Abaseen Foundation welcomes you to engage with our programs, services, and website. By accessing or using our services, you agree to comply with these Terms of Service. Please read them carefully.
By participating in our programs, donating, volunteering, or using our website, you agree to these Terms of Service and any additional terms applicable to specific activities.
Abaseen Foundation provides need-based financial assistance toward funeral, burial, and other final expenses for families in California who are experiencing financial hardship following the death of a loved one. The purpose of this policy is to ensure that all assistance is awarded on objective, need-based, and nondiscriminatory criteria applied uniformly to every applicant.
Assistance is open to the general public. Any individual or family residing in California who has suffered the death of a family member and who meets the need criteria below may apply.
- Membership in the Foundation is NOT required. Applicants who are not members are considered on exactly the same terms as members.
- No donation, dues payment, or contribution of any kind is required, and making one confers no advantage.
- Assistance is granted without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, immigration status, or membership status.
- There is no fee to apply and no charge of any kind to a recipient
An applicant is eligible if BOTH of the following are established from the documentation submitted:
- A death has occurred in the applicant's family, evidenced by a death certificate or a funeral home statement; and
- The household lacks sufficient means to meet the resulting final expenses. This is established if
either test is
met:
- Income test: total household income is at or below 250% of the current federal poverty guideline for the household size; or
- Hardship test: the unmet balance of the final expenses exceeds the household's available savings and liquid resources, so that paying it would deprive the household of funds needed for housing, food, utilities, or medical care.
- An award is the lesser of the unmet balance of the documented final expenses or $8,000 per household.
- All awards are subject to the availability of funds. The Foundation makes no guarantee that any application will be approved.
- One award per deceased person. A household may receive not more than one award in any twelve-month period, absent extraordinary circumstances approved by the Board.
- Assistance covers only final expenses. It does not cover debts, living costs, or expenses unrelated to the death.
- The applicant submits the completed application in Part B with the required documents.
- The Board of Directors reviews the application against the criteria in Section 3. All directors serve as unpaid volunteers.
- An award is approved by a majority vote of the disinterested directors and recorded in the minutes, together with the names of the directors present and voting.
- The applicant is notified in writing of the decision.
- Applications are decided in the order received, subject to available funds. An applicant who is denied may reapply if circumstances change.
Wherever possible, the Foundation pays the funeral home, cemetery, or other service provider directly, by check or electronic transfer, against the itemized statement submitted. Where payment is made to a family member instead, the Foundation obtains a receipt or paid invoice showing that the funds were applied to the stated final expenses.
A director who is related to an applicant, or who has any personal interest in an application, must disclose that interest, must not participate in the discussion or the vote, and must leave the meeting while the application is considered. Any such award requires approval by a majority of the disinterested directors, must satisfy the same criteria applied to every other applicant, and must be recorded in the minutes. This requirement follows the Foundation's Conflict of Interest Policy and California Corporations Code sections 5233 and 5234.
For each application the Foundation retains the application, the supporting documentation, the board approval recorded in the minutes, and proof of payment. Applicant information is kept confidential and is used only to administer this program. The Foundation does not publish the names of recipients and does not disclose applicant information except as required by law.