Imagine, A Center for Coping with Loss

What Imagine, A Center for Coping with Loss does

Imagine, A Center for Coping with Loss is a New Jersey-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2011 that provides free, year-round peer grief support services to children (ages 3-18), young adults (ages 18-30), parents, and caregivers coping with death and illness. Its core delivery model is the Night of Support — a biweekly, clinically supervised peer group segmented by developmental age (Purple 3-5, Orange 6-9, Green 10-12, Teen 13-18) and by adult loss type (spouse loss vs. child loss), with separate parent/caregiver groups to allow adults to grieve without shielding their children. Sessions are delivered in-person at two centers (Mountainside headquarters opened 2017; Newark center opened 2019) and virtually via Zoom with break-out rooms, the latter launched in March 2020 and extending service nationwide.

The organization operates a tiered Training and Education Program — Grief Education Courses 101/201/301 plus a Loss and Grief Specialist certification — delivered on-site at K-12 schools (Grief-Informed Schools program with customers including North Star Academy and Point Pleasant Borough), workplaces (Grief-Informed Workplaces program with PSEG as a named customer), and community organizations (NAMI NJ, The Ahimsa Collective, Brain Injury Alliance of NJ). Spanish-language programming is a distinct offering. Volunteer facilitators, drawn largely from former program participants and trained in a 22-hour multi-day curriculum, are the operational backbone (150+ active volunteers) under clinical oversight.

Revenue is philanthropic rather than transactional: individual donations (Advocate $50 to Hero $500 tiers, plus a Circle of Hope multi-year society from $6,000 to $75,000+), corporate sponsorships (Ensono, Komar, PSEG, Northfield Bank, Coldwell Banker), planned giving/bequests, and major institutional grants (NY Life Foundation, Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey, Schumann Fund for New Jersey). All grief support services are free to participants; the Imagine Store sells sympathy cards designed by youth participants at cost plus optional donation. Distribution spans regional in-person centers, national virtual Zoom delivery, and on-site enterprise training contracts.

Name

Imagine, A Center for Coping with Loss

Legal name

Imagine, A Center for Coping with Loss

Website

https://imaginenj.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Imagine, A Center for Coping with Loss is a New Jersey-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that delivers free, clinically supervised peer grief support groups and tiered grief education training to bereaved children, families, schools, and workplaces across the U.S.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Grief Support Services

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Bereavement & Grief Support Services (Hospice-Affiliated/Independent) (HLADAHAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Trauma-Informed Care & Crisis Response (School-Based) (EDAKAMAF), Palliative Care, Hospice & Serious Illness Support (BPAGACAK), Volunteer & Companion Support Services (Hospice Volunteer Programs) (HSABAFAO)

Keywords

• Grief peer support
• Bereavement support services
• Loss education training
• Grief-informed schools
• Nonprofit grief center

Headquarters

HQ city

Mountainside

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Individual donations at various levels ($50 Advocate to $500 Hero tiers) with monthly recurring donation option. Includes Circle of Hope multi-year giving society with tiers from Compassion Circle ($6,000-$9,999) to Transformation Circle ($75,000+).
2. Corporate Sponsorships and Partnerships: Corporate partners provide financial support ($10,000 gifts from Ensono, Komar), in-kind volunteer services, and event sponsorships. Businesses can become corporate sponsors through direct contact.
3. Planned Giving and Bequests: Legacy giving through bequests, beneficiary designations, or other planned gifts valued over $5,000 for supporters ensuring long-term mission sustainability.
4. Sympathy Card Sales: Sale of custom sympathy cards designed by Imagine youth participants. Card prices cover production and shipping costs with optional additional donation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Imagine provides free peer-to-peer grief support groups for children (ages 3-18), young adults, parents, and caregivers coping with the death of a significant person, facilitated by trained volunteers and supervised by clinical staff. The organization also delivers tiered grief education training (courses 101, 201, 301) and Loss and Grief Specialist certification to schools, workplaces, and community organizations in English and Spanish.

Product overview

Imagine, A Center for Coping with Loss is a nonprofit grief support organization offering a unified portfolio of services centered on peer grief support. The core offering is its Grief Peer Support Groups program, which provides free peer-to-peer support for children (ages 3-18), young adults (18-30), and adults who have experienced loss. This is complemented by a Training and Education Program with specialized tracks for schools (Grief-Informed Schools) and workplaces (Grief-Informed Workplaces), including tiered courses (101, 201, 301) and Loss and Grief Specialist certification. The organization also offers Community Workshops and Webinars, a Volunteer Facilitator Training program, Spanish-language grief support services, and Children's Grief Awareness Month programming. Additional offerings include fundraising tools, a giving society (Circle of Hope), sympathy cards (The Imagine Store), and center tours. All core services are provided free of charge to participants.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Grief Peer Support Groups Peer-to-peer grief support groups for children and families experiencing the death of a significant person, facilitated by trained volunteers and overseen by clinical staff. Offered in-person at Mountainside and Newark locations, and virtually via Zoom with age-appropriate breakout rooms.
• Training and Education Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Serves 600+ participants from 87 towns every two weeks
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• The South Promise NeighborhoodsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner supporting Imagine Newark's expansion to provide grief support services in the Newark community.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Kids Grief Support: Kids Grief Support provides virtual grief support groups for children, teens, and young adults nationwide, focusing exclusively on Zoom-based delivery. It is comparable to Imagine's virtual service arm but with less emphasis on in-person centers and school/workplace training.

Broad incumbents

• Hospice Foundation of America: Hospice Foundation of America is a national nonprofit providing education and resources on hospice care, grief, and bereavement for professionals and consumers. It overlaps with Imagine's training and education programs and bereavement focus but serves a broader end-of-life audience rather than children-specifically.

Direct peers

• Camp Kesem: Camp Kesem operates free summer camps and year-round support for children affected by a parent's cancer, supported by college student leaders at 100+ universities. It overlaps with Imagine in serving grieving youth through peer-driven community, but is more focused on cancer-loss families and university-led delivery.
• The Compassionate Friends: The Compassionate Friends is a national nonprofit with local chapters supporting families after the death of a child, sibling, or grandchild. It overlaps with Imagine's parent/sibling bereavement groups but operates primarily through volunteer-led chapter meetings rather than staff-facilitated programs.
• National Alliance for Grieving Children: The National Alliance for Grieving Children is a national membership organization providing resources, training, and advocacy for children's bereavement programs. Imagine participates in its Children's Grief Awareness Month campaign; the two organizations share a common audience and training mission for youth grief support providers.
• Bereaved Parents of the USA: Bereaved Parents of the USA is a national nonprofit providing peer support to bereaved parents through local chapters and online communities. It is comparable to Imagine's parent/caregiver support groups by loss type but operates without a physical center or paid training program.
• Experience Camps: Experience Camps provides free, overnight summer camps and year-round programs for grieving children and families across the U.S. It shares Imagine's mission of supporting bereaved youth through peer community, though its delivery model is camp-based rather than weekly group meetings.
• The Dougy Center: The Dougy Center is the pioneering peer grief support center for children and families in Portland, Oregon, founded in 1982. It offers age-appropriate support groups and training programs closely mirroring Imagine's model, making it the most directly comparable peer.
• Mourning Hope Grief Center: Mourning Hope Grief Center in Champaign, Illinois provides free peer grief support groups for children, teens, and adults, along with school and community education. It operates a similar peer-group-plus-training model to Imagine but at smaller scale and in a different regional market.

Regional players

• Children's Bereavement Center: Children's Bereavement Center in Florida offers free peer support groups for grieving children, teens, and young adults, similar in mission and age-segmentation to Imagine. Comparable as a regional peer serving a different geography with overlapping programming.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ImagineaWorldNJ
• Facebookfacebook.com/imaginenj
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/imaginenj
• Instagraminstagram.com/imaginenj

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Imagine, A Center for Coping with Loss