Better Place Forests is one of those ideas whose time has come.  As a 33-year funeral director who has seen the social mores of Death Care move away from the traditional options during that time, I see where there is a place for ideas like Better Place Forest to catch on with a segment of the population and embrace their idea of memorialization.

However, new ideas and businesses sometimes don’t happen as fast or as linear as the founders may anticipate.  While I don’t know what is behind the move, Better Place Forests has announced that their business system will become a Non-Profit business.  You can read about the company’s evolution to Non-Profit status here.

The company will still be an operating business but will operate as a Non-Profit.  Non-profit businesses still operate with sound business principles in the economic sphere of commerce.  I know something about them as I have been associated with a company in the Non-Profit Senior Living and Health Care realm for almost 20 years.  I served six years on the Board, and as Chairman of the Board for Vivie for three years, and also served for six years as Chairman of the Board of Vivie spin-off partnership Ethos Home Health.  

Both of those companies are Non-profit but work at building business, gaining market share, providing employment opportunities, and grinding out financial success as we compete with profit-oriented businesses every day.  The only difference being instead of rewarding shareholders with profits, those profits are put back into the communities that we serve.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

So, my guess is that Better Place Forests will somehow transfer shareholder stock into a current non-profit status.  There is probably a tax advantage for shareholders to do so, however, I’m guessing that the foundation of the company will stay intact and move forward with a slightly altered business plan that will still be focused on preserved forests as a memorialization destination for many people.

And, I’m also guessing that there is still ample opportunity to help foster some of your clients needs and wishes about being memorialized in a natural preserve.  Partnering with Better Place Forests can help your funeral home or cemetery do just that.  You can learn how to do that here.

Related Article — “Why I started Better Place Forests – Brad Milne”

Related Article —  “Better Place Forests becomes both “High Touch” and “High Tech”.  Funeral Director Daily October 8, 2024.

For what it is worth — Better Place Forests has been a sponsor of Funeral Director Daily and for that I am grateful.  Their sponsorship, along with the other sponsors, has allowed subscribers to receive Funeral Director Daily free of charge five days per week in their e-mail inbox.  I don’t know if the non-profit status will change that relationship but I do know from my affiliation with BPF that they have a great group of people working there and have ideals of conservation of the environment coupled with memorialization of society in a sustainable environment as the precipice of their existence and that is commendable.

There has been no better people to work with than Better Place Forest CEO Adam Tibbs and Strategic Partnerships executive Tim Rogers in building our relationship and whatever path their lives take I wish them much success.

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“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”

If you read Funeral Director Daily and listen to me when I have a chance to be a guest on an industry podcast you know that I believe that there is a great, and growing, potential market in what I call the “Cremation Aftermarket”.  My take on the the “Cremation Aftermarket” is that many people who become the guardians of cremated remains don’t know what to do with those remains.

Because of that those remains end up in closets or on shelves in homes and as time passes the guardians of such remains question what they are going to do with them, but never get around to doing anything.

It’s because of that that I think a great opportunity that is available to funeral homes is to let these guardians know — during preneed, at need, and even well into post-need — that there are options to memorialize those remains and take the responsibility of being the guardian off of their shoulders.  It’s especially important when you realize that a funeral home can not only help a guardian make a decision but the funeral home may also profit off the sale of many of these cremation aftermarket products and memorials.

As a matter of fact, on this episode of Podcasket, I bring up the “Cremation Aftermarket” and the host, Tukios CEO Curtis Funk makes the comment about a built-in market for such when he comments, “. . you can market to (these guardians) and they want you to market to them. . . . .Reach-out again. . . (think of it as) Life-cycle marketing”.

Podcasket Episode #6:  Cremation Aftermarket discussion begins at the 39:06 mark and lasts for about six minutes.

With that comment CEO Funk is acknowledging the great amount of people who have cremated remains within their guardianship and probably are wondering how to relieve themselves of that responsibility of guardianship in a tasteful fashion.

Late last week I learned of a great promotion to do just that.  My friend Kelly Roberts, founder of funeral service alternative Sendoff, sent me an email about his upcoming “Ashes among the Oaks” event.

You can learn about the event here, but what it is is an opportunity to learn, in a gentle way, how to “let go” of those remains.  Roberts and the Minneapolis metropolitan-area based Sendoff have teamed with Better Place Forests of the St. Croix Valley for an afternoon in the local Better Place Forest.

My guess is that Roberts, Sendoff, and Better Place Forests hope to make some sales for Better Place Forests with this event, but reaching-out and giving these guardians an opportunity to realize that some type of memorialization can be probably should be done for the cremations remains that they brought home yesterday or decades ago is great public relations on its own.

Sendoff, which sub-titles itself “Funerals Reimagined” is, in my opinion on the right track to capture tomorrow’s Death Care consumer.  In a world where that consumer will make choices about Disposition, Celebration, and Memorialization, a company offering what Sendoff does, especially in the Celebration and Memorialization modes, may capture much of the business from consumers that traditional funeral homes no longer appeal to.

Take a look at this page from the Sendoff employee profiles and read the bios to get an idea of some of the celebrations that many might prefer for themselves.

Here is the website for Sendoff.

Related — “Lost in a sea of ash – When wildfire destroys a home – and a loved one’s urn – the search begins.  Los Angeles Times (CA)

Here is a short video from KARE TV – Channel 11 NBC Minneapolis about “Sendoff – Funerals Reimagined”

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“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”

Last week we learned through this press release that Better Place Forests was offering a new product to consumers that they felt would appeal to those consumers in a cost-conscious manner.  The new product is known as “Spreading Groves” and gives consumers the option of scattering cremated remains in Better Place Forest dedicated forest areas.

According to the press release the idea is a  “direct response to insights from funeral home partners, and is a critical next step in an expansion journey as Better Place Forests realizes its vision of offering comprehensive and meaningful end-of-life experiences to a wider range of consumers.”

Here’s what Better Place Forests CEO Adam Tibbs said in prepared remarks in the press release, “Spreading Groves are a critical next step in an expansion journey as Better Place realizes its vision of offering comprehensive end-of-life experiences by connecting physical memorial forest sites with the limitless reach of digital tributes.”

The first Spreading Groves location is slated to be offered at the Better Place Forest (BPF) located in St. Croix Valley, Minnesota  — a distance about 40 miles from the Minneapolis-St. Paul marketplace.  The other eight cemeteries under BPF management are expected to open Spreading Groves areas in 2025.

Scott Mueller, who’s company, Mueller Memorial, operates a growing number of alternative death care services as well as tradional funeral home services in St. Paul, made these remarks in the press release, “We’re a family-owned funeral home, operating in the Twin Cities for 78 years and we’re meeting a growing demand for green alternatives. We always encourage families to plan for permanent memorialization for cremated remains and think the Spreading Grove at Better Place Forests St. Croix Valley is a beautiful option.”

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take:  From my point of view, both Better Place Forests and Mueller Mortuary are headed in the right direction with their philosophies.  There is a place for vendors and funeral homes to offer legitimate permanent options for cremated remains. . . . and Better Place Forests is certainly one of these options.

Spreading Groves will offer a “destination” memorial place for families that find peace and solace in that idea.  From my own perspective and experience with my father, mother, and brother, a “destination memorial place” offers me that solace and place of reflection when I go to pay my respects on various important dates in the lives of my loved ones — such as the dates of birth, weddings, anniversaries, and deaths.

There is just something about knowing that my loved ones are in their final earthly destinations that gives me comfort. . . .and the new lower-cost Spreading Grove alternative will allow that choice for many more consumers.

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“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”

Better Place Forests (BPF) has been known for being a place where families can have meaningful “in-person” experiences with memorialization in the company forests.  Last week we learned of BPF’s acquisition of digital platform Butterfly which will now give the company the addition of “High Tech” digital memorials that can be accessed online globally.

You can learn more about that acquisition here.

Here’s what Adam Tibbs, CEO of Better Place Forests, said in his prepared statements in the recent press release, “We are excited to welcome Butterfly into the Better Place family. This acquisition allows us to bridge the natural and digital worlds, ensuring that memories can live on in the physical beauty of our forests and in the digital space where they can be preserved across generations”.

According to the press release issued on October 3, “The acquisition enables Better Place to expand its reach exponentially by offering families both a meaningful in-person experience in its forests and the ease of a digital memorial that can be accessed online globally. The combined offering strengthens Better Place’s position as a leader in end-of-life services, providing families a spectrum of solutions that acknowledge the need to blend traditional and digital memorial experiences.”

The Butterfly platform will be rebranded as Better Place Memories and be a technology tool where families can share stories, photos, and videos to celebrate and remember loved ones.

Better Place Forests was established in 2015 and, according to Crunchbase, has raised over $79 million in capital to further its business plans.  As of now they offer permanent memorialization in nine memorial forest locations.  You can see where they are located by going to their website here.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily:  Over four decades ago I read John Naisbitt’s book, Megatrends.  In that book he talked about the need that when living in a high tech world we would also need “High-Touch” experiences.  That’s the first thing I thought of when I read the news about the BPF/Butterly combination.

From my point of view, Better Place Forests and Butterfly are now in a position to offer the best of both to the memorialization consumer.  A client can get both the “High-Touch” experience of being with a loved one’s remains at a solemn Better Place Forest location while at the same time get the “High-Tech” advantage of being able to share memories via the electronic media.

In that regard you can see a strategy of the company that combines environmental stewardship with innovative technology.

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“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”

It was announced earlier in September that Jessica Wakefield has joined Better Place Forests as their new Director of Partnerships, Community, and Education.  The announcement made this comment, “With over 15 years of experience in the funeral service industry, Jessica will play a pivotal role in building and strengthening partnerships with local funeral homes and community organizations, focusing on Better Place Forests’ growing network of more than 100 funeral home and crematory partners near their forest locations.”

You can see a listing of those partnerships here.

Adam Tibbs, CEO of Better Place Forests made this prepared comment in the press release announcing Wakefields position with the company, “We are thrilled to have Jessica join our team.  Her deep knowledge of the funeral profession, combined with her commitment to mentorship and continuing education, makes her the ideal person to lead our partnership efforts. We look forward to expanding our reach and continuing to provide families with meaningful, green memorial options.”

A passionate leader and former President of the Washington State Funeral Directors Association, Wakefield has dedicated herself to becoming more involved in developing modern approaches to funeral services and the promotion of green alternatives within the profession.

Better Place Forests was founded in 2015 and is America’s first conservation forest memorial company.  The fairly new concept allows for permanent memorialization creating natural final resting places in protected forests.  Currently the company offers their services at ten forest locations across the United States.

To learn more about Better Place Forests you can access their website here.

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“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”