BEREAVED PARENTS OF THE USA
Where grief meets hope and healing
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
That every grieving parent and family receive the support they need for as long as they need it We, as bereaved parents, siblings and grandparents help grieving families rebuild their lives following the death of a child. We accomplish this mission through educating families about the grief process in all its complexities pertaining to the death of a child, sister or brother at any age and from any cause.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
BPUSA National Gathering
The BPUSA National Gathering is held annually at a different location each year. The Gathering brings together grieving families from all over the nation to find fellowship and to remember and honor their child, sibling or grandchild who died. Participants can choose to attend workshops that support their grieving process and help them find hope and understanding to rebuild their lives.
Chapter Leadership Training
An afternoon Training session for chapter leaders and steering committee members to discuss and share topics particular to facilitate the running of a self-help support group for bereaved parents and their families. Scholarships for travel expenses are available for new chapter leadership.
Where we work
External reviews

Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsNumber of community chapters that provide grieving parents, siblings, and grandparents access to grief support.
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Families, Parents, Women, Men
Related Program
Chapter Leadership Training
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Our chapters are self-help groups that offer support, understanding, compassion, and hope to bereaved families struggling to rebuild their lives after the death of their loved ones.
Number of conference attendees
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Families, Parents, Adults, Women, Men
Related Program
BPUSA National Gathering
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This event has keynote speakers, workshops, meals, & memorial ceremonies to help bereaved families know they are not alone in their grief. They can find hope and are educated about the grief process.
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?
To assist all who have experienced the loss of a child, brother, sister or grandchild regardless of ethnicity, ideology or financial status.
To educate families about the grief process in all its complexities pertaining to the death of a child or a sibling at any age and from any cause.
To connect fellow bereaved parents, siblings and grandparents who can offer support to each other and to each newly bereaved family.
To charter chapters and train and assist chapter leaders across the country. These chapters meet on a regular basis to offer self-help support and comfort to local bereaved families.
To publish an online National Newsletter and offer help to individual chapters with newsletters to inform and educate their members about the grieving process.
To sponsor an annual Conference that features inspirational speakers, informative workshops, and heartfelt remembrance ceremonies.
To inform and educate professionals, employers, co-workers, clergy, friends and others on the intensity and duration of parental, sibling and grandparent grief.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We accomplish our mission through educating families about the grief process in all its complexities pertaining to the death of a child, sister or brother at any age and from any cause. We are the parent organization of over 50 chapters across the country who offer assistance to bereaved families in their community. We maintain a website that provides information about local chapter meetings and contains many articles and brochures covering all aspects of the grieving process. We also publish an on-line national newsletter and sponsor an Annual Bereavement Conference that offers comfort and support to grieving families by providing speakers and workshops covering a wide variety of grief-related topics and by offering remembrance ceremonies to honor deceased loved ones.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Personal experience (empathy) role modeling successful grieving practices (hope and healing), review and dissemination of current research on grief and mourning (education).
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We have a good, internal, organizational framework (By-Laws, Policies and Procedures Manual, Chapter Leader's Guide, etc.); strong, motivated, dedicated volunteer board and capable volunteer chapter leadership. We continue to move forward with ongoing successful fundraising and marketing to ensure strong financial stability and stewardship.
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 identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, 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, We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback
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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
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.
BEREAVED PARENTS OF THE USA
Board of directorsas of 02/07/2023
Liz Boenig
Bereaved Parents of the USA
Term: 2021 - 2023
Barbara Dietrich
Board of Directors Bereaved Parents of the USA
Liz Boenig
Board of Directors Bereaved Parents of the USA
Charlotte Jackson
Board of Directors Bereaved Parents of the USA
Sonya Revels
Board of Directors Bereaved Parents of the USA
Doris Settle Maxwell
Board of Directors Bereaved Parents of the USA
Sherry Reber
Board of Directors Bereaved Parents of the USA
Deb Moroney
Board of Directors Bereaved Parents of the USA
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 ? Not applicable -
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? Yes
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
Equity strategies
Last updated: 09/02/2022GuideStar 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 employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- 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.