Leave a Living Legacy: IFDF Foundation Estate Planning Program

Leave a Living Legacy:

IFDF Foundation Estate Planning Program

By Eric McKenna

IFDF Foundation President

The IFDF Foundation recently received a generous estate gift from the late Roy C. Weimert, who was the founding program director of the Funeral Services Program at Florida State College at Jacksonville. He was also a mentor and a teacher to many funeral directors across Florida and around the country. The Roy C. Weimert FSCJ Funeral Services Student Scholarship Fund will help provide needed scholarships to mortuary students through the IFDF Foundation.

Planned estate gifts are viable sources of future funding for the IFDF Foundation. Individuals who make estate gifts often do so to create a legacy that memorializes their beliefs and values. They make these gifts to organizations whose mission aligns with their beliefs and values. The IFDF Foundation’s mission is to support the next generation of funeral service professionals by providing scholarships to mortuary students to attend special educational/professional trainings at their schools, the IFDF Annual Conference & Trade Show, and other related events.

The IFDF Foundation has sponsored three NFDA trainings at two of the state mortuary schools. In September 2022, we sponsored 37 students to attend the NFDA Student Arranger Training with Melissa Posey Loose, NFDA Training and Development Manager, at FSCJ. 

This past September, we sponsored 20 students to attend the NFDA Certified Crematory Operators program with Mike Nicodemus, NFDA VP of Cremation Services, also at FSCJ.

The third training will take place this coming October 31 and November 2. We will sponsor 30 Miami-Dade College students to attend the 2-day virtual NFDA Student Arranger Training with Melissa Posey Loose. These events have been well received by the students, many of whom have joined the IFDF as student members.

Our sponsorship allows students to attend these important professional development training courses when it may not be financially feasible for them to do so. These opportunities, along with their funeral service education degree, will help students secure meaningful employment. By doing so, it is the IFDF Foundation’s hope that we can help address the shortage of qualified funeral service professionals in Florida.

We encourage you and your colleagues to consider making an estate gift to the IFDF Foundation that will help us perpetuate our mission and meet our fundraising goals. Please feel free to contact me at emckenna@gablescapital.com if you have any questions about the IFDF Foundation Estate Planning Program.

In the meantime, please consider making a memorial contribution to The Roy C. Weimert FSCJ Funeral Services Student Scholarship Fund, c/o The Independent Funeral Directors of Florida, PO Box 10969 Tallahassee, FL 32302. Thank you.