CHANGE OF VENUE! Come join us at the Viscount Suite Hotel in downtown Tucson, 4855 East Broadway, Tucson, AZ, 85711. Call the hotel to make your reservations at 800-527-9666.

Date: June 7, 8, 9, 2012 

Lodging- Singles and doubles are both $69 a night (plus taxes and fees). Tell the hotel you're with the "funeral consumer group" for special pricing. To find a roommate go to funerals.org/forum.

Transportation—Discounted rates are available for attendees from Stagecoach shuttle. Click here to download and print out this form with your discount code. 

Featured Speakers

The woman almost needs no introduction. Lisa Carlson is a “grandmother” to the home-funeral movement and the funeral consumer movement as a whole. For more than 25 years she’s monitored the funeral industry and been the most recognized consumer advocate in the field. Lisa served as executive director of FCA from 1996 to 2003, during which time she built a struggling organization into a major player on the national stage, thanks to her knowledge of funeral law for every state. A plain-spoken firebrand, Lisa has enraged undertakers (and sometimes offended her friends) while inspiring consumer activists around the nation. Join her at the Saturday banquet for a look back at the funeral consumer movement and an assessment of where it’s going. Attendees easily offended by blue humor are asked to provide their own smelling salts and fainting sofas.

Ed Howard, Center for Law in the Public Interest

Lots of people think of lobbying as something only “special interests” and high-powered firms do. But lobbying is just a term to describe essential engagement with government, telling your elected officials what you think about the law and how it affects real people like you. While well-heeled lobbyists often beat the little guy, they don’t always. You can make a difference for funeral consumer rights without a huge budget or on-staff lobbyists.

Ed Howard is senior counsel for the University of San Diego’s Center for Law in the Public Interest. When a family member died he discovered there is next to no useful information from funeral homes online. Baffled that he couldn’t get even a basic description of his options without spending an entire day on the phone, Ed went to the legislature. Together with Funeral Consumers Alliance volunteers in California he helped pass a bill that requires California funeral homes to post more information on their websites.

Randy Garner, Day Funeral Home

Ever wondered what funeral directors think of FCA? Vermont funeral director Randy Garner gives an insider’s perspective.

• When bad publicity hits the press about the funeral industry, what’s the fallout at your local funeral home? The answer may surprise you.

• How negotiating discounts for chapter members with local funeral homes can backfire.

• Following the “Vermont blueprint” for cooperation between FCA and funeral directors. Randy promises some practical tips to make your efforts more effective.

Randy will also give a small-group workshop to discuss consumer-industry relations informally.

NOTE: To download the full program and description click here. 

Workshops

Why Do We Buy Off-the-Shelf Dying?
How to Die in Peace
Bart Windrum, Author and Activist

90% of us say that we want to die in peace, at home. 10–20% of us do; the rest of us die in hospitals and institutions. Why do we transpose our desires and outcomes? After each of Bart Windrum's parents died at the end of error-prone late-life hospitalizations, he began a quest to find out. Learn about and consider numerous unspoken aspects of hospitalization and end of life that together illuminate why, offering a context for achieving that peaceful demise. Bart's award-winning book, Notes from the Waiting Room: Managing a Loved One's (End of Life) Hospitalization forms the basis for this newly-updated presentation.

Grassroots Lobbying
Ed Howard, Center for Law in the Public Interest

Ed will lead a small group workshop on the specifics of effective lobbying for small groups like FCAs. Using the recent successful push to require online price disclosures in California as a case study, you’ll learn who you need to know, how to talk to them, and how to build networks of allies.

Price Surveys and Publicity
Joyce Mitchell, FCA of Utah, FCA National and Josh Slocum, executive dir. FCA

The regular surveys of funeral and cemetery prices FCA groups conduct are what set us apart. No other nonprofits offer this community service. Not only can your price survey save members and the public thousands of dollars it can also bring you media publicity no amount of money can buy. Join Josh and Joyce to learn how to conduct a comprehensive survey (it’s OK if you need to start small!) and tell the world about it and, by extension, your FCA group. If the only list you’re publishing is the discount prices for your members then you need this workshop.

Data-wrangling: Managing Your Membership
Jim Bates, FCA of North Texas, FCA National

We’ve come a long way since the days of card catalogs and 3’ by 5’ cards. Computerized records can make managing your members and your mailing list enormously more efficient but only if you do it right. Still keeping a list of member addresses in a Microsoft Word document and printing out labels? Then this session is for you. Come learn what distinguishes a database from a simple document, and how sorting your information can save you time and make simple fundraising a lot more profitable.

Picture them in their Underwear: Spreading FCA’s Message to a Live Audience
Nancy Petersen, FCA of Greater Kansas City, FCA National

Afraid no one’s listening when you speak to groups? Notice your audience is nodding off? Giving the exact same talk to every group? Nancy Petersen’s infectious personality and enthusiasm for the topic have made her a hot public speaker for community and professional groups around her state. She’ll offer some easy and practical ideas to enhance your message, share your passion, and ensure everyone is listening.

Networking with Religious Communities
Rodger Ericson, Austin Memorial and Burial Information Society, FCA National

Religious communities are often overlooked as an important avenue for funeral consumer education. Those who attend church, synagogue, mosque or other religious gatherings are part of a supportive community where birth and death are normally shared experiences. While the care of the dead was long a part of the traditional work of church groups, most congregations by default have given this task over to the commercial funeral industry, content to serve food and follow the direction of the morticians for the mechanical procedures. With help from funeral consumer groups, religious leaders can become active educators in their congregations and communities. The Funeral Consumers Alliance has a natural place in supporting religious education and to helping members to support their bereaved.

Handling the Hotline
Nancy Petersen, FCA of Greater Kansas City
FCA National

Most funeral consumer groups rely on volunteers to answer the phone and return calls. Some volunteers feel unsure and unprepared, though. How do I answer questions about a consumer’s legal rights? Is embalming required in my state? What do I tell a caller who’s expecting a referral to a discount funeral home affiliated with us when we don’t do that? You’ll get a check list of essential knowledge for any phone volunteer, suggested answers to common consumer queries, and simple tips on where to find answers for tough-nut questions.

Fundraising 101: It’s more important—and easier—than you think
Ruth Bennett, executive director FCA of Southern Arizona, FCA National

Are you worried about getting new members? Do you see new memberships as your best and only source of income? It’s time to rethink that and learn a better way! No nonprofit can survive without a steady infusion of donations. Not just new-member fees, but voluntary contributions from current members and the public. Basic fundraising is a standard part of the nonprofit advocacy world, and it doesn’t take a team of professionals or a huge budget. Ruth Bennett is a retired businesswoman and political activist. Join her to the basics of writing a compelling solicitation letter, how to schedule your mailings, and how to stop worrying about new members and start enjoying the support your members will give you—if only you ask!

Building a Better Board
Laurie Powsner, executive director FCA of Princeton, president FCA National

Is your board running out of ideas and energy? Do you have a diversity of viewpoints and skills, or is your group too homogenous? A well-rounded board of directors includes members from a variety of fields: business, nonprofit organizations, church groups, hospice and social work, to name a few. Learn how to recruit the best and brightest from your community and give your FCA’s board new energy and ideas. And you’ll have fun doing it!

Going Green Without Going Broke
Josh Slocum, executive director FCA

You can’t turn around these days without hearing about green burial—simple funerals without embalming, caskets, vaults, and other merchandise. Media interest has certainly picked up, which is a mixed blessing. Reporters and the public have forgotten that what we call “green burial” was what we called simply “burial” 120 years ago. The perception that a natural burial is boutique purchase has taken root among some, but it’s important to remember that getting back to basics doesn’t have to break the bank. Come learn how to talk about natural burial in your community in a way that appeals to a broad constituency, not just the upper-middle class.