How do you solve funeral poverty?

An intrapreneur from Stirling Council

A close friend of Tam – an intrapreneur from Stirling Council – lost his mother. Wanting to give her the send-off she deserved he took out a loan to cover the cost of the funeral.

Six months later he also lost his father. Still paying off the first loan he couldn’t take on more debt and had to give his father a no service cremation. He was devastated he couldn’t give him the same send off his mother had.

Tam calls funeral poverty a disgrace. Working in a cemetery he knew he could do something about it. He developed his initial idea through Lens workshops, testing and pivoting, negotiating with key stakeholders and brokering agreements.

He successfully pitched and won the investment needed to turn his idea into action. Stirling Council can now offer affordable funerals on a fully commercial, sustainable basis at a rate of £1600 compared to the national average of £3,600. Tam’s ambition is to grow and replicate the service across Scotland, making funeral poverty a thing of the past.