Related Entities

New Jersey Funeral Directors Services, Inc. is the operating arm of the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association and its related entities. Through its oversight and operational responsibilities to promote the welfare of the funeral profession and the public which it serves, NJFDS provides vehicles through which administrative and management systems may be made available. It operates and manages other funeral related legal entities permitted under New Jersey State Law.

New Jersey Funeral Directors Services is a for-profit C-corporation, owned by the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association, Inc. and the New Jersey Funeral Service Education Corporation.

The New Jersey Funeral Service Education Corporation, a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation, is nationally recognized for offering funeral education programming for funeral service students, interns and licensees. The NJFSEC offers a comprehensive schedule of accredited programs and seminars each year, presented by knowledgeable trainers and nationally recognized speakers. These seminars address timely business and compliance issues in the funeral industry.

All seminars are accredited through the NJFSEC and evaluated by its Board of Trustees to ensure quality and relevance to funeral service. Seminars are submitted for accreditation to the Academy of Professional Funeral Service Practice, the State Board of Mortuary Science of New Jersey and other state licensing authorities.

Dedicated to helping those training to enter funeral service, the NJFSEC offers scholarships to eligible New Jersey resident mortuary school students every year. These scholarships help students who show promise pay for the education needed to obtain licensure in New Jersey. 

The NJFSEC also contributes to allied community professional groups to further the missions of hospice and palliative care workers, suicide prevention counselors and individuals that work in crisis and grief management, organ and tissue donation, social work and geriatric care. 

Commonly referred to as Funeral Planning CHOICES, the New Jersey Prepaid Funeral Trust Fund is a secure pooled trust and the leading funeral prefunding product in New Jersey as well as one of the largest prepaid funeral trusts in the country.

Endorsed by the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association, Funeral Planning CHOICES has offered consumers a safe and reliable method to prefund funerals since 1981. The trust fund currently administers more than 48,000 consumer accounts, provided through 600 New Jersey funeral home locations.

The NJFD-PAC serves as the political fundraising arm of the NJSFDA and plays a vital role in the success of the Association’s advocacy efforts. The NJFD-PAC is crucial to the Association’s ability to build and maintain a strong, unified voice in the Garden State and ensures that our industry is recognized. The NJFD-PAC allows members and staff to engage state legislators on a regular basis and keep them informed about important funeral service issues.

The NJFD-PAC is supported by contributions from NJSFDA members at every level and contributes to the campaigns of State legislators that are funeral service advocates, regardless of party affiliation. NJFD-PAC funds are not used to pay lobbyists or fund general operations or other Association initiatives.

The NJSFDA established a benefits trust for the purpose of providing health care benefits to NJSFDA member funeral firms and their employees. The NJSFDA teamed up with Association Member Trust, a self-funded, multiple-employer benefits trust, to provide administrative and advisory services and ensure the efficient enrollment of NJSFDA qualifying member employers and their employees. AMT operates in accordance with New Jersey Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangement laws and is registered with the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance.

NJSFDA members join thousands of AMT participants from 17 New Jersey based associations to gain greater buying power. This provides small business owners access to affordable health care and prescription options. Participating member firms enjoy all of the benefits of network services and modern claims administration through one of the best-known insurance providers —Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

Thanexus is the nation’s first and only funeral service cooperative offering support to providers of funeral goods and services in New Jersey. It was formed to function as a funeral practice management company consolidating and administering the human resource and benefit functions of funeral firms. Firms that join Thanexus become shareholders of the corporation. As a cooperative, Thanexus is able to return profits to its shareholders in the form of patronage dividends based on the shareholders’ use of services during the year.

In addition to human resources, health benefits and retirement services, Thanexus customizes and provides up-to-date funeral home marketing materials that are required by the New Jersey State Board of Mortuary Science and the Federal Trade Commission. It also conducts OSHA training and annual building visits to ensure worksite compliance with state and federal regulations.

Thanexus Financial Services, LLC is a wholly owned limited liability company of Thanexus, Inc. Thanexus Financial Services offers business property, casualty, liability, automobile, residential, flood, umbrella, workers' compensation, cyber liability and employment liability policies to its customers.

Staffed by salaried, non-commissioned licensed insurance producers, the company provides underwriting through top-rated carriers.

Knowledge Based Funerals, LLC is an economic and business development initiative organized in 2014. The company has developed products and services, training and consulting methods, and advisory and support services, which together comprise its initial release – Funeral Matters℠.

With Funeral Matters, consumers have access to an online solution for confidentially planning and pricing a funeral. A step-by-step process walks the consumer through choices and decisions that need to be made in order to plan a funeral while allowing the consumer to compare actual pricing options offered by subscribing funeral homes.

Funeral Matters is designed for funeral firms that desire to reposition themselves with today’s consumer and is available under license on a subscription-fee basis to eligible New Jersey funeral homes.