Building a more grief-sensitive world
Grief is universal. Yet many of the institutions we move through every day still aren't designed to help us navigate it.
Consider the gaps: 93% of teachers surveyed agreed that bereavement was a major issue in the classroom, but just 7% had received training to address it. Among working adults surveyed more recently, 66% had experienced the death of a loved one while employed, while 77% said a company's bereavement policy would be an important consideration when looking for a new job.
Heather shares what New York Life Foundation has learned in its work to make the systems around us genuinely more grief sensitive. She shares practical ways teachers, managers, colleagues, and friends can better support someone who is grieving and speaks to the role the New York Life Foundation is playing to advance greater support.
Continuing to Find New Ways to Create Impact
New York Life Foundation's work also demonstrates that long-term commitment doesn't mean standing still. The Foundation continues to identify new opportunities to support young people and bring more people into conversations about grief, connection, and care.
Coaching the Future expands into youth development by equipping sports coaches, mentors, and others with tools to support the whole child.
Heather also gives listeners an early look at the Golden Sweater Project, a powerful new initiative launching in the coming weeks that invites people everywhere to honor those they’ve lost by sharing the objects, songs, recipes, and other meaningful reminders that keep their memories and connections alive.
What New York Life Can Teach Us About Corporate Philanthropy
Heather and Carol explore what New York Life's experience reveals about corporate philanthropy today: why strategic alignment matters, how companies can leverage employees alongside dollars, why listening internally can uncover unexpected opportunities for impact, and how a focused strategy can provide the clarity to stay the course even as the external environment changes.
This is not simply a story about one Foundation reaching a $100 million milestone. It's a conversation about what becomes possible when a company stays with an issue long enough to develop real expertise and then continues using its resources, people, partnerships, and learnings to deepen and expand its impact.
Listen for insights on:
What research reveals about the gaps in how schools and workplaces respond to grief
Practical ways teachers, managers, colleagues, and friends can better support someone experiencing loss
How New York Life Foundation turned research into resources, coalitions, and scalable programs
Why employee engagement has been essential to expanding the New York Life Foundation's reach
How Coaching the Future is applying lessons from New York Life Foundation's bereavement work to youth development
How the Golden Sweater Project is creating a new way to talk about loss, memory, and connection
Why Heather believes corporate philanthropy is becoming more strategic and aligned with the business
How companies can combine funding, employee skills, organizational strengths, and partnerships to drive greater impact
Why focus and authentic alignment can help social impact strategies endure through changing external environments
What New York Life Foundation has learned about building and continually evolving a long-term corporate philanthropy platform
Before You Listen
Q: Why has New York Life focused on childhood bereavement for so long?
A: The issue has an authentic connection to New York Life and its people, particularly agents who regularly interact with families following the death of a loved one. The New York Life Foundation has built on that connection through research, partnerships, employee engagement, and ongoing measurement.
Q: What is a grief-sensitive school?
A: It is a school where the adults surrounding students are better equipped to recognize and support children experiencing loss. New York Life Foundation created its Grief-Sensitive Schools Initiative after research found that while 93% of teachers considered bereavement a major classroom issue, only 7% had received training to address it.
Q: What is Coaching the Future?
A: Coaching the Future equips sports coaches, mentors, and others working with young people with tools to support positive youth development. Its work spans On the Field Coaching, Off the Field Coaching, and All Abilities Coaching.
Q: What is the Golden Sweater Project?
A: Inspired by The Golden Sweater from New York Life Foundation’s Kai’s Journey book series, the project invites people to share objects, songs, recipes, and other reminders that bring back happy memories of someone they have lost.
About Heather Nesle
Heather Nesle is president of the New York Life Foundation and senior vice president of New York Life’s Corporate Responsibility Department. The New York Life Foundation devotes most of its funding each year to childhood bereavement support and coaching initiatives. New York Life Corporate Responsibility initiatives include sustainability reporting and strategy, disaster relief and the award-winning Volunteers for Good program, which helps New York Life employees and agents nationwide volunteer within their communities. Heather’s leadership has been recognized with several honors, including the 2024 “Woman of Distinction” award from the Girl Scouts of Greater New York and the 2018 “Charlie Award” from the Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP). She was also selected as a David Rockefeller Fellow by the Partnership for New York City in 2020. Heather serves on the Board of Directors of the Afterschool Alliance, Philanthropy New York and the Women’s Forum of New York. She has previously served on the boards of Monumental Women and the Western New York Public Broadcasting Association.
Comments