People prepare for end-of-life challenges and impending death in different ways. Checking off adventures from a bucket list may take precedence for some, while others may devote their remaining days, months, or years to spending as much time as possible with the ones they love. For most, though, ensuring that their healthcare, finances, and worldly possessions will all be properly managed before and after they’re gone is an unavoidable necessity. Often the simple desire to tidy up loose ends and relieve potential burdens for loved ones is motivation enough to “get one’s house in order” well in advance of death. Creating a last will and testament and a living will can certainly help from a legal standpoint. Living wills, or healthcare directives, will keep family members from having to make difficult medical decisions when a loved one becomes incapacitated. Last wills designate how assets will be distributed or disposed of upon death, hopefully eliminating personal and legal disputes over who gets what. But there’s another end-of-life document that more and more people are choosing to leave behind: an ethical will. Not a new ideaInstead of detailing the distribution of monetary wealth or physical assets, ethical wills (sometimes called legacy letters) are written to leave behind a “wealth of wisdom” or “moral assets.” Ethical wills typically express lessons learned from the past, an honest evaluation of the present, and their wishes for their loved ones’ future. For some people, it’s more important to pass along their values than their valuables to the next generations. Although ethical wills have enjoyed a resurgence in the past four or five decades, they’ve actually been around in both oral and written form since Biblical times. In Deuteronomy 33 and John 15-17, both Moses and Jesus verbally bid farewell and impart sage advice and blessings to their followers. Later, scholars left behind writings encouraging students to continue learning from their teachings even after their deaths. During the Middle Ages, families would create documents that included their wishes for final disposition as well as their hopes for their descendants. Historians have found that this type of writing was especially popular with women, who may not be recognized legally, but still desired to leave a legacy for loved ones. Ethical wills have always been an integral element of Jewish culture. Known as a tzava’ot, the ethical will became especially important during the Holocaust, when Jews would record their calls for vengeance from future generations for the atrocities they suffered. After the Holocaust, ethical wills became a tool for survivors to help other Jews understand how they held onto their faith through all they endured. Ethical wills todayThese days, the concept of creating an ethical will has gained ground with all cultures, genders, and ages. Although later life stages or terminal diagnoses are often the impetus to review and record values, beliefs, and life lessons, some people feel the urge to write an ethical will while coming to terms with transitional events like childbirth, marriage, or major illness or surgery. The process itself can be quite cathartic for some, forcing them to come to terms with decisions they’ve made, apologize for things they’ve done, and say things they’ve never been able to verbalize. For those at end-of-life, an ethical will can help them come to terms with their mortality and help them “let go” when the time comes. Ethical wills could and probably should go hand-in-hand with the preparation of not only legal wills, but also funeral and final disposition planning. In this series, we’ll review what’s typically included in an ethical will, share some examples, and explore some ways that you could include and perhaps even monetize the ethical will preparation process in your preneed offerings. The post Ethical Wills Part 1: What is an Ethical Will? appeared first on Connecting Directors. Ethical Wills Part 1: What is an Ethical Will? published first on YouTube via Tumblr Ethical Wills Part 1: What is an Ethical Will?
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WHEELING, IL — As a death care professional, you know it is essential to be prepared to meet family needs and provide expert guidance. Consumers want their funerals to reflect their lives, and that often includes incorporating green values. Though there are widely varying definitions of “green,” the requests for green funerals, or even just greener options, will continue to increase. Over 200 U.S. cemeteries—nearly every state has at least one—offer some type of green burial option. Whether in natural burial grounds, conservation preserves, or hybrid cemeteries, it is becoming easier for those who want a green burial to have one. Not sure how to serve families who want a greener option? Or do you already offer these options but want to network and gain ideas for promoting them within your community? Join Passages International and the Cremation Association of North America October 2-4, 2019 in Albuquerque, NM as we come together to explore the shades of green when it comes to funeral practices. Then plan to stay through the weekend for the International Balloon Fiesta! Additional details, including the full program and registration information, will be available soon on the CANA website. About CANA Founded in 1913, the Cremation Association of North America (CANA) is an international organization of over 3,300 members, composed of funeral homes, cemeteries, crematories, industry suppliers, and consultants. CANA members believe that cremation is preparation for memorialization. About Passages International, Inc. The post First-Ever Green Funeral Conference Scheduled for October appeared first on Connecting Directors. First-Ever Green Funeral Conference Scheduled for October published first on YouTube via Tumblr First-Ever Green Funeral Conference Scheduled for October West Des Moines, Iowa — Homesteaders Life Company Executive VP-Sales and Marketing Lyndon Peterson announced today the release of two new products – Assurance Elite® and Assurance Connect®. The new offerings round out the company’s already robust portfolio by providing a high agent compensation and low premium payment option. “We regularly review our portfolio to ensure the products we offer help funeral home customers capture new business and build relationships with pre-need families,” Peterson said. “In the last few years, we’ve recognized a need for a new type of product – one that addresses the demands of very active firms as well as those in highly competitive markets. We designed Assurance Elite® and Assurance Connect® to address those needs.” Assurance Elite® is optimized for funeral homes that want high upfront compensation to fund active pre-need programs. The product offers Homesteaders’ highest available agent compensation. Assurance Connect® features Homesteaders’ most cost-effective monthly premiums – among the lowest in the industry – helping firms compete in markets where price is a competitive differentiator. Both products are backed by Homesteaders’ commitment to financial excellence and designed to be beneficial for both consumers and funeral homes. “Our product design process ensures balance between all parties involved the pre-need sale,” affirmed Jim Koher, Homesteaders’ Executive VP-Chief Actuary. “We work with our distribution partners and funeral home customers to develop products that are beneficial to consumers, offer competitive compensation for agents and funeral homes and provide profitability that ensures Homesteaders remains strong and secure in the long term.” With Assurance Elite® and Assurance Connect®, funeral homes and agents also enjoy:
“Smart, secure funding is an essential component in a successful pre-need program,” Peterson explained. “But product is only one component of a quality value offering. You also need a funding partner with the expertise and experience to help grow your program. At Homesteaders, we’re focused on providing complete solutions for our customers and agents.” For more information about Assurance Elite® and Assurance Connect®, contact your Homesteaders account executive or call 800-477-3633. Homesteaders Life Company, a mutual company owned by its policy holders, is a national leader providing products and services to promote and support the funding of advance funeral planning and end-of-life expenses. The post Homesteaders Introduces Two New Products appeared first on Connecting Directors. Homesteaders Introduces Two New Products published first on YouTube via Tumblr Homesteaders Introduces Two New Products STERLING, VA – The International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA) has named its 2018 Keeping It Personal (KIP) Award winners, recognizing the best in personalization in the cemetery and funeral service profession.Created by the ICCFA Personalization Committee, the KIP program honors recipients in four categories: Most Personalized Service/Memorial; Events; Innovative Personalized Product (suppliers only); and Most Personalized Pet Service/Memorial. This year’s contest attracted 40 entries from El Salvador, Canada and the United States. Communications and marketing professionals from outside the cemetery and funeral service profession performed the judging. The winners are as follows: MOST PERSONALIZED SERVICE OR MEMORIAL First Place and Grand Prize Winner Cedar Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery: Butterfly Blankets Cedar Rapids, Iowa Honorable Mention Loyless Funeral Homes: Memorial Service for Les Brown Tampa, Florida EVENTS First Place A Good Goodbye: 2nd Annual Before I Die New Mexico Festival Albuquerque, New Mexico Honorable Mention Jackson Lytle & Lewis Life Celebration Center: Honor Field Springfield, Ohio INNOVATIVE/PERSONALIZED PRODUCT (SUPPLIERS) First Place The Domani Group: Domanicare Orem, Utah Honorable Mention UPD Urns: Totem Of Life And Death Manassas, Virginia MOST PERSONALIZED PET SERVICE OR MEMORIAL First Place Clock Timeless Pets: Helping a Community Heal Muskegon, Michigan Honorable Mention Rolling Acres Memorial Gardens for Pets: Memorial Service for Buddy Kansas City, Missouri The grand prize winner, Cedar Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery, received a free registration to the 2019 ICCFA Annual Convention & Exposition, April 2-6, at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. All first place and honorable mention winners were recognized at the Convention on Friday, April 5 on the general session stage. The winners will be featured in the May issue of the ICCFA Magazine. The ICCFA congratulates this year’s winners for their commitment to honoring the life stories of the families they serve. More information on the winners is available on the ICCFA website at www.iccfa.com/kip. Founded in 1887, the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA) is the only international trade association representing all segments of the cemetery, cremation, funeral and memorialization industry. Its membership is composed of more than 9,100 rooftop locations and 18,000 professionals in the cemetery, funeral home and crematory industries, as well as memorial designers and related businesses worldwide. To learn more, please visit www.iccfa.com or connect with ICCFA on Facebook and Twitter. The post ICCFA Names 2018 “Keeping It Personal” Award Winners appeared first on Connecting Directors. ICCFA Names 2018 “Keeping It Personal” Award Winners published first on YouTube via Tumblr ICCFA Names 2018 “Keeping It Personal” Award Winners “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” — Helen Keller Are you happy with how many client families you work with per day, week, year? Would you like to see yourself and others helping more people, doing the work that you love? Well guess what, there’s a fast lane […] The post Grow Your Funeral Home Fast By Collaborating With These 6 Types of Local Businesses appeared first on funeralOne Blog. Grow Your Funeral Home Fast By Collaborating With These 6 Types of Local Businesses published first on YouTube via Tumblr Grow Your Funeral Home Fast By Collaborating With These 6 Types of Local Businesses More changes have come to Facebook’s digital memorialization pages making them more advanced, more effective, and even more likely to be the digital memorial service that’s most used by people in the future. In our last post, ‘Facebook’s new tribute section’, we talked about the ‘Tribute’ section that Facebook had begun adding to profiles when a user dies. Using this new feature, people can write notes about their lost friends and loved ones directly on the memorialized page. This is reducing the market for funeral home-hosted memorial pages, and while this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it does reduce the exposure that funeral homes are receiving online. Funeral Homes are now starting to increase their focus on Facebook so that they can maintain exposure and continue to attract new clients. With additional changes this month, Facebook has now made itself an even more dominant player in the digital memorialization world with ‘legacy contacts’. You can now set who becomes your legacy contact and when Facebook is informed of the death of someone the legacy contact will become in control of the account. The legacy contact will be able to act as a moderator of the account and have the ability to delete comments, remove tags and block accounts from posting or viewing the tribute section. This is a great feature because it allows legacy contacts to help protect others from seeing content that might upset them. Another update is aimed at younger users’ accounts. In the past, if you were under 18 you couldn’t have a legacy contact, and if you didn’t have one set before you died then your account was permanently locked. This meant that younger users’ accounts couldn’t have moderators, but fortunately, they have now updated it so that parents can request to be a legacy contact to a child’s page after their child passes away. Finally, Facebook has updated their AI so that people don’t get notifications from deceased accounts. The notifications get blocked as soon as Facebook finds out that someone has died, and stops showing notifications before the account has even been changed to a memorialization page. All these updates are great for users because they reduce any unintended trauma and put more control into the hands of people that are going to be most affected by the page. It does, however, mean that the exposure funeral homes used to receive from digital memorialization is likely to continue to decrease, as Facebook memorialization pages become more widely used and begin to dominate the market. Now is the time for funeral homes to shift to digital marketing strategies. People are still going to need memorialization services just as much as before, but finding out that you provide those services is beginning to get more challenging. If you want to learn more about Facebook’s digital memorialization pages, see our previous article here. Want to learn how shifting to Facebook marketing can help you gain market share, increase call volume, and grow revenue? Click to schedule a free demo with DISRUPT Media today. Article by Connecting Directors contributor Charles Latham The post Facebook Takes More Memorial Page Market Share with Additional Updates appeared first on Connecting Directors. Facebook Takes More Memorial Page Market Share with Additional Updates published first on YouTube via Tumblr Facebook Takes More Memorial Page Market Share with Additional Updates Batesville, Indiana – ClearPoint Federal Bank & Trust (“ClearPoint”), an industry leader in providing fiduciary services, investment management, and recordkeeping services to members of the death care industry, has announced a career development program that awards death care professionals with the opportunity to further their training in the profession. The first initiative in the program is a giveaway to provide free registration to the National Funeral Director Association’s (NFDA) Arranger Training the day prior to the Texas Funeral Director Association’s (TFDA) convention in June. The Arranger Training Program will take place on June 9, 2019 in Fort Worth, Texas from 8 am – 5 pm. The winner of the giveaway will have the cost of the registration fee reimbursed by ClearPoint. The registration is not transferable and all travel expenses are the responsibility of the winner. To enter the contest, funeral professionals should send an email to [email protected] by May 20, 2019. In the email, please include the following: your name, business name, phone number and email address. The winner will be drawn on May 21, 2019 at which time they will be contacted. “There are two primary reasons we have partnered with the NFDA and the TFDA on this important career development initiative,” said David de Gorter, ClearPoint CEO and President. “The first is our shared passion and commitment to the advancement and success of funeral service professionals. The second reason is our desire to support organizations that are such a strong advocate for the profession.” NFDA’s Arranger Training Program is a high energy, interactive workshop that provides funeral professionals with the tools needed to partner with families and design memorable life tribute events. Through a combination of small- and large-group discussions, problem-solving and creative collaboration, attendees will leave with fresh approaches and new ideas to transform arrangement conferences. The program is facilitated by Lacy Robinson, NFDA’s Director of Member Development and earns up to eight continuing education hours. “I’m looking forward to facilitating NFDA’s Arranger Training Program once again in the great state of Texas prior to TFDA’s annual convention.” stated NFDA’s Lacy Robinson. “Having a respected company like ClearPoint step up to support our Arranger Training Program is very much appreciated and speaks volumes of their support for the profession.” “As a company solely focused on providing products and services to the death care industry, ClearPoint values organizations such as the NFDA and the TFDA that are devoted to the profession,” added de Gorter. “Just as with our financial donation to the Funeral Service Foundation, we believe supporting such organizations is crucial to the future success of funeral service, which makes this a very meaningful initiative for ClearPoint.” About NFDA – www.nfda.org NFDA is the world’s leading and largest funeral service association, serving more than 20,000 individual members who represent nearly 11,000 funeral homes in the United States and 49 countries around the world. NFDA is the trusted leader, beacon for ethics and the strongest advocate for the profession. NFDA is the association of choice because it offers funeral professionals comprehensive educational resources, tools to manage successful businesses, guidance to become pillars in their communities and the expertise to foster future generations of funeral professionals. NFDA is headquartered in Brookfield, Wis., and has an office in Washington, D.C. About ClearPoint Federal Bank & Trust – www.clearpointfederal.com ClearPoint Federal Bank & Trust is a federally chartered savings bank based in Batesville, Indiana. ClearPoint is dedicated solely to the funeral home and cemetery industry. Independently owned and operated, ClearPoint has provided customized funeral home and cemetery trust and related services since 1998, which are now available in over 43 states and the District of Columbia. The post ClearPoint Federal Bank & Trust Announces Development Initiative for Funeral Service appeared first on Connecting Directors. ClearPoint Federal Bank & Trust Announces Development Initiative for Funeral Service published first on YouTube via Tumblr ClearPoint Federal Bank & Trust Announces Development Initiative for Funeral Service It’s not everyday that a death care provider is featured in AdWeek, a publication which is to the marketing elite what The Wall Street Journal is to, well, Wall Street. So what is it about Solace, a brand-spanking-new cremation service based in Oregon, that attracted the attention of the nation’s most popular advertising trade news source? Perhaps it’s the fact that Solace, which announced the virtual opening of its digital doors on April 3, is the brainchild of two former Nike executives who also co-own a creative agency…which was also featured in AdWeek when it launched in October. Together, Solace founders Keith Crawford and David Odusanya spent 37 years at Nike, and were responsible for one the brand’s most enduring and iconic campaigns, “Just Do It.” Seeking SolaceSo what brought this dynamic duo to death care?
Currently serving Multnomah, Clackamas, and Washington counties in Oregon and Clark County, Washington, Solace offers “priority direct cremation” within two days of receipt of required authorizations that can be executed electronically through a secure, mobile-friendly process. A flat-fee payment of $1175 is due in full before Solace takes over, and cremains are returned to the family via in-person delivery or USPS Priority Mail within seven to ten business days in a sleek, recyclable Solace urn. The only potential added fee is for certified copies of death certificates, which Solace will file along with applicable permits. Although an entire engagement with Solace could be handled with nearly no human interaction (the only exception being discreet pick-up for transportation by Solace representatives), Solace offers a care team to provide “concierge-level support” by phone or online 24/7. Malisa Riceci, a former independent funeral director with more than 15 years of experience, ensures Solace all care team members are “trained in the delicate balancing act of empathy while servicing clients.” Cremation competitionSolace isn’t the only service to offer online-arranged direct cremations, although the company definitely boasts one of nicest websites in the industry and a great tagline: “Honor Life, Lived.” Smart Cremation, part of Northstar Memorial Group, provides direct cremation options in California, Washington, Oregon, Texas, and Arizona with a business model somewhat similar to Solace, as does Tulip Cremation in California and Cremation Online in Texas. Then there are sites like Simple Cremation Online, which serve as a liaison to connect you with a local preferred cremation provider within their network. Crawford isn’t worried about the competition, though.
The post 2 Former Nike Executives are Taking Digital Death Care to the Next Level appeared first on Connecting Directors. 2 Former Nike Executives are Taking Digital Death Care to the Next Level published first on YouTube via Tumblr 2 Former Nike Executives are Taking Digital Death Care to the Next Level STERLING, VA – The International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association elected new leadership during its 2019 Annual Convention & Exposition, April 2–6 in Charlotte, North Carolina. ICCFA officers for 2019-2020 are:
Members elected to serve three-year terms on the ICCFA Board of Directors are:
Past presidents elected to serve a one-year term on the Board:
The International Memorialization Supply Association appointment to the Board is Jordan The presidential appointments to represent the ICCFA on the Cemetery Consumer Service
Members of the 2019-2020 Executive Committee are as follows:
Founded in 1887, the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association is the only international trade association representing all segments of the cemetery, The post ICCFA Elects New Officers, Directors During the 2019 Annual Convention appeared first on Connecting Directors. ICCFA Elects New Officers, Directors During the 2019 Annual Convention published first on YouTube via Tumblr ICCFA Elects New Officers, Directors During the 2019 Annual Convention When you have the cremated remains of people and pets, there’s a new option for keeping them at home or putting them in a cemetery. via Tumblr Creative Urn Towers Offer New Options for Cremated Remains |
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