Welcome to the website of the Funeral Consumers Alliance of Western Massachusetts (FCAWM). We hope you will find the information you seek about how you can choose meaningful, dignified, and affordable final arrangements: including funeral or memorial services, care of the body, and disposition of human remains (including burial, cremation or donation).
Major Page links are listed in the site menu above (including a site map).
Page Subtopic links are indexed in sidebar to the right of some pages.
Recent addition links are indexed in sidebar to the right of Home only. ➙
After exploring our website, please let us know if there is information you were unable to find, questions you have, or suggestions for improving this website.
Thank you.
About Us
Here you will find general information about the Funeral Consumers Alliance of Western Massachusetts and what to expect from this website plus some occasional news items.
See index of About Us page topics in sidebar at right ➙
Advice You Can Trust
The Funeral Consumers Alliance of Western Massachusetts is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to helping our neighbors make funeral or memorial arrangements that are dignified, meaningful and affordable.
We achieve this goal through consumer education outreach, including group presentations, funeral home price surveys, our newsletter and other printed materials, and individual consultations.…
Planning Ahead
Planning Ahead - THE NEED FOR ADVANCE PLANNING
Have you considered what immediate decisions must be made by your family when you die?
Have you and your family discussed these decisions and arrived at an understanding?
Do your present plans provide for memorial or funeral arrangements that you and your family would really want?
Facts and FAQs
Did you know . . . ?
• Most individuals never share their funeral or burial wishes with their family members. FCAWM members receive forms and instructions on how to communicate this information, sparing relatives from difficult, expensive decisions.
…
Speaker for your Group
We can supply a SPEAKER FOR YOUR GROUP
A volunteer from the Funeral Consumers Alliance of Western Massachusetts will discuss:
- How to plan ahead for dignified yet affordable end-of-life services
- How to deal with the funeral industry
- What the consumer should know about the Federal Trade Commission's Funeral Rule and other funeral related laws
Upcoming Projects/Events
Upcoming projects and events
- Newsletter, edited by President Sandy Ward, is published twice a year.
- Working to establish Green Burial options in Massachusetts.
Carol Coan heads our Green Burial Committee.
Learn more by reading her introduction: …
News Item(s)
NEWS ITEM: State inspectors have charged 46 Massachusetts funeral homes around the state with violating the FTC Funeral Rule by failing to give out price lists to undercover inspectors. Read the details at: http://www.funerals.org/newsandalerts/consumer-alerts/614-massftcviolators2009…
Newsletter Page
Members receive a printed copy of each newsletter at their home address.
See link below to an online version in pdf file format. Click here if you need to download the free Adobe reader for pdf files.
NEW Fall 2011 Newsletter Note: this large file may take a little time to download and open.…
Board Meetings
Board Meeting Schedule
All interested people welcome!
Please bring your ideas and join the volunteers who have stepped forward to help with the mission of this organization.
The Next Board Meeting is:
TBA - sometime after Oct. 23 Annual Meeting
Please phone …
Annual Meeting
Our 2011 Annual Meeting was held on
Sunday, October 23, 2011
1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Program - a panel speaking on the topic of Anatomical Donations.
Your Last Gift:
Anatomical Donations
Come learn about options for donating your organs and/or whole body.
Have you considered donating your body to a medical school? …
What You Should Know Before You Go
BEFORE VISITING ANY FUNERAL HOME or considering any online or television advertising , we strongly recommend that consumers consider the following as minimum preparation.
See index of "What You Should Know" topics in sidebar at right ➙
Funeral Rule of the FTC
Funerals: Consumer Rights Under the Funeral Rule - from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/funerals/
This is the excellent site that lays out the basics that a consumer most needs to know to begin planning final arrangements, including an introduction to the so called Funeral Rule.
Massachusetts Consumer Facts
Consumers Guide to Planning a Funeral
A very brief primer on what the Massachusetts consumer should consider before talking with a funeral director. It includes a brief section on Pre-Paid ("Pre-Need") Funeral Arrangements.
BEFORE ENTERING INTO ANY PRE-NEED CONTRACT, please think about the FCA general position on pre-need contracts: …
Funeral Homes Listing
BEFORE VISITING ANY FUNERAL HOME, we strongly recommend that consumers read our information regarding the Funeral Rule and Massachusetts Consumer Facts.
Below is a list of all Western Massachusetts funeral homes known to us with contact information. Please inform us of any omissions or errors by e mail
2010 Funeral Home Price Survey
2010 Funeral Home Price Survey
Every two years FCAWM surveys funeral homes in Western Massachusetts to obtain General Price Lists (GPL). Funeral homes are required by the Federal Trade Commission’s Funeral Rule (revised 1994) to provide a General Price List to anyone who visits in person and inquires about funeral services and to provide specific prices if they are requested by phone. …
Crematories
Crematories
Note: Most of this page is devoted to crematories located within Massachusetts (and one in New Hampshire), all of which presently require that arrangements be made through a funeral home, rather than through the crematory itself.
At the bottom of the page, see information on the Vermont-based Eternal Blessings Cremation Service…
Casket Retail Outlets
Casket Retail Sales Outlets
The Federal Trade Commission's Funeral Rule requires that funeral homes permit the consumer to purchase a casket from a separate source without imposing any additional charge for doing so. As always, we recommend comparison shopping before making a purchase. Be sure that the retail outlet is, in fact, charging less than the funeral home would charge for a comparable item.…
Brochures
We offer educational brochures on a variety of topics. The brochures are free; however, your donation will help to offset our costs of duplication and mailing.
______ The Cremation Option in Western Massachusetts (FCAWM)
______ Funeral Home Price List for Western Massachusetts (FCAWM)
______ Funeral or Cremation Checklist (FCAWM)
…
Workshop on Funeral Planning at GCC
Credit-free workshop at GCC
Funeral Planning for the Living
If you had died yesterday . . .
. . . what kind of casket would your survivors be choosing for you? Is it what you’d want? Is there something else you’d prefer?
. . . how much would the funeral they’d be planning for you cost? Does it need to cost that much?…
Speaker for your Group
Confused? It is a lot to take in just from reading the information online or in printouts.
We can supply a speaker for your group on the topic of
"What You Should Know ... Before you Go" issues.
A volunteer from the Funeral Consumers Alliance of Western Massachusetts will discuss:
- How to plan ahead for dignified yet affordable end-of-life services
…
Join Us
BECOME A MEMBER
How you benefit . . .
• You get advice from a group of knowledgeable volunteers who are not in the business of selling funeral services.
• You gain information on options for body disposal—conventional burial, “green” burial, cremation, donation of organs or the whole body, home funerals, and more.
…
Links Page
We hope the following short compendium of links will prove helpful, particularly the Massachusetts-specific sites. A much more comprehensive list of links can be found on the national FCA website http://www.funerals.org/
Note: The Green Burial Committee of the Funeral Consumers Alliance of Western Massachusetts (FCAWM) now has its own website at …
Contact Us
- to ask us a question or to provide us with information
- to volunteer to help with our efforts
- to inform the webmaster of problems, corrections, or suggestions
Or phone us at
413-774-2320
Or send us a letter at
FCAWM
P. O. Box 994
Greenfield, MA 01302-0994
Site Map
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