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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Foster Beautiful, Meaningful Dispositions for Your Families with Better Place Forests

Imagine standing alongside a family as they celebrate a loved one’s life not within the walls of a chapel or church, but amid a wide open, lush landscape, in the shadow of majestic trees, a fresh, gentle breeze wafting through the air. Members of this family will return to this permanent, protected, and preserved place for generations to picnic, pay homage, or perhaps even to hold a similar ceremony for another loved one, and they’ll inevitably and gratefully remember how you and your team made this experience possible for them — all because you partnered with Better Place Forests.

“A partnership between Better Place Forests and our local funeral homes helps us both serve families who go to a funeral home to learn about options for cremated remains,” explains Tori Nonnemacher, General Manager at the St. Croix Valley Memorial Forest in Minnesota, one of nine Better Place Forests located throughout the United States. “We want to provide resources and be part of the conversation you’re having with families. We believe that when we’re connected with funeral homes in our communities that everyone involved benefits.”

Much more than scattering

It’s actually quite easy to share placement within a Better Place Forest with families once you learn about the benefits and just how beautiful the experience can be. To put it simply, Better Place Forests facilitates the disposition of cremated remains at dedicated, designated spots within protected acreage of established forests. The remains are integrated into the local soil, placed at the base of a tree the family has selected, and covered. The Better Place Forests team places a custom inscribed bronze Memorial Marker at the tree.

However, while the process is fairly straightforward, the Better Place Forest team has transformed it into a meaningful “Forest Memorial” ceremony in which the family can fully participate if they choose to do so. Memorial guests are invited to participate in combining the cremains with the soil, then placing and covering the mixture at the site. 

“It’s a beautiful memorial ceremony, and can be a healing ritual for people to move through that process together,” explains Nonnemacher.  “Everyone’s together, placing their loved one in this space at the base of the tree. And you’re surrounded by this beautiful forest, which is just incredible.”

Permanent and protected memorialization

The tree at which families are placing the remains of their loved one is also special in itself, as it belongs to the family in perpetuity — which means they will also have access to the property for generations.

“You can come out for visits and bring your grandkids, kids, pets, or friends — anyone you want,” shares Nonnemacher. ‘You have this opportunity to create memories with your loved ones, whether it’s picnics, hikes, or time at your tree. So when someone passes, maybe your loved ones will remember when grandma brought them out and had a picnic by the lake, or sat at the tree for a while and read a poem. It’s creating these moments for everyone in an environment where, especially for children, death is not scary.”

The acreage within the Better Place Forests properties is not only protected for the families, but it is also ecologically conserved. Every effort is made to keep the forest in its natural, original state. 

“Our goal is to keep the forest as close as possible to its natural state,” Nonnemacher explains. “If a tree comes down, it stays where it lands and becomes a nurse log, and feeds the forest floor its nutrients over time.”

A true family tree

When a family purchases a tree for one spreading, they always have the option to buy spreading rights at a reduced cost for others, whether that’s a spouse, descendants, or even pets. Families may also add a completely customizable Memorial Marker that will include their tree number so it will always be connected to that spot.

Currently, Better Place Forests’s nine breathtaking properties are located in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Illinois, Minnesota, Arizona, and California — and families are not limited to selecting a spot based on their proximity to a location. In fact, some choose properties that became special destinations for hiking vacations or other events.

However, Better Place is always exploring new opportunities for expansion and partnerships to provide access to more and more families — and that most certainly includes partnerships with funeral homes across the country.

“We hope to create relationships where we can refer Better Place Forests customers who are looking for additional services to our funeral home partners,” says Nonnemacher. “Families will know we have a relationship with the funeral home; that we are recommending partners we deeply trust. We’re going to send families to them because our goal is to offer options that work for everyone. To be part of the conversation when someone is looking for a nature-based option.”

If you’re interested in becoming a partner of Better Place Forests, or just want to learn more, reach out to Jess Wakefield at jessica.wakefield@betterplaceforests.com or visit betterplaceforests.com.

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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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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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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