Funeral Consumers Alliance of San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties
(formerly Funeral and Memorial Planning Society)
We have a variety of published materials available. You can purchase the items indicated on this list. You can also visit our office library during business hours and arrange to borrow various items at no cost.
The recently created 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation Funeral Education Foundation (FEF) provides education and information to the general public in aspects of planning for death and dying.
Funeral Consumers Alliance (FCA) provides membership services. We continue to be dedicated to simple, dignified, and economical funeral arrangements, and provide services in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties in Northern California. We’ve been in operation for over 50 years now.
Available for Purchase
- Tapes, Forms, Kits
| Refrigerator Planning Kit (contains) California Advance Directives “Before I Go” booklet (20 pages) Refrigerator Magnet Several helpful brochures Plastic pouch | member price – by mail $8.00 member price – pickup at office $6.00 non-member price – by mail $10.00 |
| Audio Tape – 1995 Annual Meeting with Jessica Mitford | $6.00 |
| Audio Tape – 2001 Annual Meeting with Panel of Religious Leaders about Beliefs and Customs regard death) | $6.00 |
| Audio Tape – 2002 Annual Meeting with Lisa Carlson presenting “Funeral Mischief, Then and Now” | $6.00 |
| Form – California Advance Directives | $1.00 |
| Form – California Natural Death Declaration or Do Not Resuscitate | $1.00 |
- Books and Booklets
Free Brochures
| 1 – Cremation Explained: Answers to Questions | 2 – Eco-Friendly Death and Funeral Choices | 3 – Catholics and Simple Funerals |
| 4 – Simple & Cheap, My Father Said | 5 – Earth Burial: A Tradition in Simplicity | 6 – Directory of Memorial Societies in the U. S. |
| 7 – 12 Reasons Why People Pay “Too Much” for a Funeral | 8 – Light Like the Sun – An Essay on Cremation | 9 – Veterans’ Funeral and Burial Benefits |
| 10 – What Shall We Do with the Ashes? | 11 – Understanding the Tricks of the Funeral Trade | 12 – Recycle Your Medical Devices |
| 13 – Did You Forget? (telling your family about your funeral plans) | 14 – Burial Vaults, Lawn Crypts and Grave Liners | 15 – Viewing and Visitation: the Difference |
| 16 – Lay Me to Rest in a Plain Pine Box | 17 – Prepaying Your Funeral: Benefits and Dangers | 18 – Beat the High Cost of Funerals |
| 19 – Death Away from Home | 20 – How to Help Grieving People: What to Say & Do | 21 – Guide to Funeral Planning: Affordable Options |
| 22 – Death in One State; Burial in Another | 23 – No One Wants to Talk About Death: How to Help | 24 – Ten Tips for Saving Funeral $$$ |
| 25 – Common Funeral Myths | 26 – Starting a Funeral Committee in Your Congregation | 27 – Buying a Casket |
| 28 – A Family’s Experience Scattering Ashes in Yosemite | 29 – Hospices and Grief Counseling Resources | 30 – What You Should Know About Embalming |
| 31 – eScrip Information Packet | 32 – A Safer Way to Prepay Your Funeral | 33 – Final Arrangements; a Guide to Planning |
| 34 – Scattering of Cremains | 35 – Mortuaries in San Mateo and/or Santa Clara Counties | 36 – Checklists A & B for Before & After Death |
| 37 – Plans for Building a Casker | 38 – How Much Will My Funeral Cost? | 39 – How to Read a (Mortuary) General Price List |
| 40 – Funeral & Cemetery Purchases (CA DCA) | 41 – Monument Companies in 2 Counties | 42 – Checklist for Cemetery Purchases |
| 43 – Cemeteries in San Mateo/Santa Clara Counties | 44 – Churches with Memorial Gardens | 45 – Obituary Form |
| 46 – How to Plan a Memorial Service | 47 – Organ & Tissue Donor Network/Donor Card | 48 – Body and Organ Donation: A Gift to Science |
| 49 – Stanford or UCSF Anatomy -Body Donation | 50 – Survivors Booklet (Social Security Administration) | 51 – Latest Local Funeral Home Price Survey |
| 52 – What to Do When Someone Dies | 53 – How to File a Funeral Complaint | 54 – Creating a Memorial Service |
| 55 – My Friend is Dying – What Do I Say? | 56 – When Someone You Care About is Grieving | 57 – Funerals: A Consumer’s Guide (Federal Trade Commission) |
| 58 – Ethical Wills |
Main Page | Immediate Need | Planning | Members | Order Brochures | Join! | Volunteer Opportunities
Funeral Consumers Alliance
463 College Avenue (P.O. Box 60448)
Palo Alto, CA 94306
(650) 321-2109 or (888) 775-5553 (Bay Area no toll)
Send email to FCA’s Office Manager.
office hours: Mon – Thursday 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.