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For Immediate Release: March 25, 2025

Brookfield, Wis. – Every life deserves to be honored in a way that reflects the individuality of the person being remembered. As more families seek personalized ways to honor and celebrate the lives of loved ones, funeral professionals are embracing Certified Celebrants. To help funeral directors, funeral home staff, and other deathcare and end-of-life professionals create deeply meaningful services, the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) is proud to partner with InSight Institute to host two Certified Celebrant Training workshops in 2025.

A certified celebrant collaborates with families and funeral directors to craft personalized funeral or memorial services that capture the essence of a person’s life. This training is especially valuable for those who wish to offer non-religious or alternative services that still provide comfort, connection and healing.

NFDA will offer two Certified Celebrant Training workshops in 2025:

• June 25-27 at NFDA headquarters in Brookfield, Wisconsin
• October 24-26 in Chicago, Illinois, in conjunction with the NFDA International Convention & Expo

What You’ll Gain from Certified Celebrant Training

Guided by InSight Institute’s Glenda Stansbury MA, CFSP, this engaging and hands-on training will equip attendees with essential skills to:

• Lead meaningful and compassionate family meetings
• Design personalized ceremonies that celebrate life
• Incorporate music, readings and storytelling to create impactful tributes
• Enhance presentation skills for heartfelt delivery
• Serve as a Master of Ceremonies with confidence and grace
• Introduce the celebrant concept to their communities

As traditional funeral services continue to evolve, certified celebrants play a vital role in helping families find comfort and healing through uniquely tailored ceremonies. This training is ideal for funeral service professionals ready to bring more personalization and heart to the services they provide.

Registration for the June certification workshop is now open; registration for the October workshop opens June 2. Visit NFDA.org/Celebrant to learn more and reserve your spot.

Scholarships Make Training Accessible

The Funeral Service Foundation is committed to supporting professionals who wish to enhance their service to families. Up to 10 scholarships are available for the June session, each valued at up to $2,000. Scholarships cover the full registration fee, two nights of hotel accommodation and up to $500 in travel reimbursement. Scholarships are available to those who are verifiably affiliated with at least one funeral home and are interested in becoming a Certified Celebrant. The scholarship application is open through April 15 at FuneralServiceFoundation.org/Scholarships. 

NFDA is the world’s leading and largest funeral service association, serving 20,000 individual members who represent nearly 11,000 funeral homes in the United States and 49 countries around the world. NFDA is the trusted leader, beacon for ethics and the strongest advocate for the profession. NFDA is the association of choice because it offers funeral professionals comprehensive educational resources, tools to manage successful businesses, guidance to become pillars in their communities and the expertise to foster future generations of funeral professionals. NFDA is headquartered in Brookfield, Wis., and has an office in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit NFDA.org. 

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Media Contact: Jessica Koth, 262-814-1536, JKoth@NFDA.org