What PAUSE does

PAUSE is a California-based nonprofit founded in summer 2020 by Alica Forneret that delivers culturally-specific grief and end-of-life programming for People of Color in response to a documented gap in bereavement, deathcare, and end-of-life-planning resources for Communities of Color. The organization serves three primary customer segments: individuals and families seeking culturally-sensitive grief support, People of Color working as deathcare professionals (doulas, hospice workers, funeral professionals, faith leaders, healthcare providers) seeking community and business development, and workplaces (HR leaders, managers, and C-suite) seeking to support grieving employees. PAUSE operates three verticals: PAUSE for Community (public workshops, the annual End-of-Life and Grief Resource Fair, the Creative Mourning peer support series, the traveling Book Nook of POC-authored grief literature, a blog, and resource lists); PAUSE for Deathcare Leaders (the Starlight Business Development Residency, the forthcoming Starlight 'North Star' Community of Practice, and conference pop-ups); and PAUSE for Workplaces (the 'How to PAUSE for Grief at Work' on-demand course, custom workshops, and policy audits). Programmatic delivery combines in-person programming in Los Angeles (with host venues including the Feminist Center for Creative Work, Geffen Playhouse, Center Theatre Group, and the California African American Museum) with virtual webinars and a self-serve course reaching national and select international audiences.

PAUSE generates revenue through three streams: individual donations processed via Givebutter (with publicly displayed suggested tiers from $25 to $250,000), institutional grants and foundation funding (notably the Feinglos Fund partnership with Duke Health for oncology grief integration), and earned revenue from enterprise workplace consulting, policy audits, and course deployment. Named enterprise clients include Google, NASA JPL, Nielsen, the California Department of Education, Culture Amp, Lululemon, and Columbia University. All community-facing programming is offered free of charge. There is no proprietary technology platform described; the operating stack is a Squarespace website, Givebutter donations, and standard webinar/video tooling, with the substantive intellectual property residing in the curated Book Nook, the EOL Ecosystem Map, and the workshop curricula. Governance is provided by a board chaired by Stephanie Rivers with Kelsey Crowe as Vice Chair, Aubrey Blanche as Treasurer, Alua Arthur as Community Advisory Council Chair, and directors including Dwetri Addy (Stitch Fix), Nicole McCann-Davis (Transcend Strategy Group), and Lloyd Nadal (Kaiser Permanente); the 19-person staff is led by Founder/Executive Director Alica Forneret and four functional managers covering Programs, Operations, Content, and Events.

Name

PAUSE

Legal name

PAUSE

Website

https://timetopause.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

PAUSE is a nonprofit providing culturally-sensitive grief and end-of-life programming for People of Color, serving individuals, deathcare professionals, and workplaces through workshops, peer support, resource fairs, and training courses in Los Angeles and online.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Grief and End-of-Life Support Services

NAICS

Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412), Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Volunteer & Companion Support Services (Hospice Volunteer Programs) (HSABAFAO)

Keywords

• Grief support services
• End-of-life care
• Bereavement counseling
• Workplace grief training
• Deathcare professional development

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: PAUSE is a nonprofit that sustains operations primarily through donations from individuals, foundations, and institutional funders. The website features a donate button (givebutter.com/timetopauseorg) with suggested giving tiers ($25, $2,500, $25,000, $250,000).
2. Institutional Grants and Philanthropy: The organization receives funding from institutional partners such as the Feinglos Fund for specific initiative delivery (Grief Initiative in Oncology with Duke Health), indicating grant and designated philanthropy as a revenue stream.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

PAUSE is a nonprofit that provides grief and end-of-life support services and resources specifically designed for People of Color. The organization delivers in-person and virtual community programming (workshops, peer support groups, annual Resource Fair), professional development and business residency for POC deathcare leaders, and workplace training and consulting engagements for HR leaders and managers. Programming is offered free to community members and is sustained through donations, grants, and paid corporate engagements.

Product overview

PAUSE is a nonprofit organization offering a portfolio of grief and end-of-life support programs and resources serving Communities of Color. The organization operates across three main verticals: PAUSE for Community (resource fairs, peer support, Book Nook, blog), PAUSE for Deathcare Leaders (Starlight Business Development Residency, Community of Practice), and PAUSE for Workplaces (How to PAUSE for Grief at Work course, workshops). Key offerings include the annual Resource Fair in Los Angeles, Creative Mourning peer support series, the comprehensive How to PAUSE for Grief at Work course featuring 5 interactive on-demand modules, the Book Nook resource collection, and the Feinglos Fund Grief Support Initiative in partnership with Duke Health. PAUSE also provides educational resources including the EOL Ecosystem Map, resource lists, and the blog platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Creative Mourning: A six-month in-person peer support series designed for people of color in Los Angeles, focusing on creative approaches to grief through art.
• PAUSE Resource Fair
• Starlight
• How to PAUSE for Grief at Work
• In Good Company
• Feinglos Fund Grief Support Initiative
• PAUSE Book Nook

Quantifiable outcome

• Served thousands of individuals and leaders across Los Angeles and beyond
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Feminist Center for Creative Work (FCCW)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPAUSE partners with FCCW to co-facilitate 'Creative Mourning,' a six-month in-person peer support series for people of color in Los Angeles. This creative, non-clinical space explores grief and memory through art outside institutional and therapeutic frameworks. FCCW hosts the monthly sessions and provides programming infrastructure.
• Feinglos Fund & Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at DukecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPAUSE leads a first-of-its-kind initiative with the Feinglos Fund and Duke Health's Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center to design and pilot a model for integrating grief care directly into oncology settings — supporting patients, families, and healthcare providers together over a 14-month Phase 1 focused on research, listening, and co-design.
• Geffen Playhouse (Lights Up Program)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerPAUSE has been invited to join Geffen Playhouse's 'Lights Up' program, which provides complimentary theatre tickets to community members. Through this program, PAUSE can provide theater tickets for deathcare, healthcare, and mental health members of its network, creating restful and cultural experiences for practitioners.
• Center Theatre Group (In the House Program)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerPAUSE has been invited to join Center Theatre Group's 'In the House' program, which provides complimentary theatre tickets to community members. This enables PAUSE to offer theater experiences as part of its rest and cultural programming for deathcare professionals.
• California African American Art Museum (CAAM)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPAUSE collaborated with CAAM to host a private tour of the museum's exhibitions focused on art, justice, grief, and death, followed by a brown-bag lunch gathering and an interactive art-making workshop using stop-motion animation for PAUSE's deathcare community.
• Going with GracecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPAUSE founder Alica Forneret previously served as Chief Operating Officer of Going with Grace, an end-of-life planning and death doula training organization. Alua Arthur, founder of Going with Grace, currently serves as PAUSE's Community Advisory Council Chair. The organizations maintain a close ongoing partnership.
• Elisabeth Kubler-Ross FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPAUSE has partnered on international events and projects with the Elisabeth Kubler-Ross Foundation, a leading organization in death, dying, and grief education and advocacy.
• Columbia UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPAUSE has partnered on international events and projects with Columbia University, contributing to grief education and end-of-life research initiatives.
• Prism (Pop-Up Partner at Resource Fair)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrism, a modern memorial studio and deathcare business, partnered with PAUSE as a Powered By Prism Pop-Up at the Resource Fair. Prism is a conceptualized funeral home alternative blending deathcare, grief support, and community wellness. Founder Shannan Guillory aims to bring Prism to the Los Angeles area in 2025.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Center for Loss and Life Transition: Grief education and training organization offering programs, workshops, and professional development for grief support providers. Comparable to PAUSE in providing both community grief resources and professional training for deathcare/grief workers.
• The Dinner Party: Nonprofit that hosts peer-led dinners and gatherings for people who have experienced loss. Closely comparable to PAUSE as a community-driven grief support organization, though without PAUSE's explicit culturally-specific-for-POC positioning.
• Going with Grace: End-of-life planning and death doula training organization. Highly comparable to PAUSE's deathcare leader programming; the Going with Grace founder chairs PAUSE's Community Advisory Council and the PAUSE founder was previously COO.
• Help Texts: Text-message-based grief support service that delivers expert-vetted guidance to grievers and their support networks. Overlaps PAUSE in content-driven, expert-informed grief support and is referenced in the PAUSE founder's bio as a partner.
• What's Your Grief: Grief education platform offering articles, podcasts, courses, and community resources for both grievers and professionals. Comparable to PAUSE in its emphasis on education, content, and resources for grief — including professional development for grief workers.
• Refuge in Grief: Grief support community and content platform offering online groups, writing, and resources for grievers. Directly comparable to PAUSE in providing non-clinical, community-led bereavement support, though with a broader (not POC-specific) audience.
• Reimagine: Nonprofit fostering creative community conversations about death and end of life through events, festivals, and media. Comparable to PAUSE's mission of reframing end-of-life culture, though at larger national scale and without POC-specific focus.

Broad incumbents

• Hospice Foundation of America: National nonprofit providing public education, professional training, and advocacy on hospice, grief, and end-of-life care. Comparable to PAUSE's hospice-adjacent grief education mission at significantly broader national scale.
• National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization: Largest U.S. nonprofit membership organization for hospice and palliative care providers, setting standards, advocacy, and professional education. Comparable as a broad incumbent in the end-of-life/grief space; PAUSE's board member chairs NHPCO's Diversity Advisory Council.
• Compassion & Choices: National nonprofit advocacy organization working to improve end-of-life care, including policy advocacy and public education. Comparable to PAUSE in advocacy-forward end-of-life work, though focused on choice at end of life rather than grief care specifically.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/timetopause

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 PAUSE