Sacred Moments

What Sacred Moments does

A Sacred Moment (legal name: A Sacred Moment) is an independent, founder-led funeral services company headquartered in Everett, Washington, founded in 2007 by Char Barrett. The company specializes in alternative death care — home funeral vigils, green burials using biodegradable caskets and shrouds, dry ice preservation in lieu of embalming, and cremation services including witnessed placement. It was the first funeral home in Washington State to offer green burial and home funeral services and positions itself as a bridge between the conventional funeral industry and the grassroots home funeral movement. Service delivery is high-touch and human-led, supported by a certified therapy comfort dog (Bindi), personalized celebrant-led ceremonies, and partnerships with environmental organizations (Bonneville Environmental Fund, American Forests) for measurable sustainability outcomes.

The business model is professional-services and direct-to-consumer, with revenue generated from a mix of funeral arrangement services, sale of death care products (caskets $0-$899, shrouds ~$599, urns, jewelry, cremation glass, flowers), pre-planning and pre-payment through third-party trust administration (American Funeral and Cemetery Trust Services), death certificate processing ($20/copy), and obituary creation and newspaper placement. Distribution is primarily through one Everett office, a phone line with 24-hour death-notification answering, and online arrangement forms for remote families. Geographic focus is the Pacific Northwest (Snohomish County and greater Washington State). Marketing is multi-channel — website, Constant Contact newsletter (3-4x annually), social media, online reviews, and significant earned media in NPR, NYT, LA Times, WebMD, and Newsweek.

Operationally, the company is small (approximately 6 employees including the founder), has no external funding, no app, no public API, and no disclosed revenue. It is actively hiring two part-time Funeral Director Interns, indicating modest capacity expansion. The recent and most consequential strategic event was the June 30, 2023 departure from its contracted-provider relationship with People's Memorial Association (PMA), after which it fully transitioned to a high-touch, virtual-enabled direct service model.

Name

Sacred Moments

Legal name

A Sacred Moment

Website

https://asacredmoment.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

A Sacred Moment is an independent, founder-led funeral home in Everett, Washington that pioneered home funeral vigils and green burial services in Washington State, serving Pacific Northwest families with personalized ceremonies, cremation, burial, pre-planning, and obituary services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Funeral and Death Care Services

NAICS

Funeral Homes and Funeral Services (812210), Death Care Services (8122)

akta.pro primary industry

Bereavement, Grief & Family Support Services (Hospice-Linked) (HLAFAEAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

End-of-Life Emotional & Spiritual Support (Chaplaincy/Counseling) In-Home (HSABAFAH)

Keywords

• Funeral services
• Green burial
• Home funerals
• Cremation services
• Death care products

Headquarters

HQ city

Everett

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Funeral Services: Core revenue from funeral arrangement services including home funerals, green burials, cremation, and traditional burial services. Services include arrangement meetings, ceremony coordination, viewings, and memorial services.
2. Death Care Products: Sale of caskets, shrouds, urns, jewelry, cremation glass, flowers, and memorials. Products range from $0 (Willow Tray) to $899 (Newport Conventional Casket). Shroud priced at $599.
3. Pre-planning and Pre-payment Services: Pre-planning funeral arrangements and pre-paying through trust accounts administered by American Funeral and Cemetery Trust Services. Trusts can be revocable or irrevocable.
4. Death Certificate Processing: Processing death certificates at $20 per copy, with expedited services available.
5. Obituary Services: Online obituary creation and newspaper obituary placement assistance through partner publications including Seattle Times, Everett Herald, Arlington Times, Bellingham Herald, and others.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

A Sacred Moment provides personalized funeral and memorial services including traditional burial, green burial, cremation with witnessed placement, home funeral vigils, and celebrant-led ceremonies. The firm also retails caskets, shrouds, urns, memorial jewelry, cremation glass, flowers, and related death care products, and offers obituary placement, pre-planning with trust-based pre-payment, death certificate processing, grief support, and training workshops.

Product overview

Sacred Moments is a funeral service provider specializing in home funerals and green burial services. The company operates as a unified service offering centered around personalized funeral care with several distinct service lines: burial services, green burial (using biodegradable products and dry ice instead of embalming), cremation services (including witnessed placement), home funeral vigils, and celebrant-led ceremonies. The company also offers a product catalog including caskets (with green burial, cremation, conventional, wood, and metal options), urns, shrouds, memorial jewelry, flowers, memorials, and cremation glass. Additional services include obituary creation, grief support resources, and preplanning with trust administration. Founded in 2007, the company pioneered green burial and home funeral services in Washington State and serves as a bridge between conventional funeral practices and the grassroots home funeral movement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Burial Services Traditional and conventional burial services for families, including casket selection, graveside services, and coordination with cemeteries for in-ground burial arrangements.
• Green Burial Ecologically responsible burial service using biodegradable caskets and shrouds, avoiding embalming in favor of dry ice, supporting green cemeteries and commissioning sustainable local artisan products.
• Cremation Services Cremation services including witnessed placement at the cremation facility, allowing families to be present and perform rituals, with casket and urn selection. Net-zero carbon cremation available via Bonneville Environmental Fund partnership.
• Home Funerals Guided home funeral vigils where families care for their loved one's body at home, including body preparation using dry ice in lieu of embalming, vigils, and personalized ceremonies.
• Celebrant Services Certified celebrants who design and lead personalized ceremonies and memorials that honor the unique personality and passions of the deceased.
• Obituary Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Net zero carbon footprint for cremations through Bonneville Environmental Fund partnership
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 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

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• National Home Funeral AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2007Char Barrett, founder of A Sacred Moment, helped found the National Home Funeral Alliance and served as its first president. The Alliance acts as a bridge between the existing funeral industry and the growing grassroots home funeral movement. Char has guided dozens of families through home funeral vigils both locally and nationally.
• Bonneville Environmental FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA Sacred Moment proudly works with the Bonneville Environmental Fund to diminish carbon use and impact, resulting in a net zero carbon footprint for their cremations. This partnership addresses environmental concerns about cremation emissions.
• American ForestscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFor each family served, a tree is planted in their loved one's honor through partnership with American Forests. This environmental renewal initiative serves as a meaningful memorial as saplings grow into trees.
• American Funeral and Cemetery Trust Services (AFCTS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThird-party administrator managing pre-payment funeral trusts, in business in the northwest for 20 years. Helps families establish revocable or irrevocable trust accounts for pre-funded funeral arrangements.
• Green Burial CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Green Burial Council for certified green burial products and practices. Kinkaraco shrouds certified by Green Burial Council. Kent Casket certified by Green Burial Council.
• Project CanineminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerComfort dog Bindi Barrett and Char Barrett are a Certified Therapy Team through Project Canine, providing bereavement support services to families.
• Providence Hospice of SeattleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBindi Barrett is also a Certified Pet Team through Providence Hospice of Seattle, enabling bereavement support through comfort dog visits.
• Bastyr UniversityminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAnnual one-day workshop on home funeral and green burial work hosted at Bastyr University, providing introductory training and networking opportunities for those interested in the field.
• Final PassagesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerChar Barrett trained with Final Passages, founded by Jerrigrace Lyons, learning how to support families wanting to care for their own loved one after death. Final Passages is a key training resource for home funeral advocates.
• Kinkaraco ShroudsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPreferred supplier of burial shrouds for green burials. Esmerelda Kinkaraco is a leading pioneer in the new shroud movement. Shrouds include optional features like heart pockets for mementos and hand-sewn herb and petal linings.
• People's Memorial Association (PMA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormer partnership ended June 30, 2023. A Sacred Moment was a contracted provider for PMA since 2007, serving member families. Departed to focus on high touch, virtual service model. Legacy partnership with The Co-op Funeral Home.
• Seattle Times and Regional NewspapersminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership with major newspapers including Seattle Times, Everett Herald, Arlington Times, Marysville Globe, Bellingham Herald, and Lake Stevens Journal for obituary placement services.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Tulip Cremation: Direct-to-consumer modern cremation provider using online arrangement flows that overlap with A Sacred Moment's online self-serve arrangement forms and cremation-with-witnessed-placement offerings.
• Cake: End-of-life planning platform helping consumers compare funeral options, pre-plan, and connect with providers; competes for the same pre-planning customer segment A Sacred Moment addresses via trusts.

Broad incumbents

• Dignity Memorial (Dignity plc): Multi-brand funeral services operator with broad product portfolios including cremation and traditional services; comparable as a large incumbent competing in the same category.
• Service Corporation International: Largest North American funeral services conglomerate operating thousands of funeral homes; represents the scaled incumbent competitive backdrop A Sacred Moment operates against.

Others

• Green Burial Council: Industry certification body for green burial products and providers; A Sacred Moment sources certified products (e.g., Kinkaraco shrouds) through this ecosystem.
• People's Memorial Association: Washington State funeral consumer cooperative that was A Sacred Moment's contracted provider from 2007 to 2023; comparable as the cooperative/pre-planning model and former partner channel.
• National Home Funeral Alliance: Non-profit education and advocacy organization for the home funeral movement, co-founded by A Sacred Moment's founder; relevant as an ecosystem and category-shaping peer.

Direct peers

• Better Place Forests: Memorial forest operator offering protected-tree ash scattering as an alternative to traditional burial, competing for the same eco-conscious end-of-life customer.
• Recompose: Seattle-based provider of human composting and alternative disposition, targeting the same eco-conscious consumer seeking non-traditional end-of-life care as A Sacred Moment.
• Return Home: Australian green burial provider using organic reduction; offers a directly comparable eco-friendly alternative disposition model to A Sacred Moment's green burial and home funeral services.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sacred-moments

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Sacred Moments