Ryan's Place

What Ryan's Place does

Ryan's Place is a nonprofit grief support organization founded on January 28, 2002, by Rex and Nancy Gleim in Goshen, Indiana. It provides peer-to-peer grief support services to children, teens, and families who have experienced the death of a loved one. Core offerings include bi-monthly in-person support groups, school-based programs, summer day camps (Camp Hope for ages 7-14 and Camp Horizon), anticipatory support for families facing impending loss, expressive arts therapy, and on-site crisis response for schools and businesses following a sudden death.

Service delivery combines trained volunteer facilitators (66 volunteers contributed 5,228 hours in 2016) with a small professional staff of 32 employees, leveraging specialized therapeutic spaces within a purpose-built 18,000-square-foot "Home for Healing Hearts" facility opened in 2025. Programs are delivered in person at partner venues (churches in Goshen and South Bend, schools, Goshen College) and virtually via Zoom since April 2020. The organization has served over 14,000 children, teens, and families since founding and supports 700+ individuals annually.

Ryan's Place operates a donation-funded business model: all services are provided free of charge to participants, and the organization relies entirely on private contributions from individuals, corporations, and foundations. Revenue is generated through direct donations (online via PayPal, mail, in-kind), recurring fundraising events (annual gala, golf outing, grief seminar), and community education presentations. The organization is a member of the National Alliance for Children's Grief and serves the Michiana region spanning the Indiana-Michigan border.

Name

Ryan's Place

Legal name

Ryan's Place

Website

https://ryansplace.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ryan's Place is a Goshen, Indiana nonprofit founded in 2002 that provides free peer-to-peer grief support groups, school programs, summer camps, and crisis response to bereaved children, teens, and families across the Michiana region, funded entirely by private donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Grief Support Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Mental Health & Crisis Support Services (BPAGACAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Bereavement & Grief Support Services (Hospice-Affiliated/Independent) (HLADAHAL), Mental Health & Crisis Support Services (BPAGAEAH)

Keywords

• Grief support services
• Children's bereavement support
• Peer support groups
• Family counseling services
• Nonprofit community services

Headquarters

HQ city

Goshen

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Private Contributions and Donations: Ryan's Place offers all services at no cost and relies entirely on private contributions from individuals, corporations, and foundations. They accept monetary donations via mail, online payment processors (PayPal), and in-kind donations.
2. Fundraising Events:

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Ryan's Place provides free grief support to children, teens, and families who have experienced the death of a loved one through bi-monthly peer-to-peer support groups, school-based grief programs, day camps (Camp Hope and Camp Horizon), anticipatory support, expressive arts therapy, and on-site crisis intervention. All group support services are provided at no cost to participants and are delivered by trained volunteer facilitators.

Product overview

Ryan's Place is a grief support center offering a comprehensive suite of services for bereaved children, teens, and families. The core offerings include bi-monthly peer-to-peer grief support groups, school-based programs, and specialized camps (Camp Hope and Camp Horizon). Additional services include anticipatory support for families facing impending loss, expressive arts therapy, crisis intervention, and community education. The organization provides facilitator training for volunteers and maintains a lending library of grief-related resources. All group support services are provided at no cost to participants.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Grief Support Groups Bi-monthly peer-to-peer support groups for children, teens, and families who have experienced the death of a loved one, providing a safe space for healing and growth. Groups are facilitated by trained volunteers.
• School Programs Grief support services delivered in school settings to help K-12 students cope with the death of a loved one or classmate; 39 school-based groups were conducted in 2016.
• Camp Hope Day camp for grieving children ages seven through fourteen who have experienced the death of a loved one, featuring therapeutic activities including memory activities, feelings and emotions processing, and coping skills.
• Camp Horizon Summer camp program providing grief support and therapeutic activities for children and teens, complementing Camp Hope.
• Anticipatory Support Support services for families and individuals facing anticipated loss or impending death of a loved one, providing pre-bereavement care.
• Expressive Arts Supports Art therapy and creative expression activities utilizing dedicated art room and music therapy space at the Home for Healing Hearts facility to help children and teens process grief through artistic outlets.
• Crisis Support Immediate on-site crisis intervention services deployed to schools, businesses, or homes following a sudden death to help those affected process their thoughts and feelings; 75 individuals received crisis support in 2016.
• Summer Programs 2026 Seasonal summer programming slate for 2026 serving grieving youth.
• Community Education Presentations, training, and guidance for educators, healthcare professionals, and community members on supporting grieving children and teens.
• Bonnie Maggert Memorial Library / Lending Library Lending library offering books and resources for adults and children covering topics related to death and grief, accessible by calling the Ryan's Place office.

Quantifiable outcome

• Served 700+ children, teens, and adults annually with grief support services
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 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

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Elkhart Community SchoolsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 September 2025Supporting the Annual Grief Seminar as an additional support sponsor. Ryan's Place provides grief education and resources to the school community.
• Bashor Children's HomeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 September 2025Additional support sponsor for the Annual Grief Seminar, contributing to community grief education efforts.
• Michiana Counseling CenterminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 September 2025Additional support sponsor for the Annual Grief Seminar, supporting grief education in the community.
• Silverwood Mennonite ChurchcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2016Venue partner for Monday Night Program. Ryan's Place uses the church facility for bi-weekly grief support programs for children, teens, and families. Not affiliated with the church but has an ideal relationship with proprietors.
• St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church (South Bend)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2016Expanded program location started in fall 2016 to provide grief support groups for children, teens, and adults in the South Bend area.
• Baker Youth Club (Kosciusko County)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2016Partnership for grief support groups for children and teens, grades 1-12 in Kosciusko County.
• National Alliance for Children's Grief (NACG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRyan's Place is a member of NACG, which maintains a directory of member grief centers and professionals across the nation. NACG promotes awareness of the needs of grieving children and provides education and resources.
• Goshen CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVenue for the Annual Grief Seminar, hosted at Goshen College.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Comfort Zone Camp: Comfort Zone Camp operates free, overnight grief camps for children ages 7-17 who have experienced the death of a parent, sibling, or caregiver. It is a near-direct comparable to Ryan's Place's Camp Hope and Camp Horizon programs.
• Camp Erin: Camp Erin is a national network of bereavement camps for children and teens operated through the Eluna Network. It represents the scaled, franchised version of what Ryan's Place delivers locally with Camp Hope.
• Bo's Place: Bo's Place (Houston, TX) is a nonprofit offering peer support groups, camps, and crisis response for bereaved children, teens, and adults in the greater Houston region. Its multi-channel service model and reliance on trained volunteer facilitators closely parallel Ryan's Place.
• The Dougy Center: The Dougy Center is the flagship children's and family grief support center in the U.S. (Portland, OR), offering peer support groups, camps, and crisis programs—directly analogous to Ryan's Place's core model. Ryan's Place even references the Dougy Center's 'Grief Out Loud' podcast as a resource.
• Center for Loss and Life Transition: Center for Loss and Life Transition (Colorado) provides grief education, training, and therapeutic programs for bereaved individuals and the professionals who serve them. It is comparable in mission and is a recognized thought leader in the same grief-support niche.
• Kate's Club: Kate's Club (Atlanta, GA) provides grief support groups, camps, and family programming for children and teens who have experienced the death of a parent or sibling. It mirrors Ryan's Place's age-segmented group structure and free-service delivery model.
• Experience Camps: Experience Camps runs free, overnight summer camps for bereaved children and teens, plus year-round programming. It competes for the same donor base and serves the same grieving-youth population as Ryan's Place.
• New Hope for Kids: New Hope for Kids (Central Florida) provides grief support groups and camps for children, teens, and families, with a similar service mix (peer groups, camps, crisis support) to Ryan's Place.

Others

• National Alliance for Children's Grief: NACG is the national membership organization for children's grief centers, of which Ryan's Place is a member. It is an ecosystem enabler (training, advocacy, directory) rather than a direct competitor, but its standards shape Ryan's Place's operational practices.
• Bereaved Parents of the USA: Bereaved Parents of the USA is a national nonprofit offering peer support groups and resources to bereaved parents. It is an adjacent, thematically related organization that serves a parent-loss population overlapping with Ryan's Place's child-clients.

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/RyansPlace1
• Facebookfacebook.com/149687861839416
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ryan's-place

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Ryan's Place