NATIONAL ALLIANCE FOR CHILDREN'S GRIEF
No child grieves alone
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The National Alliance for Grieving Children (NAGC) recognizes that 1 in 14 children will experience the death of a parent or sibling by age 18. (Childhood Bereavement Model Estimation, JAG Institute). The 4.8 million children affected need our support. Childhood bereavement is a concern for all communities across the nation. Experiencing a death of family members and others will have a lasting effect on the child’s well-being now and in their future. Significant death loss can disrupt emotional, mental and physical growth. Providing support and education is truly a way of investing in the lives of children, adults , our communities and the nation. The NAGC strives to raise awareness concerning childhood bereavement, provide education and resources that reflect best practices in providing support to bereaved children and serve as a network for those seeking to support grieving children.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Annual National Symposium for Children's Grief
Annual symposium for professionals, volunteers and experts in the field of child bereavement. Our presenters share the latest research, and best practices in the support of grieving children.
On-Line Education Program
Monthly webinars on topics relevant to those working or supporting grieving children. We also offer some webinars on general non-profit management themes.
NAGC Workbook
When Someone Dies: A Child-Caregiver Activity Book (Available in Spanish: "Cuando Muere Alguien: Un Libro de Actividades para Niños y sus Cuidadores") is an activity book for children that also provides valuable information to parents and caregivers about how grief impacts children. Contained within the pages of the book are activities for children designed to help them better express, understand, and cope with their grief. Each page also offers guidance about how adults can connect with their child on the very difficult subjects of death, dying, and bereavement.
Where we work
External reviews

Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of conference attendees
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Children and youth
Related Program
Annual National Symposium for Children's Grief
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
2020 and 2021 were virtual years
Total number of organization members
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
On-Line Education Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The National Alliance for Grieving Children (NAGC) is a nonprofit organization that raises awareness about the needs of children and teens who are grieving a death and provides education and resources for anyone who supports them.
The vision of The National Alliance for Grieving Children is that “No Child Grieve Alone.”
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The National Alliance for Grieving Children (NAGC) equips bereavement professionals, children’s health professionals and volunteers who work with grieving children with the most effective strategies and tools to better serve their communities and train their staff and constituents. NAGC is a national network of professionals and volunteers including counselors, social workers, therapists, psychologists, physicians, nurses, hospice workers, chaplains, funeral service professionals, child life specialists and others.
Through the collective voices of over 1100 members and countless partners nationwide, we educate, advocate and raise awareness about childhood bereavement.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The National Alliance for Grieving Children (NAGC) has a rich history of over 20 years with a network of hundreds of organizations, united with one purpose, to address the issues of childhood grief.
Through the alliance that has been formed the NAGC has been able to form a strong board of directors and leadership team. Their oversight provides the backbone for the organization.
The NAGC has 6 active working committees comprised of staff, board and members across the US that set annual goals and projects. The work of these committees are essential to the NAGC in bringing experience and expertise to the programs and process implementation.
The NAGC has placed education and training as a top priority. The NAGC provides education through monthly webinars averaging over 100 participants each month on a variety of specialized topics related to childhood grief. In addition, the NAGC hosts the only annual national conference that focuses on childhood bereavement with approximately 500 attendees participating in approximately 70 workshops focused on best practices for providing support to bereaved children and teens. The third portion of the education focus is the Annual Live Fall Conference and Webcast that provides 200 in-person participants as well as simultaneous webcast across the nation at unlimited sites. Through education and training the field of childhood bereavement has added depth and gained strength. As the field grows stronger, so does the organization.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
The National Alliance for Grieving Children (NAGC) has 1,200 members. We have strong attendance at all events.
The NAGC continually looks for gaps in resources and opportunities to fill those gaps. One example is the book “When Someone Dies: A Child-Caregiver Activity Book.” Experienced and professional members of the national alliance were content contributors. This format allows the “best of the best” to be included. The NAGC staff was then able to create the book as a great resource to be provided to grieving children and their families. “I’ve been a grief counselor for 32 years, and this is, hands down, the best resource I’ve ever seen!” shared by Julia Ellifritt LISW-S.
“When Someone Dies: A Child-Caregiver Activity Book” is an activity book for children that also provides valuable information to parents and caregivers about how grief impacts children. Contained within the pages of the book are activities for children designed to help them better express, understand, and cope with their grief. Each page also offers guidance about how adults can connect with their child on the very difficult subjects of death, dying and bereavement.
In the near future, the NAGC with the national network of members, plans to create other similar resources such as a family grief workbook.
The NAGC has provided an array of educational opportunities in the past and will continue to do so in the future. On the horizon, is a training specific to volunteers for the many programs and organizations that offer grief support. This training program was identified by the membership as a need that would increase consistency in best practices and efficiency in programming. The training will also be a better use of financial resources and operational time management. This is an example of the continued education and training that NAGC will provide to the childhood bereavement field.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
NATIONAL ALLIANCE FOR CHILDREN'S GRIEF
Board of directorsas of 02/23/2023
Bethany Gardner
Eluna
Term: 2023 - 2023
Tina Barrett, EdD
Tamarack Grief Resource Center
Bethany Gardner, MA
Eluna Network
Darcy Walker Krause, JD, LSW, CT
Good Grief Gal
Brennan Wood
The Dougy Center
Tashel Bordere
University of Missouri-Columbia
Catherine Alicia Georges
Department of Nursing at Lehman College of the City University of New York
Jim Price
Park Lawn Corporation
Ryan Loiselle
Friends Way
Dan Layman
Blood Cancer Foundation of Michigan
Jim Santucci
Kara
Blair Thompson
Roy Maas Youth Alternatives
Michaeleen Burns
Judi's House
Michael Millward
National Partnership for Hospice and Healthcare Innovation
Brianne Overton
Experience Camps
Adam Stevens
Hetrick-Martin Institute
Jennifer Wiles
Good Shepherd Community Care
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 02/23/2023GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.