Funeral Financial Assistance
Please read the following letter, written by PMA Executive Director Casey Husseman.
With a heavy heart, I'm sad to announce the Funeral Financial Assistance fund (FFA) is closed for now.
FFA 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.
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 $1300, our fund helps families who are often struggling and living paycheck to paycheck by no fault of their own.
If we raise $5,000 we are able to help 4 to 5 families. If we raise $30,000 we are able to help 16 to 20 families.
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
What is the Funeral Financial Assistance fund?
The Funeral Financial Assistance (FFA) fund helps families pay for part of cremation, aquamation, terramation, or burial arrangements for a deceased loved one. The fund cannot cover 100% of funeral arrangement costs, and the application process for the fund requires either a next of kin or responsible party to steward the arrangements and cover the remainder of the cost. The fund is created and administered by People's Memorial Association seeking to fulfill our vision of a future where everyone has access to after-death arrangements that reflect their personal values and resources.
The application and guidelines for who is most likely to be accepted as a recipient are linked below. An application must be completed and submitted by someone stewarding the end-of-life affairs, and the deceased must be cared for by one of People's Memorials Association's vetted Partner Funeral Homes in Washington state. Determinations are primarily based on demonstrable financial need, as informed by Area Median Income, outlined in the guidelines. If you believe your situation qualifies, please submit the entire five-page application along with a letter of recommendation to People’s Memorial Association at info@peoplesmemorial.org or fax to 206-529-3801.
If you or someone you know is in need of financial support for funeral services, please review our guidelines and application. FFA funds are only available to those who's loved one has already passed, and funds cannot be set aside for anyone still living. If you believe your case meets the requirements, you may submit your application by email to info@peoplesmemorial.org or fax 206-526-3801.
Financial support provided by PMA is limited to care within Washington State, and the arrangements must be handled by one of the PMA Contracted Funeral Homes. This program can provide up to 75% of the cost of cremation or alkaline hydrolysis, and up to 50% of the cost of direct burial (cemetery plot not included). There is additional limited support for terramation (aka natural organic reduction) provided by our partner Return Home, administered via the Co-op Funeral Home.
The cost for funeral services increases each year, yet the support services have dwindled.
The Funeral Financial Assistance program hosted by PMA is the only of its kind supporting families actively dealing with a loss, and helps families retain control over their end-of-life choices. This program is primarily supported by individual donors, and not sustainably funded today. If you would like to support a family in need by making a gift to this fund, please donate to the FFA fund here. 100% of donations via this link go to families in need. Thank you.
In 2023, we helped 31 families with funeral services. Since 2018, PMA has supported over 120 families experiencing significant financial hardship, dispensing over $75,000 in grants over the lifetime of this program. 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 the only organization 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.
