Our Purpose

Well-informed funeral consumers get more for their funeral dollars and usually spend a lot less. They are also prepared to educate their families about meaningful and personalized options. When industry providers succumb to profit over service motive, grieving relatives can sometimes be manipulated. Educated consumers are less vulnerable to commercial greed and may choose to bypass the industry entirely.
Those who are comfortable talking about the "last Hurrah" are often more able to talk about other end-of-life issues, too. To stay in control of one's quality of life near the end is a universal desire. Having adequate advance directives allows one to use that power. Therefore, the majority of the FCA's efforts are devoted to personal education, both on the Internet, in printed pamphlet format, via a toll-free number, and through the encouraged presence of local funeral planning groups.

Focus

We believe each person is unique with certain preferences at the time of death that may include either cremation or burial services. For many people, the customary displays at funerals are not to their taste. They don't care for the high cost involved, but they don't know what to do about it. And because the subject of death has long been taboo in our culture, they do nothing So when a death occurs in the family, the emotional stress, lack of time and social pressures often impel the survivors to follow convention when they would really rather not.
The Funeral Consumers Alliance, (formerly Memorial Society) of Southern Arizona is one of over 100 Funeral Consumer Alliances that have emerged throughout the United States to secure simple, dignified funerals and cremations at reasonable costs. It is a non-profit organization, incorporated under Arizona law in 1961.
The Alliance is supervised by a Board of Directors that serves without pay and is elected by members at annual meetings, which are open to all. As a non-profit organization, the FCA of S. AZ is dependant on the membership donation from each member to pay rent, purchase postage stamps, printing and office supplies.