The Program Slate

America is aging and we’re unprepared. The UN estimates deaths will surpass births by 2040. In 2010, there were seven potential family caregivers for every person over 80, which is expected to fall to four by 2030, and three by 2050. The looming burdens bereavement will place on millions of Americans continue to be overlooked.

At BUILD, we see a bereavement axis. Individuals interact with institutions as employees, consumers, users, and members of their community. We are developing a program slate that tackles each of these unique, and sometimes overlapping, areas.

To address the challenges individuals face as employees, we collaborate with institutions and their human resources teams, to craft improvements in bereavement leave, pay, and flexibility. We strategically ally with institutions in positions to make these changes today, galvanizing the bereavement movement to engineer the tipping points necessary for society wide change.

To address the challenges consumers face, in their roles as executors and individuals in charge of administrative tasks, we design account closure procedures, in collaboration with security and privacy experts, that will streamline and modernize these processes. The days of phone call tag, being redirected to the wrong people, will be over.

To address the challenges emerging technology create for users, we hold public forums and interviews with leading experts, psychologists, and more, to drive forward the conversation about dying in the digital age.

To address the challenges of community in an atomized America, we ally with institutions to form groups, hold events, and more, to focus on the resources lost when a loved one dies. The bereaved are not just losing a parent, a spouse, a sibling, or a friend. They are often losing a trusted confidant, a financial planner, their “call in a pinch”, their connection to your heritage.

To those of you who have already taken steps to support BUILD, we truly appreciate it. For those who haven’t, you can support BUILD at this time in a few key ways:

• Connect with us by signing up for our newsletter online and following us on Instagram and LinkedIn

• Share this email, our website, and socials within your network

• Know someone with expertise or experience that may help further BUILDco’s goals? Let us know!

As we turn to the future, in the wake of the support we have already received, we feel confident the BUILD Coalition is positioned to make a real impact. We know we can’t change our past, but we hope with your support and through BUILD, we can change the future for America’s bereaved.