Tender Funerals Geelong

05/09/2026

When Jenny Briscoe-Hough set up the first Tender Funerals Service in Port Kembla, NSW, she was doing something that had never been done before and was truly visionary. Come to our Launch and Fundraiser to hear Jenny speak and watch the documentary film that captured her community’s efforts to bring her vision into being. Then let’s replicate her vision in Geelong!

05/09/2026

Thank you Cam Ward from the Geelong Advertiser for the “What’s On” shout-out in today’s GT. Help us to fix funeral poverty by joining our Launch for Fundraiser on Wednesday 16th September. Limited free tickets are still available. Click the link in the comments below. 👇

03/09/2026

Happy 10th Birthday to the OG Tender Illawarra. You inspire us every day. We can’t wait to be operational here in Geelong and start having birthdays too 😀

03/09/2026

Behind the scenes, our Board and partners are hard at work planning for our prospective property, which is set to become Victoria’s first community-owned, not-for-profit funeral service. This week, Frances took our newest Board member, Marilou, for a visit, which only added to our excitement for what this place will be.

Keen to support us or learn more about this exciting development? Get your free ticket to our Launch & Fundraiser event on Wednesday 16th September at Geelong Regional Library 👇

Link to our Humanitix event in bio

01/09/2026

A cardboard coffin isn’t just a cheap option. They’re environmentally friendly and a blank canvas for beautiful and meaningful art. This ethereal view of the You Yangs and Corio Bay was painted by local Bellarine artist Noah Frank Wolfgang Grosz who generously donated his time and talent to support Tender Funerals Geelong. Come and see Noah’s stunning work in person at our Launch for Fundraiser. Wednesday 16th September. 5.30pm. Geelong Library & Heritage Centre. Free tickets through the link below 😊

23/08/2026

16/08/2026

WE HAVE A HOME!!!

After years of hard work from a committed group of local volunteers, a home for Tender Funerals Geelong has been found at 44 Grubb Road, Ocean Grove.

This building is poised to become Victoria’s first community-owned, not-for-profit funeral service, offering affordable and meaningful funerals, especially for those experiencing financial hardship.

To launch our fundraising, you are invited to join us for:

Tender Funerals Geelong Launch & Fundraiser

Wednesday 16th September, 5.30pm - 8.30pm

Geelong Regional Library, Level 5, Wurdi Youang Room.

This free event will feature guest speaker Jenny Briscoe-Hough, Founder & CEO of Tender Funerals Australia, and a screening of "Tender" the documentary film that raised awareness, support and funding for the original Tender Funerals in Port Kembla, NSW.

To register your attendance, please obtain your free ticket through the following link:

https://events.humanitix.com/tender-funerals-geelong-launch-and-fundraiser

We look forward to welcoming you soon for an evening of compassionate connection and conversation.

16/07/2026

Not everyone has family around when their time comes.

Some people reach the end of their life without children nearby, without a partner, or without anyone who can make it to the hospital in time.

That’s where some Australian volunteers step in.

Programs like No One Dies Alone and hospital companion programs train volunteers to sit with people in their final hours. Sometimes they talk. Sometimes they read. Sometimes they play music.

And sometimes they literally just sit there holding someone’s hand so the last thing that person feels isn’t an empty hospital room.

A lot of these volunteers are older Australians themselves. People who have lived full lives, lost people they love, and understand how important it is to have someone beside you.

It’s one of those jobs nobody really thinks about until you realise how much it matters.

Because after 80 or 90 years on Earth, nobody’s final moment should be staring at a hospital ceiling alone.

19/06/2026

Bookings are now open for our next information session - Building Community Capacity.

Jenny Briscoe-Hough has a back ground in community development but at heart she is a cultural activist. For Jenny, culture is pretty broad and at its core it simply means "the way we do things around here", and Jenny has worked at grass root communities for decades, getting to know exactly how they work, through that work, she has come to know intimately that the culture in any community is the responsibility of the community to create and then to uphold.

So how do we cement and grow that vital place for community, and what does that have to do with death and dying?

Reclaiming capacity is central to communities reclaiming end of life and after death practice and processes. Community development is about taking things back into our own hands in a very ordinary way, which is about knowing that you are able and building our internal muscles as we go.

In this talk Jenny will share with you her wisdom from decades of helping communities build their capacity and maybe even inspire you to help the communities in which you live.

Jenny Briscoe-Hough is the driving force behind Tender Funerals. She has decades of experience in community development and believes in a strengths-based approach. Jenny has a reputation for innovation and developing projects which support and empower communities to create a culture of help rather than harm. Tender Funerals is the result of a community believing that funerals should be an affordable, meaningful and ultimately as much as possible healing. Tender Funerals Australia was called into being by the many communities that reached out to have a Tender Funerals in their area and Jenny is proud to be a part of the team that is answering their call.

Register for this event now via https://shorturl.at/VTbwN

22/05/2026

National Volunteer week (18 to 24 May 2026.)

This week, we celebrate and acknowledge all the volunteers who make Tender what it is. We simply wouldn’t be here without you.

It was volunteers who came together to make Tender Mid North Coast a reality. It is volunteers who help continue to grow our beautiful garden and ceremony space for families to use in their way. It’s our volunteers who support our committed staff to provide meaningful and personalised care.

We are so grateful to all of you from the beginning of Tender, to our current volunteers and all those to come.

Pictured here are three of our incredible volunteers: Ethan, Jenny and Linda. Thank you so much for lending us your minds, hands and hearts. We truly appreciate all you contribute to making Tender the special community space it is. 🫶