Who We Are and What We Do
The Memorial Society of Northeast New Jersey and the Memorial Society of North Central New Jersey, have combined their resources and membership to become the Funeral Consumers Alliance of Northern New Jersey. (FCANNJ). We are still a not-for-profit, 501(C) 3, non-sectarian, volunteer organization dedicated to helping people become educated funeral consumers. The FCANNJ is an affiliate of the Funeral Consumers Alliance (FCA), a national consumer organization that monitors funeral trends and advocates for fair practices on behalf of funeral consumers. For more information about FCANNJ, go to: www.funerals.org. We bring our combined experience of more than 50 years of providing objective information about laws, practices, prices and options such as burial, cremation and anatomical gifting, so people can make thoughtful, wise choices for advanced planning for end-of-life funeral arrangements, consistent with their values, life style and financial circumstances. Our expanded funeral home price survey provides up-to-date information on the costs of various services available when planning a funeral. Although we will highlight in the survey those funeral homes that have been participating providers in the past, we will no longer maintain written agreements with them. Many of these funeral homes will honor our long-term relationship with them and may offer a discount to members of FCANNJ for certain services. On this website, there are numerous brochures and publications as well as detailed information to help you understand what is involved in planning a funeral or memorial service and what your rights are as a funeral consumer. Our simple membership application and one-time membership donation of $35 for an individual and $50 for a family makes it easy to become a member and support our work. All dependent children up to the age of 26 can be included in a family membership.What We Believe
The Funeral Consumers Alliance of Northern New Jersey (FCANNJ) is a non-profit, non-sectarian organization that has no association with the funeral industry. Our mission is to provide objective funeral advice you can trust and to help people become educated funeral consumers. Planning a funeral at the last minute is extremely stressful and can be much more expensive than expected or warranted. Traditional funerals can cost as more than $16,000. FCANNJ can help a family reduce those costs dramatically and still express their love for a deceased member.- We believe funeral services should be simple, dignified and affordable
- We believe everyone, whether a member of FCANNJ or not, is entitled to know their rights and available options when planning a funeral
- We believe that educated funeral consumers can make informed choices about end-of-life services consistent with their values, life style and financial circumstances
- We believe in pre-planning funeral arrangements in consultation with family members, selecting only those services desired. Pre-payment of funerals is usually not necessary or recommended
- We believe families can make better end-of-life decisions when everyone involved is consulted
- We believe people are best served by selecting a funeral home with high ethical standards, reasonable pricing and respect for the wishes of the family to provide only those services requested