methods CHAMPS Kenya conducted a qualitative study of 88 community members between April 2017 and February 2018 using purposive sampling in an informal urban settlement in Kisumu County and in a rural Siaya county. Key informant interviews (n=29), semi-structured interviews (n=11), and focus group discussions (n=5) were conducted with community members, leaders, healthcare workers and caregivers. Respondents provided verbal consent, and interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. Data management was completed on Nvivo 11, and analysis iterative, involving identification and collation of themes. Results Our study findings reveal positive perceptions towards study incentives because people believed that they were appropriate to the cultural context and well aligned to burial-related practices. Some expressed preference for non-monetary forms of incentives as monetary incentives is perceived as 'selling' of the body for research, and others felt that knowing and understanding the child's cause of death should be enough motivation to participate. Respondents stated that the educational status of the participating family would influence their perception of study incentives; better-educated parents were believed to be less suspicious and view the incentives positively. However, some respondents believed that research incentives could raise suspicion among community members about the true intention of the research. Conclusion Our findings suggest that CHAMPS has achieved a positive balance of both cultural and financial value with the study incentives provided in the Kenya site. Increased community sensitization is needed to address negative perceptions that may be associated with research incentives.