Thursday, May 22, 2025
The Funeral Consumers Alliance (FCA) invites you to attend their 2025 Biennial Conference: “The Cost of Goodbye: Confronting Funeral Poverty in Our Communities.” This gathering addresses the urgent challenges of funeral poverty and indigent burial. Taking place from June 26–29, 2025 in the Raleigh, NC area, this event brings together experts, advocates, and community leaders committed to ensuring equitable access to end-of-life care and services.
Why This Conversation Matters
Funeral poverty and indigent burial continue to be overlooked issues that disproportionately impact marginalized communities. Rising funeral costs, limited access to affordable alternatives, and systemic inequities leave families burdened with overwhelming expenses and difficult choices during times of grief. This year’s theme challenges us to confront these injustices head-on and explore sustainable, community-centered solutions.
By participating in this year’s conference, you’ll be part of a dynamic conversation about the future of death care —empowering local FCA affiliates to advocate for meaningful change and strengthen their community impact. Through interactive sessions, thought-provoking panels, and guided tours, attendees will leave with actionable strategies to address these urgent issues in their own communities.
Keynote & Featured Speakers
Pamela Prickett, co-author of The Unclaimed: Abandonment and Hope in the City of Angels, is the keynote speaker. Her work delves into the lives of those left behind by traditional systems of support, offering insights that resonate deeply with our mission.
Other confirmed speakers include:
Joyal Mulheron (Evermore)
Victoria Haneman (University of Georgia School of Law)
Mel Bennett (Life Forest Cemetery)
Sarah Chavez (The Order of the Good Death)
Liz Dunnebacke (WAKE)
Isabel Knight (National Home Funeral Alliance)
Sara Williams (FCA)
Miranda Panther (NAGPRA Officer, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians)
Conference Schedule Highlights
Thursday, June 26
Evening: *The Burial* movie screening & snacks
Friday, June 27
Morning: Opening ceremony, land acknowledgment, and speaker sessions
Afternoon: Additional speaker sessions and a tour of Endswell Funeral Home’s alkaline hydrolysis facility
Evening: Networking reception
Saturday, June 28, 2025
Morning & Afternoon: Speaker sessions
Evening: Elegant reception in the hotel ballroom, followed by a seated banquet and keynote address
Sunday, June 29, 2025
Morning: Tour of Bluestem Conservation Cemetery
Registration & Pricing
Early Bird Pricing: Register by May 23 to save!
Early bird fee: $250 – includes Thursday’s movie and snacks, all speaker sessions on Friday and Saturday, Saturday’s lunch, and conference swag
https://funerals.org/2025-conference-registration/
FCA 2025 Biennial Conference
June 26–29, 2025 | Embassy Suites by Hilton – Raleigh Durham Research Triangle
201 Harrison Oaks Boulevard, Cary, NC 27513 USA
Related
Gail Rubin, CT, is author and host of the award-winning book and television series, A Good Goodbye: Funeral Planning for Those Who Don’t Plan to Die, Hail and Farewell: Cremation Ceremonies, Templates and Tips, KICKING THE BUCKET LIST: 100 Downsizing and Organizing Things to Do Before You Die and The Before I Die Festival in a Box™.
Rubin is a Certified Thanatologist (that's a death educator) and a popular speaker who uses humor and films to get the end-of-life and funeral planning conversation started. She "knocked 'em dead" with her TEDx talk, A Good Goodbye. She provides continuing education credit classes for attorneys, doctors, nurses, social workers, hospice workers, financial planners, funeral directors and other professionals. She's a Certified Funeral Celebrant and funeral planning consultant who has been interviewed in national and local print, broadcast and online media.
Known as The Doyenne of Death®, she is the event coordinator of the Before I Die New Mexico Festival and author of a guide to holding such festivals. Her podcast is also called The Doyenne of Death®. She produces videos about the funeral business and related topics. Her YouTube Channel features hundreds of videos!
Rubin is a member of the Association for Death Education and Counseling, the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association, Toastmasters International and the National Speakers Association. Her speaking profile is available at eSpeakers.com.
Gail Rubin has been interviewed about funeral planning issues in national and local broadcast, print and online media. Outlets include The Huffington Post, Money Magazine, Kiplinger, CBS Radio News, WGN-TV, and local affiliates for NPR, PBS, FOX, ABC-TV, CBS-TV and NBC-TV. Albuquerque Business First named her as one of their 2019 Women of Influence.
Sign up for a free planning form and occasional informative newsletter at her website, AGoodGoodbye.com.