When I saw that Tim Murphy was the executive director of the CFSA, I’ll admit it took me a moment to place the name. It was one of those mis-association things. In addition to being executive director of that organization, he’s responsible for the executive directors of several others, including the Order of the Golden Rule.
Murphy owns and runs RGI, Rayburn Group International, an association management company. Murphy had introduced me to the concept of professional association management, which I’d not come across before covering funeral service.
I’d reached out to talk about the demise of the CFSA, which last week arranged to transfer its assets to the Funeral Service Foundation to establish the Casket and Funeral Supply Association of America Scholarship Fund. Murphy said that the rules for dissolving the company were built into the organization to ensure that the group’s final act served the industry. He told me CFSA board member Chris DiMascio, vice president of sales and customer service at Matthews Aurora, would be presenting the final check at the upcoming NFDA Convention.
The Drivers Behind the CFSA’s Consolidation
In the end, the CFSA was a victim of consolidation in a way you might not expect, but in the services company, it’s an issue.
“When a member buys a member, those are dues you don’t get,” he said. “And when private equity buys a company, they don’t see the need to be part of an association. You have to be a part of a community to understand the value of belonging to one”
The CFSA at one point had 700 members. When Murphy came on in 2019, that number was closer to 120. The final tally is 90 member companies. The association fought the good fight, but declining membership couldn’t justify continued operations.
Navigating Association Management and the End of an Era
RGI added the association following the departure of their previous executive. Murphy said it’s one of the common reasons for boards of directors to bring them on, either an executive leaves or retires, or the administrative load becomes too complex for people there at the founding.
“A board of directors doesn’t want to be in the association business, he said. “Healthy boards don’t go shopping for help.”
His advantage, he said, is that their services can be provided for about a third less than keeping everything in-house.
“It’s very expensive for associations to do this in-house, [but] we have one copy machine, and we have one building,” he said. “Plus, we’re very picky about who we work with.” He said RGI requires CAE certification of all its executives, and maintaining the Certified Association Executive credential can be a pricey proposition.
Eventually, even that was more than was required given the CFSA’s membership struggles. Murphy was clear that the association, literally the people who associate through their membership, was still intact. He said the decision wasn’t reached lightly, calling it “purposeful and prayerful” deliberation. They’ve seen the decline as the casket industry, particularly, has undergone some significant contraction.
Murphy said they’ll continue to meet (likely informally at NFDA) because in addition to their shared interests, there’s a mutual affinity among the members that doesn’t need administration.
