Funeral Financial Assistance
A Letter from Executive Director Casey Husseman, September 30, 2024
With a heavy heart, I'm sad to announce the Funeral Financial Assistance Fund is closed for now.
The fund relies on grants and donations from the general public to stay open. If you would like to donate so that we can keep supporting families in need in Washington state, you can Donate to the Funeral Financial Assistance Fund. All donations go straightly into the program with 0% going to operations or overhead. PMA contributes to this fund through the proceeds of the sales of our inventory of donated burial plots.
Every dollar donated allows us to continue to serve more families. With the average cost of cremation (the most popular form of disposition in Washington) being about $1,300, our fund helps families who are often struggling and living paycheck to paycheck by no fault of their own.
For every $1,000 raised the fund can assist 1 family. It is our goal to help 30 families each year.
If you would like to support a family in need by making a gift to this fund, please donate to the FFA fund here. Thank you.
We are calling on our neighbors, citizens, and members to help us with our mission. Everyone deserves dignity, even in death, and that includes getting the funeral they desire, whether that is burial, cremation, or aquamation.
Sincerely,
Casey Husseman
Executive Director
In 2023, People's Memorial Association helped 31 families maintain control over their loved one's funeral services through the Funeral Financial Assistance Fund.
The cost for funeral services increases each year, yet the support services have dwindled. Since 2018, PMA has supported over 120 families experiencing significant financial hardship, dispensing over $75,000 in grants. Although the spirit of this fund is more than just numbers, it’s about the individual people and the friends and family members grieving their loss. Many of those who need financial assistance are young parents who are working hard to provide for their own families. Here’s a story of one young mother who recently applied:
Robin’s professor wrote to us on her behalf, advocating for her student who needed financial assistance for her father’s funeral arrangements. Robin is a single mother who recently broke the cycle of homelessness and is pursuing an associates degree in Applied Science.
Working hard to get on her own two feet, Robin wasn’t prepared for the sudden cost of her father’s funeral arrangements after his unexpected death. As his only next-of-kin, the responsibility of handling his arrangements was hers to handle. We have the opportunity to show Robin she’s not alone in this. By providing her with financial assistance so she can pay for her father’s cremation, Robin won’t experience yet another barrier while she tries her best to be a good mother and outstanding student.
PMA is one of the only organizations offering this type of support. There are limited to no resources provided by the state or counties to help in situations like these. If you would like to support a family in need by making a gift to this fund, please donate via this link. Thank you.
