Articles from New York Life Foundation

The New York Life Foundation today released its 2025 “State of Grief Report: Building a Sustainable Culture of Care and Grief Support,” revealing that while grief is a universal human experience, too many children, families and workers continue to navigate the death of a loved one without consistent systems, coordinated support or institutional understanding.

The New York Life Foundation today announced a free, public webinar series featuring nationally recognized bereavement experts offering research-backed insights, practical tools and compassionate strategies to support those experiencing grief.

The New York Life Foundation today announced the publicly-available livestream of the 2024 Day of Learning “Growing as We Grieve” event hosted in partnership with Sesame Workshop, the global impact nonprofit behind Sesame Street. The Foundation’s annual event in honor of Children’s Grief Awareness Month will take place on Thursday, November 14th from 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. ET. Event programming will be livestreamed here so families, supportive adults, and grief experts across communities can learn how to better support grieving children.

Annually commissioned by the New York Life Foundation to evaluate the bereavement landscape, the 2024 State of Grief Report highlights not only the ongoing need, but also a growing desire, for holistic help and support for those experiencing grief in workplaces, schools, and communities.

While most Americans understand the importance of talking about grief, people are growing tired of discussing death and loss, according to new research from the New York Life Foundation, released today. This year’s State of Grief Report found that 74 percent of respondents want to focus on lighter topics of conversation more than two years after the COVID-19 pandemic began. Despite this fatigue, 78 percent think more can be done to increase awareness of grief support services, and 68 percent would like a more open dialogue around grief in the U.S.

The New York Life Foundation, the charitable arm of America’s largest mutual life insurer1, today announced the addition of social justice as a third focus area, joining the longstanding pillars of childhood bereavement and educational enhancement for middle school students. Inspired by a long tradition of service and humanity, the Foundation has always supported underserved and diverse communities. The formalization of this third pillar acknowledges an established mandate to address societal issues in communities across the country where New York Life policy owners, agents, and employees live and work.

New research featured in the New York Life Foundation’s inaugural bereavement report, “The State of Grief,” released today, found the pandemic has amplified Americans’ desire to talk about death and loss. The report explores COVID-19’s impact on grief support in America and is part of the New York Life Foundation’s longstanding commitment to generating resources, understanding, and awareness to support grieving children and their families.

The Brave of Heart Fund® (the Fund) and ARTHOUSE.NYC today present The Hero Art Project, a public art installation that features 29 rotating portraits of healthcare workers who have died while fighting COVID-19. The portraits, each painted by a different artist, will appear displayed in five windows on the ground floor at the southeast corner of the iconic New York Life Building (51 Madison Avenue, New York City) from September 27th to October 25th. The heroes’ stories are told along with their portraits and more information on those who are featured is available here.