NEW YORK, September 21, 2026 — Chptr and The National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) today announced a $1 million national radio campaign honoring funeral directors and the essential role they play in communities across the country. Running September 22 through September 30 across iHeartMedia’s nationwide network, the campaign marks the next phase of #TheFirstCall, a public-awareness initiative created to bring greater recognition and understanding to a profession whose work is often carried out far from public view.
Bringing Recognition to Essential Community Care
Every year, millions of families make a call they never expected to make. On the other end is often a funeral director helping them make decisions, coordinate services, navigate grief, and bring a community together. Yet despite the deeply personal and essential nature of that work, funeral professionals remain among the least publicly recognized people serving their communities.
The national radio campaign is designed to change that by putting the focus on the care funeral directors provide every day. Over the course of eight days, messages of gratitude and recognition will air across iHeartMedia stations nationwide, inviting families who have been supported by a funeral director to share what that care meant to them at thankyoufuneraldirectors.com.
“Funeral directors are there for families on days they will remember for the rest of their lives, but most of that work happens quietly and without recognition,” said Rehan Choudhry, Founder and CEO of Chptr. “#TheFirstCall is about making that work visible. This campaign gives families across the country a chance to say thank you and gives funeral directors something they rarely receive at this scale: public recognition for the care, steadiness and humanity they bring to their communities every day.”
Expanding from Times Square to Nationwide Airwaves
The radio campaign follows the April launch of #TheFirstCall in Times Square, where funeral professionals from across the country were recognized during a public tribute that featured 143 members of the profession, drew more than 150 attendees, and reached thousands more through a national livestream. For one night, funeral directors were seen publicly, together and at scale.
That first event established the broader purpose of #TheFirstCall: to reshape public understanding of funeral service by showing the people behind the profession and the compassion, professionalism, and humanity that define their work. Rather than focusing on products or companies, the campaign centers funeral directors themselves and the role they play in helping families through some of life’s most difficult moments.
“Funeral service is deeply woven into the life of every community, but the people doing this work are too often noticed only when someone needs them,” said Christine Pepper, Chief Executive Officer of NFDA. “This campaign gives the public an opportunity to see and acknowledge the care funeral directors provide every day. Recognition like this matters because it helps people better understand the profession before they ever need its services.”
The $1 million radio campaign extends #TheFirstCall from a single national moment into communities across the country, using one of America’s broadest-reaching media platforms to carry the message directly to the public. The initiative continues a broader effort to elevate funeral directors as essential, community-first professionals and create more opportunities for the people they serve to recognize the impact of their work. Families who would like to thank a funeral director who was there for them can visit thankyoufuneraldirectors.com.
About the Campaign and Partners
About #TheFirstCall
#TheFirstCall is a national public-awareness campaign created by Chptr to elevate understanding and recognition of funeral directors and the essential role they play in communities. The campaign began in April 2026 with a Times Square tribute honoring funeral professionals from across the United States and continues through national and local media, storytelling and community engagement. Learn more at chptr.com/thefirstcall.
About Chptr
Chptr is a service-first media technology company that helps funeral homes strengthen their community presence through authentic local storytelling. Chptr transforms the stories funeral homes and families already share into professionally produced content distributed across television, digital, social and other trusted local media channels. Its managed approach helps funeral homes remain visible, deepen community connections and grow without adding work for funeral directors or their teams. Learn more at www.chptr.com.
About the National Funeral Directors Association
NFDA is the world’s leading and largest funeral service association representing 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.
