Natural Burial in Canada

We would like to invite you to join us for a review of the past year’s activities at our 3nd Annual General Meeting:

June 27, 2010 at 2 pm
10 Carden St., Guelph Ontario

Since we last updated you, we have been evaluating our progress to date in terms of finding an ideal location on which to develop Canada’s first natural burial cemetery. Over the last couple of years, in spite of our tireless efforts, the truth is that we have assessed many potential properties, but for various reasons, none have proved to be realistically viable.

As we continue to source and follow up on property leads, we have decided to take a parallel approach in our efforts to offer natural burial solutions.

A new subsidiary is born: Tribute Caskets

Over the last few months, we have undertaken a great deal of research and development and are pleased to let you know that we have developed and built a product strategy that responds to the growing need for natural burial options - within the traditional funeral industry.

We will soon launch a new subsidiary of the Natural Burial Co-operative that produces an environmentally sound casket that offers a unique vehicle for the expression of values and memories through a personalized custom design that tells the story of an individual’s unique life. Marketed under the name Tribute Caskets, we will offer a product that is made of fully biodegradable fibreboard overlaid with paper printed using vegetable-based inks. These natural caskets are a suitable and responsible choice for the growing natural burial movement as well as the increasing number of people choosing cremation.

Tribute Caskets fill a unique niche in the funeral industry, as consumers increasingly search for a more affordable and environmentally responsible memorial option that truly defines and celebrates the way they have lived their lives. This product’s design options are endless – one can view a catalogue and choose a casket that include photos of their lifetime, images of their favourite pastime, a meaningful quote or verse …virtually any “picture” that tells the story of an individual’s unique life.

The objective is to wholesale these caskets through the traditional funeral home distribution channel. However, to do so, we must first raise the capital to fulfil our aggressive plan to bring this to market. Recently, in a effort to attract investment in this product line, the founding members of the co-operative auditioned for a chance to step into CBC’s Dragon’s Den and pitch Tribute caskets. With prototype and a pitch video in hand, the concept was presented April 1st , at the television show’s audition in Hamilton, as a submission in the Greenvention contest being co-sponsored by CBC’s Dragon’s Den and SunChips. Subsequent to that, we were invited back to present to the Dragons themselves….watch the new fall season, perhaps you will see our episode!

As a member of the Co-operative and a supporter of the natural burial movement in Canada, we thought you would be very interested in this news. You can view the video describing this product at www.tributecaskets.ca.

The reason that Tribute Caskets has been incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Natural Burial Co-operative, is to allow some flexibility in raising capital. The pitches made to the Dragons’ Den and other investment bodies have offered several options:

1. Royalty financing – In this case, investors provide capital in return for a share of the revenue stream, up to a multiple of their original investment. We have offered 3% of revenue from the sales of Tribute caskets until investors’ monies are doubled.
2. Common shares in Tribute Caskets – Common shares can be purchased for capital appreciation and/or dividends. Holders of common shares can have a voice in whether dividends are declared, and, whether they want their shares to stay in for the longer haul, up to and including national and USA launches.
3. Preferred shares in the Natural Burial Co-operative – The existing preferred share structure provides for payment of an accrued dividend of prime plus 2% for as long as the shares are held. The shares retain their par value regardless of future performance or dividend distribution. The Natural Burial Co-operative will allocate such capital to support the launch of Tribute Caskets.

Regardless of the financing, the Natural Burial Co-operative will benefit from its share of any profits, to launch other products and continue the search for suitable natural burial grounds.

Tribute Caskets are a wholly-sourced Guelph product; conceived, developed, designed and printed by local partners. As the first of many environmentally responsible burial products to be marketed by this group, Tribute Caskets will launch this year, provided we secure sufficient investment capital. Any questions on the proposed financing of Tribute Caskets can be directed to Mike Driscoll at 519-763-8825. We will continue to keep you informed as this new subsidiary business evolves, and thank you again for your continued interest and support in the work of the Natural Burial Co-operative.

We hope to see you at the Annual General Meeting.