Strengthening Funeral Service
The Funeral Service Foundation has been a beacon of education, innovation, and support in funeral service for four generations. In 2002, Foundation leaders planted the first seeds of the Hand-in-Hand Endowment, which now sits at over $11 Million.
The endowment, combined with gifts at every level from across the profession, allows us to impact the careers of thousands of funeral service professionals, award grants to dozens of grief-focused organizations, and support initiatives and research that strengthen our communities and advance our profession.
The Foundation releases an annual impact report, highlighting the year’s achievements, and celebrating the donors whose support makes the Foundation’s good work possible.
2023 IMPACT REPORT
Your support and involvement helped make 2023 another impactful year for the Funeral Service Foundation, and helped illuminate the meaningful work that funeral service professionals are called to every day.
Highlights: With the help of our donors and partners, we:
- Awarded over 250 scholarships for academic and or professional development
- Permanently endowed Funeral Service Crisis Response Fund, which stands ready to support communities facing emergent situations
- Raised a record $170,000 in support of the foundation’s resources and programs at the annual Golf Classic in Las Vegas
- Honored and memorialized the life of board member Todd Van Beck as the Foundation’s 2023 Distinguished Service Award winner.
- Permanently endowed the Todd Van Beck Academic Scholarship
2022 Impact Report
Your support and involvement helped make 2022 another impactful year for the Funeral Service Foundation, and helped illuminate the meaningful work that funeral service professionals are called to every day.
Highlights: With the help of our donors and partners, we:
- Launched When a Child Dies: Planning Acts of Love and Legacy, now in the hands of thousands of grieving families
- Granted $176,150 in support of mission-aligned organizations, including the Children’s Bereavement Center of South Texas in the wake of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas
- Expanded our scholarship program to include scholarships to attend Certified Celebrant Training, and the National Funeral Directors and Morticians Association Annual Convention and Exposition
- Offered the first-ever David C. Baue NFDA Professional Women’s Conference Scholarships
- Celebrated 20 years of offering academic scholarships
- Welcomed more than 70 organizations to our annual Golf Classic
2021 Impact Report
Your support and involvement helped make 2021 one of the Funeral Service Foundation’s most impactful years yet, and helped shine a bright light on the profession’s resilience and devotion to grieving families and communities.
Dollars Raised: The Foundation raised $1.1 Million, via annual appeals, major gifts, events, Crisis Response, and cremation recycling proceeds.
Highlights: Among our many noteworthy accomplishments, it was truly a year of “firsts.” Generous donor support allowed us to…
- Launch Journey to Serve—the first-ever joint initiative with the ICCFA Educational Foundation—designed to recruit military veterans into all aspects of funeral service
- Grant $250,023 to mission-aligned organizations, including the first-ever major grant to a Canadian organization
- Present the first-ever Distinguished Service Award to Foundation Trustee Emeritus, Bob Horn
- Welcome 12 first-time sponsors and underwriters to our Annual Golf Classic
- Award the first Hunter M. Harbeson academic scholarship to a military veteran
2020 Award-Winning Impact Report
The Foundation marked 75 years of supporting the funeral service profession by responding with compassion and urgency to the unprecedented needs created by the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Dollars Raised: Just as funeral service professionals answered the call to serve, they answered the call to give. The Foundation raised a record $1.36 Million, including $560,000 in cremation recycling proceeds, and $560,000 in support of the COVID-19 Crisis Response Fund.
Highlights: The Foundation provided grants to more than 30 organizations, including 17 grants to organizations serving grieving communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
TACKLING GRIEF AND SELF-CARE AMIDST THE PANDEMIC
Funds from the COVID-19 Crisis response fund allowed the Foundation to create and distribute free award-winning community and professional resources, including Grieving Alone & Together: Responding to the Loss of Your Loved One During the COVID-19 Pandemic, and Caring for Families & Caring for Yourself: A Self-Care Handbook for Funeral Service Professionals.
The Foundation teamed up with the ICCFA Educational Foundation to launch the Journey to Serve initiative, designed to connect military veterans with careers throughout the funeral service profession.
REFRESHING OUR BRAND
For 75 years, the Foundation has evolved and adapted to the funeral service profession’s changing landscape, and in 2020, the Foundation updated our logo and mission to reflect funeral service’s connection and impact on grieving communities, while supporting the professionals who go to work every day to serve families in need.
2019 Impact Report
Dollars Raised: $1.25 Million, including more than half a million dollars raised via cremation recycling proceeds.
Highlights: In 2019, the Foundation awarded 377 deserving students and professionals across the US and Canada with academic and professional development scholarships, including the first-ever scholarships to attend the NFDA International Convention & Expo, and a record 25 academic scholarships.
The National Alliance for Children’s Grief, TAPS, and the National Pediatric Palliative Care Coalition were among the grief-focused organizations that received Foundation grants.
The Foundation’s highly regarded and award-winning Youth & Funerals initiative expanded its message into 48 states and 15 countries with the help of partnerships across the profession.
2018 Impact Report
Dollars Raised: $585,000 raised in support of the Foundation’s mission.
Highlights: 2018 saw a 73% increase in grantmaking over 2017, and awarded grants to organizations including Alliance of Hope, Hospice Foundation of America, and TAPS. The Foundation also partnered with The Boys & Girls Clubs of America to share the Youth & Funerals message as part of its Be There grief initiative.
Supporting education has been a Foundation cornerstone for four generations, and in 2018 the Foundation expanded its academic scholarship program and awarded its first-ever academic scholarships to Canadian students of funeral service.
IMPACT REPORT ARCHIVES
The Foundation’s annual impact reports archive the Foundation’s rich history within funeral service. Explore below:
