How to save hundreds of dollars on funeral expenses With the unemployment rates still on the rise and household incomes decreasing, access to affordable funeral services is more important than ever. A comprehensive survey of funeral home prices in Washington State shows that a family can save hundreds to thousands of dollars on funeral services by simply shopping around.  Read more

David Morrison is an attorney and longtime activist on funeral consumer issues. He served several terms on the FCA national board. Morrison has spent more than 30 years helping various individuals and religious congregations perform funeral and burial work themselves without the involvement of a funeral home. Read more

Going to the capital: how to lobby your state’s regulatory agencies and lawmakers—Jim Bates, FCA of North Texas Handout Making your newsletters make more money—Ruth Bennett, FCA national board The Grief Dialogues—Elizabeth Coplan, playwright, past-president of Peoples Memorial Association Handout Essential Basics: how to complete a funeral cost-comparison survey—Ginny Farney, FCA of Greater Kansas City
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Handout 2 7 ways to die with dementia: some thoughts about advance directives—Lamar Hankins, FCA of Central Texas  
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Handout 2 Fundraising 201: Fundraising online with email and social media—Amanda Stock, Peoples Memorial Association Fundraising 101: A one-year, direct mail plan with templates for FCA affiliate groups—Josh Slocum, Executive Director, FCA
Handout Tell everyone in town: how to get your FCA’s best speaker invited to present at allied organizations— Nancy Petersen, FCA of Greater Kansas City Handout The Urge to Merge:how three struggling FCA groups combined into one stronger, statewide organization—Sara Williams and Rebecca Taylor, FCA of North Carolina   Read more

One of the parts of consumer advocacy that many don’t know about is monitoring laws and regulations that affect consumers. Sometimes the connection between consumer advocacy and regulations isn’t immediately obvious. Funeral director licensing laws are an example. Read more