Professional Associations
There are several different professional bodies for funeral directors to belong to. The most significant ones are:
The National Association of Funeral Directors – The UK’s biggest professional association of funeral directors, the NAFD has 3,200 members comprising funeral homes, suppliers to the industry and British firms that conduct funeral overseas. They range from small, family-run concerns to the large chains, and between them carry out in excess of 500,000 funeral services each year.
The NAFD fulfils several roles. Its members are allowed to display the organization’s golden lion logo in their publicity, serving as a mark of quality. It also lobbies government at different levels over issues which affect funeral directors, offers legal advice and financial services, and provides a range of training courses to members of the profession. In addition, NAFD publishes the monthly trade publication Funeral Director Monthly and organizes an annual conference.
http://www.nafd.org.uk/funeral-advice/funeral-advice-home.aspx
The National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors – SAIF is the UK’s second largest professional association for funeral directors, with 700 members nationally. It only allows funeral homes which are not part of a major conglomerate or chain to join, and campaigns to represent the interests of independent funeral businesses.
Similarly to NAFD, it also offers a wide range of practical services to its members. SAIF runs training programmes for workers in the funeral industry, has links with funeral suppliers, and is actively involved with schemes to build strong links between funeral directors and their communities.
http://www.saif.org.uk/website/funeralprofession/index_funeral.html#
The Association of Green Funeral Directors – A proponent of the UK’s expanding “green burial” movement, the AGFD works with funeral homes to allow them to become more environmentally-friendly in the way they do business, and campaigns in favour of green techniques, such as woodland burial. Members are expected to obey a code of practice which stipulates high ethical and environmental standards when planning and conducting funerals.
