1 in 12 children will experience the death of a parent or sibling by 18, and that number doubles by the age of 25. (Judi’s House / JAG Institute, 2023)  In 2011, in an effort to address the gap between the scale of the issue and the funding and resources available, the New York Life Foundation, one of the largest corporate funders in the childhood bereavement space, partnered with the National Alliance for Children’s Grief, a national, professional alliance dedicated to education, advocacy and raising awareness about childhood bereavement to create Grief Reach. We have a shared belief that all bereaved children, no matter where they live or their circumstances, should have the support and resources they need to adapt positively to a loss in their lives. This dedicated funding opportunity is a critical support to a field that has been historically underfunded. Since its inception, the program has funded grants supporting improvements in bereavement services for children and their families in communities across the country.  In 2022 alone, the program committed $1,250,000 in grants.

This competitive funding opportunity has the following goals:

• Increase access to bereavement support services in local communities, especially diverse communities
• Enhance the capacity of organizations providing bereavement support service
• Expand bereavement support services to address unmet needs
• Support communities dealing with grief and loss with tangible resources
• This funding opportunity is offered twice a year.

We would like to invite any organization that currently serves young people who have experienced a death of a loved one to apply for this competitive grant opportunity to enhance access to and increase grief support for youth and their families.   There are two cycles annually with a dedicated focus and announcements of upcoming cycles are made via e-mail blast, social media posts and on the dedicated cycle web page. The New York Life Foundation and NACG look forward to partnering with you.