About
We are one of many affiliates of the National Funeral Consumers Alliance.
We serve Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties in California. We are, at this time, classified by the IRS as a 501(c)(4) membership organization. We are in the process of becoming a 501(c)(3) educational and advocacy organization. Both classifications qualify donations as tax deductible. We are run entirely by volunteers. ALL of our income is from donations.
Our Mission
TCMFS empowers people to find after death arrangements reflecting their personal values and financial resources.
Our Vision
The TCMFS envisions a future where everyone has access to after death arrangements that are meaningful, culturally appropriate, reflect personal values and fit their financial resources. Through education, advocacy and providing objective facts, The Tri-County Memorial Funeral Society, a non-profit organization, offers its members and the broader community resources for planning end-of-life decisions and information about consumer rights that can reduce the confusion and exploitation of survivors.
Things We Do
- We provide an online comparison of funeral prices and services
- We disseminate information regarding consumer rights
- We offer education on end of life options for cremation, burial or alternative means of disposing of the body
- We sponsor workshops for individuals
- We share information with faith leaders
- We refer people to grief resources
- We offer funeral planning resources
- We monitor local and national industry trends
- We advocate for consumer protections
- We connect organizations with speakers on end of life issues
- We give our members an assurance that they will not be upsold at a funeral home
- We develop relationships with service providers who may offer discounts to our members.
We support pre-planning and discourage pre-paying.
Things We Don’t Do
We Are NOT a Funeral Home or Cemetery
Our History, Briefly
In the Beginning
The Funeral Consumer Alliance movement in the United States began in 1939 in Washington state. It has now grown to a nationwide group of affiliated organizations all across the country. In 1962 the Tri-County Memorial Funeral Society (TCMFS) was formed to serve the residents of Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties in California.
TCMFS grew to several thousand members and provided great help to them in their times of need by publishing accurate information on what services were available and at what cost from various providers in our counties. TCMFS also negotiated special member discounts on those services with some providers and helped people learn what their rights are as consumers, to lessen the possibility that some unscrupulous salesperson might take advantage of them.
A Crisis Moment
In 2019 the TCMFS nearly died from lack of volunteer support. Two volunteers from the Funeral Consumer Alliance of California (FCA-CA) stepped in to help the members of TCMFS decide what to do. They called a meeting in October and explained to the roughly 40 members who showed up that they had a choice to make: (1) let TCMFS die; (2) try to merge it with a nearby Funeral Consumer Alliance affiliated organization; or (3) try to revive the TCMFS as a standalone organization, affiliated with and supported by the FCA-CA volunteers. The group chose the third option.
Six people agreed to serve in various capacities on the newly constituted Board. In the intervening year, we’ve reconnected with FCA affiliates, updated our bylaws, revamped our website and are currently converting to a 501(c)3 status and collecting price lists from providers across the three counties. We need volunteers to help with this and other projects!
Our Board of Directors
Click here to see our present Board of Directors and the various open tasks for which we need new volunteers.