Brookfield, Wis. – The Funeral Service Foundation announced today that it has awarded a $75,000 grant to Alliance of Hope, the leading online source of support for people grieving the death of a loved one by suicide. The grant will allow the organization to better serve and help more suicide loss survivors through the development of a state-of-the-art website.

Since its 2008 founding, hundreds of thousands of people have accessed the Alliance of Hope website and its forums to understand and cope with the complex emotional aftermath of suicide. “Our website is our core infrastructure. It goes far beyond being a repository of information. It is where we meet and greet people, and gently guide them through the survivor journey,” says Alliance of Hope Founder Ronnie Susan Walker. “For first time ever suicide loss survivors will have a comprehensive resource unparalleled to what we could provide previously. We are thrilled to be able to do this thanks to Funeral Service Foundation and its generous donors.”  

Funeral service professionals serve nearly 44,000 families a year affected by suicide, and approximately 6 million people in the U.S. are coping with the aftermath of suicide. “We are on the front lines when it comes to providing grief support,” said Randy Schoedinger, co-chair of the Foundation’s grants committee, and CEO of Schoedinger Funeral & Cremation Service in Columbus, Ohio. “The service that Alliance of Hope provides is vital to the families we serve and our communities.”

The Funeral Service Foundation awards grants annually to organizations and initiatives that underscore its mission to support funeral service in building meaningful relationships with the families and communities it serves.  The Alliance of Hope and the Funeral Service Foundation will also collaborate on series of webinars and seminars designed to connect funeral service professionals to Alliance of Hope’s resources. “We are honored to support the Alliance of Hope’s mission and share the organization’s essential work with the profession,” said Foundation Executive Director Danelle O’Neill. 

Hosted by the National Funeral Directors Association, the webinars and seminars will be held in conjunction with the anticipated 2018 launch of the Alliance of Hope’s new website. Further information will announced early next year.