Funeral Consumers Alliance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational and charitable organization. Your donations to the national organization are tax deductible* and support our work in counseling families at a time of need, monitoring state or federal legislation, and in assisting with consumer redress for funeral complaints. We serve as the umbrella group for 100 local affiliates and offer resources to those volunteers as well as encouraging new chapters. Join nearly 400,000 others supporting our mission to protect funeral consumer rights!
There are two ways to join FCA:
- Through one of our local affiliates — Our local chapters have the best information on funeral prices and practices in their communities. Some of our chapters have found funeral homes and crematories willing to give members substantial discounts. Even if your local FCA chapter hasn't negotiated discounts with such businesses, every chapter offers funeral planning forms, objective advice, and literature that will help you stretch your funeral dollars. To find out about local benefits of membership or to join a local group, contact them through our online directory. Note - membership donations to local affiliates may or may not be tax-deductible. Please check with the local association.
The Friends of FCA membership is for those who want to support our national organization directly and receive the materials and publications we offer below, or for those not near a local FCA group. If you wish in the future, you may transfer your Friends membership anywhere in the U.S., under the terms of reciprocity which govern our affiliates. If you joined as a Friend because there's no local chapter, we can transfer your membership when one is started (maybe you'll be that special volunteer that starts one!).
Friends of FCA: Benefits of membership:
- Before I Go, You Should Know—the best-selling end-of-life planning kit. Includes state-specific Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare and Living Will, a 16-page write-in booklet in which to document important information needed at a time of death, all in a tough poly document pouch that can be placed in the safety of your freezer. There's even a magnet for the outside of the refrigerator that says "Matters of Life and Death Inside." The included pamphlet, "Death Away from Home," will be helpful when travelling, so be sure to drop this packet in your suitcase before you go. FREE with membership.
- Toll-free hotline for questions about funeral planning, your rights in every state, and information on all aspects of the death care experience
- Paying Final Respects: Your Rights When Buying Funeral Goods and Services put out by the Federal Trade Commission
- Quarterly FCA Newsletter, with consumer tips, news about the funeral industry and how it affects your choices & and news from our local volunteer groups around the country
- Discount of up to 50% on books, videos and other items we offer
- Member-only discounts available from cooperating funeral homes (varies by availability of benefits at the local chapter nearest you - contact your local affiliate for information)
- Invitation to our biennial conference
Requested membership donation is $35; yearly subscription to our quarterly newsletter is $15 (included in your first year's membership). Please visit our online donation page to make your contribution online.
* Your initial Friends of FCA membership donation is not fully tax-deductible, although it does directly support our consumer education work. The IRS allows donors to deduct only what they contribute above the "fair market value" of the items they receive. Your newsletter and funeral planning kit have a fair market value of $27, so the remaining $8 is tax-deductible. Any other gift you make to support our work is fully tax-deductible. Thank you for your support!
