Friends of Aine

What Friends of Aine does

Friends of Aine is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2013 and headquartered in Manchester, New Hampshire. The organization provides free grief support services to children, teens, young adults, and families coping with bereavement, and is described as the only nonprofit in New Hampshire dedicated solely to child and family grief. Its core delivery model is peer-to-peer support groups delivered at no cost to participants, augmented by the Grief Backpack Initiative (school-based), HUG (Helping Understand Grief) workshops, and GET (Grief Education and Training) programming. The organization also operates recurring community engagement vehicles including an annual Kid's Try-athlon and a traveling art exhibit titled "Talk About Grief."

Name

Friends of Aine

Legal name

Friends of Aine

Website

https://friendsofaine.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Friends of Aine is a New Hampshire-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2013 that provides free, peer-to-peer grief support programs for children, teens, young adults, and bereaved families.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Bereavement and Grief Support Services

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Child and Youth Services (624110), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHLADAHAL

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

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Elder Care & Long-Term Care/Hospice & Palliative Care (Home/Facility-Based)

SECONDARYEDAJALAF

School Counseling & Guidance Services (Academic/Social-Emotional)

Education/K–12 / Primary & Secondary Education/K–12 Educational Support Services (Tutoring & Counseling)

SECONDARYEDAJALAL

Student Mentoring & Peer Support Programs

Education/K–12 / Primary & Secondary Education/K–12 Educational Support Services (Tutoring & Counseling)

Keywords

• Grief support services
• Bereavement counseling
• Peer support groups
• Child bereavement programs
• Grief education training

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Individual donors contribute to support the organization's mission of providing free grief support services to children and families. The organization relies 100% on the generosity of individual donors.
2. Organizational Donations: Corporate and organizational sponsors support the organization through sponsorship opportunities, including program sponsorships and event sponsorships such as the Annual Gala and Kid's Try-athlon.
3. Volunteer Services: Volunteers provide essential support for grieving children, teens, and families, including roles as House Ambassadors, Facilitators, Event Support, and Group Volunteers. While volunteers are not a revenue stream, their contributions enable service delivery.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Friends of Aine provides free, age-appropriate peer-to-peer grief support programs, educational resources, and community training for children, teens, young adults, and families grieving the death of a loved one. Core services include 8-week peer support groups delivered in-house, in-school, and in-community formats, alongside the Grief Backpack Initiative for K-12 schools, Grief Community Kits for organizations, HUG workshops, and Grief Education Training (GET) for adults. All programs are facilitated by trained volunteers and offered at no cost to participants.

Product overview

Friends of Aine offers a comprehensive suite of grief support services centered around its core Peer-to-Peer Grief Support Programs, delivered through In-House, In-School, and In-Community formats. The organization provides educational initiatives including the Grief Backpack Initiative for schools and the Grief Community Kit for organizations, alongside interactive HUG Workshops and Grief Education Training for adults. Additional offerings include School and Community Consultations, the Talk About Grief Traveling Art Exhibit, and signature events such as the Annual Kid's Try-athlon, Annual Open House, and Annual Gala. All services are provided free of charge to families.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Peer-to-Peer Grief Support Programs Age-specific peer support groups for grieving children, teens, young adults, and their caregivers, offered as 8-week sessions in In-House, In-School, and In-Community formats, led by trained volunteer facilitators using an activity-based curriculum.
• Grief Backpack Initiative A program that equips K-12 school districts with grief resources, curriculum, and activities for school staff to use with grieving children and teens, including a 90-minute staff training session and backpacks filled with essential materials for Elementary, Middle, and High School levels.
• Grief Community Kit Resources and activities to help organizations foster understanding and support for grieving children, teens, and families, including 'Grief is Hard' booklets, resource guides, conversation tips, book recommendations, and take-home items.
• Help Us Grieve (HUG) Workshops Interactive workshops for grieving children, teens, or adults hosted in-center, at schools, or community organizations, designed to provide peer support and grief education through creative and engaging formats.
• Grief Education Training (GET) Training programs designed to educate adults in grief and bereavement support for children and teens, covering what grief looks like at different developmental ages, conversation starters, and coping strategies, with tailored curriculum for groups.
• School and Community Consultations Expert guidance consultations to address grief-related questions and help organizations become more grief-aware, available in-person, via Zoom, or by phone.
• Talk About Grief Traveling Art Exhibit An art campaign that provides grieving children (ages 4-18) a voice to communicate their emotions through paintings, drawings, and doodles, with submitted artwork displayed in a traveling exhibit throughout the state and used in educational resources.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1 in 12 children will experience the death of a parent or sibling by age 18 - demonstrating the critical need for these services

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NACG (National Alliance for Children's Grief)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFriends of Aine utilizes the resources and deepens relationships with NACG to advocate for grieving children and families. NACG provides national resources, best practices, and a network for children's grief organizations.
• EvermorecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFriends of Aine partners with Evermore, a national bereavement policy platform, to advocate for grief awareness and policy initiatives at the state and federal levels.
• New Hampshire Center for NonprofitsminorOthersListed as a partner organization supporting the nonprofit community in New Hampshire.
• Greater Manchester ChamberminorOthersListed as a partner organization supporting the business community in Manchester, NH.
• BIA (Brain Injury Association of New Hampshire)minorOthersListed as a community partner organization.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• The Dougy Center: The Dougy Center in Portland, OR is widely considered the original and largest peer-to-peer grief support center for children and families in the U.S. It directly parallels Friends of Aine's mission, age-specific peer support group model, and school/community training programs.
• Comfort Zone Camp: Comfort Zone Camp is a national nonprofit providing free bereavement camps and programs for children who have experienced the death of a parent, sibling, or caregiver. Its peer-support delivery model and child/family focus closely align with Friends of Aine's programs.
• Experience Camps: Experience Camps runs free, overnight summer camps for grieving children, plus year-round community programs, sharing FoA's commitment to free, peer-based grief support for bereaved youth.
• Judi's House: Judi's House in Denver, CO provides free, evidence-based peer support programs for grieving children, teens, and their families, mirroring FoA's free-of-charge peer-to-peer group model and grief education training for adults.
• Eluna (formerly Moyer Foundation): Eluna provides free peer-support programs and resources for children impacted by addiction, loss, and mental health challenges, including Camp Erin (grief) programs that overlap directly with Friends of Aine's child bereavement services.
• Children's Bereavement Center of South Florida: A regional nonprofit offering free peer support groups for grieving children, teens, and families in South Florida, comparable in scope, age-specific cohort structure, and free-service delivery model to Friends of Aine.
• Camp Kesem: Camp Kesem operates free summer camps and year-round support programs for children affected by a parent's cancer or bereavement, operating as a national peer-support model that parallels FoA's mission and free-service model.

Others

• National Alliance for Children's Grief (NACG): NACG is a national membership and advocacy organization supporting children's grief service providers like Friends of Aine. Rather than a direct competitor, it functions as a sector trade body, network, and best-practice resource hub.

Broad incumbents

• Hospice Foundation of America: A nationally recognized bereavement and end-of-life education organization that addresses grief broadly across all ages, including children. While not a children's-only specialist, its bereavement training and family support resources overlap with FoA's educational programming.
• Sesame Workshop (Sesame Street in Communities — Grief Resources): Sesame Workshop produces multimedia grief support resources for young children and caregivers, addressing a similar audience and educational mission to FoA but at national scale through broadcast and digital distribution.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/friendsofaine
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/friends-of-aine
• Instagraminstagram.com/friendsofainecenter

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 Friends of Aine