May 2021

Page A23 MAY 2021 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS Se c t i on A Time may be only a moment so keep a memory Necklace Urn Pendants for an Everlasting Keepsake. Urns hold a portion of the cremains. Sterling Silver and Gold pieces in stock. orders or catalog : www.cremationkeepsakes.com cremationkeepsakes@comcast.net 877-303-3144 CREMATION KEEPSAKES >>>> Innovative. Adaptive. Effective. Trusted. EXPERIENCE THE See how we can help at wi thum. com/why-wi thum WITHUM WAY If the US averaged the same Population per Funeral Home as Canada Canadian Pop/FH Equivalent # of US FHs # of US FHs Current Excess # of FHs in US? Excess % of FHs in US? 2001 15,670 18,162 22,499 4,337 19.3% 2002 2003 2004 2005 16,617 17,944 22,203 4,259 19.2% 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 18,123 17,229 21,928 4,699 21.4% 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 19,812 16,410 21,771 5,361 24.6% 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 20,624 16,049 21,324 5,275 24.7% * Nomis Publications, Funeral Home Listings Recap ** United Nations Population Division, World Population Prospects: The 2012 Revision-Medium Variant *** CANA Annual Statistics Report 2014 and The Cremationist Vol. 56 No. 2-2020 United States and Canada: Comparison Table F uneral H omes versus P opulation and C remation R ates United States # of Funeral Homes * Population ** Population per Funeral Home Cremation Rate *** 2001 22,499 284,594,000 12,649 27.0% 2002 22,533 28.2% 2003 22,459 29.6% 2004 22,363 31.1% 2005 22,203 298,166,000 13,429 32.4% 2006 22,386 33.8% 2007 22,257 34.6% 2008 22,077 36.2% 2009 22,002 38.2% 2010 21,928 312,247,000 14,240 40.6% 2011 21,918 42.0% 2012 21,763 43.3% 2013 21,783 45.2% 2014 21,778 47.0% 2015 21,771 325,128,000 14,934 48.7% 2016 21,757 50.3% 2017 21,633 51.7% 2018 21,515 53.1% 2019 21,417 54.6% 2020 21,324 331,003,000 15,523 Canada # of Funeral Homes * Population ** Population per Funeral Home Cremation Rate *** 2001 1,959 30,697,000 15,670 49.4% 2002 1,975 48.5% 2003 1,965 51.6% 2004 1,948 53.2% 2005 1,941 32,253,000 16,617 54.5% 2006 1,930 55.5% 2007 1,900 56.9% 2008 1,894 58.9% 2009 1,887 60.5% 2010 1,883 34,126,000 18,123 61.6% 2011 1,888 63.1% 2012 1,833 60.5% 2013 1,819 63.9% 2014 1,815 67.8% 2015 1,806 35,781,000 19,812 67.6% 2016 1,789 69.4% 2017 1,799 70.8% 2018 1,844 71.9% 2019 1,831 73.1% 2020 1,830 37,742,000 20,624 Too Many Rooftops-2 Continued from Page A22 tops as of 2020, this translates into 5,275 excess funeral homes in the United States or 24.7 percent more funeral homes than may be needed. Imagine for a moment if 25 per- cent of funeral home rooftops sud- denly disappeared? The calls per firm would jump significantly, providing United States firms more sound foot- ing financially. Think about your lo- cal market and what your market would look like with one-quarter fewer competitors. Okay, we concluded that in 2020 the United States housed 24.7 per- cent more funeral homes than need- ed. What did we find in 2015 when we conducted the same calcula- tions? We might expect that with 1,175 fewer funeral homes that the number of funeral homes needed in 2020 would be lower than in 2015. Some might think initially that the number might be higher, based on the rising population. The reality – the number of excess funeral homes in the United States in 2020 (5,275) was eerily simi- lar to 2015 (5,361), down 86 since 2015. We found that the excess fu- neral home percentage was nearly identical in 2020 (24.7 percent) as in 2015 (24.6 percent). What does this mean? It means that even with the fewer rooftops, the United States still has 25 percent more rooftops than the Canadian equivalent. Nei- ther gaining nor declining, the Unit- ed States houses more funeral homes than practical. While speculative, my suspicions hold that we have entered a realign- ment phase in funeral home own- ership. Many funeral home owners are over 50 years of age, quite a few over 60 years old – the baby boom- er owners. These owners will exit fu- neral service in sizable numbers in the next several years, either volun- tarily or involuntarily. This realign- Foundation Partners Group Teams Up with American Forests to Plant 50,000 Trees in Honor of National Funeral Director and Mortician Recognition Day ORLANDO,FL— Foun- dation Partners Group has announced a new part- nership with American Forests, the oldest nation- al nonprofit conservation organization in the Unit- ed States, to plant more than 50,000 trees in honor of the tireless efforts of its team of funeral service pro- fessionals who have helped families through the pain and loss of the COVID-19 pandemic. The March 11th an- nouncement marks Na- tional Funeral Director and Mortician Recognition Day , a day set aside by Con- gress in 2008 to “pay tribute to these funeral directors and morticians who, day in and day out, assist our Na- tion’s families in their times of sadness and grief and help families mourn a death and celebrate a life.” The Foundation Partners’ donation to American For- www.nomispublications.com ADS Classified Online Funeral Home & Cemetery News ment may well rectify the excess rooftops and bring more financial stability to the remaining funeral homes, primarily those firms well- managed economically. One impact of Covid 19 is the stress the pandemic placed on funer- al directors and funeral home own- ers. Despite rising to the challenge over the last year, a number of own- ers now look to exit their business- es. The pandemic accelerated their exit plans which could expedite the reduction in rooftops more quickly than we might expect. I am reminded of a quote from marketing expert and 2019 NFDA speaker, Seth Godin, who said, “The only way forward, if you’re an entre- preneur who wants to build some- thing better, is to get on the side of change, not to fight against change.” Change is certainly upon us. The question is – will we embrace the changes? ests will cover the cost of planting one tree for each family served by funeral directors and morticians at the company’s nearly 160 funeral homes, cemeteries and cremation centers in 20 states in 2020. “Today is a day to show gratitude to our funeral directors, morticians and cemeterians, and to recog- nize the sacrifices they have made to serve families in new and creative ways dur- ing these unprecedented times,” said Kent Robert- son, Foundation Partners Group president. “So, to- day we plant trees to honor our team members and the families they served, and to represent new life where there was loss.” American Forests was founded in 1875 to create healthy and resilient forests, from cities to wilderness, that deliver essential bene- fits for climate, people, wa- ter and wildlife. It advanc- es that mission through forestry innovation, place- based partnerships to plant and restore forests, and movement building.