Membership Levels FAQ

This collection of frequently asked questions answer many questions about levels of membership.

General Questions:

• A1. What are the individual membership levels?
• A3. What is the Education Discount?
• A4. What is the Disabled Member Discount?
• A5. How can I become a Full member without paying any money?
• A6. How do I upgrade my membership from Trial to Full?

Specifics:

• B1. What conditions apply to using the HWG logo?
• B2. Should I upgrade to Full membership?
• B3. What if I never become a Full member?
• B4. Will I be kicked out after a year at Trial membership?
• B5. Membership is on an annual, or yearly basis. Can you define a year?
• B6. How do I pay?
• B7. I live in a foreign country and it would cost me twice as much as Americans to send a check. What options do I have?
• B8. Is my membership tax-deductible?

General Questions

A1. What are the individual membership levels?

There are two levels of individual membership in the Guild: Trial membership, and Full membership.

Trial membership is intended for web authors who are new to the Guild or to creating for the web; it is free and gives access to most (although not all) Guild services. A Trial membership allows a member to evaluate what the Guild has to offer, and hopefully benefit from association with the HWG. Trial members who find value in the Guild should upgrade to Full members as soon as they are able, and preferably within one year of joining as a Trial member.

Full members are the supporting membership of the HWG, and as such have access to all Guild projects and activities. In addition, they can receive special discounts on Guild services, such as online classes and Vendor Discount Program. Full members can be elected or appointed to the Governing Board and other positions of authority or responsibility in the Guild, such as joining W3C working groups on the HWG's behalf.

A3. What is the Education Discount?

Guild members who are full-time students or educators may apply for a discount to their dues, bringing the cost of Full membership down to $35 annually. You must be able to prove your status as a student or educator to the Guild's treasurer in order to receive this reduction in your dues. Proof can consist of a copy of a current school ID, registration information, or proof of employment.

A4. What is the Disabled Member Discount?

The Board has recently extended our discounts on member dues to include Guild members who are physically (or otherwise) disabled, and are thus unable to work. This discount is equal to the Education Discount, and reduces the price of Full membership to $35. (The Education and Disabled Member discounts cannot be combined.) Proof of disability status, in the form of a letter from a doctor, is required for the discount.

A5. How can I become a Full member without paying any money?

Volunteering has its benefits! Not only can you contribute to the Guild's success and gain experience at various skills, but you can earn Volunteer Credits which can be applied towards your dues.

The Guild is reliant upon volunteer efforts for many of our programs. To recognize the efforts of these volunteers, we have instituted a Volunteer Credits program. Volunteer Credits can be earned by any Guild volunteer, and applied toward membership dues -- and in the future, to other Guild expenses, such as HWG merchandise and online classes.

This is an excellent way for anyone with a small income but a lot of time -- such as some retired Guild members -- to both contribute to the HWG's operations and earn Full membership. For more details, please see the volunteer page at http://www.hwg.org/opcenter/volunteer/.

A6. How do I upgrade my membership from Trial to Full?

To upgrade your membership, simply use the Guild's Edit Profile page at http://www.iwaguild.com/ and change your membership from Trial to Full. You may pay by credit card online or via fax, by check, or by money order. (Sorry, at this time members who are taking advantage of the Educational or Disabled Member discounts cannot pay by credit card online.)

Specifics

B1. What conditions apply to using the HWG logo?

Answers to questions regarding Logo usage and be found from the Logo Program.

B2. Should I upgrade to Full membership?

Yes.

That's the short answer. The longer answer is that anyone who finds value in the Guild's programs and services should support the Guild financially by paying dues. $49 (US) per year is less than the price of many HTML books, and the benefits provided by active use of the Guild's various resources will be easily worth more than $49. If you are not getting full value from your Guild membership, you may wish to re-examine our offerings of services and projects designed to support and train you in becoming more proficient in the craft of web authoring.

B3. What if I never become a Full member?

The Guild relies on the dues of our membership in order to continue to provide the level of service the members expect. If you are using these services in any way, then you should contribute to the continued survival of the Guild.

For this reason, you are given up to 12 months as a Trial member to explore the Guild and decide if there is value in it. By the end of a year, you will have either (a) decided that it's worth it, and you wish to continue as a dues-paying member, or (b) decided that you aren't interested in what Guild membership has to offer.

B4. Will I be kicked out after a year at Trial membership?

Short answer: No.

Longer answer: No, membership dues in the Guild have been, and will remain, optional. This means that if you are unable to pay our annual dues, you may continue as a Trial level member. You will also continue to periodically receive notices requesting that you upgrade to Full member status.

Of course, we encourage all of our members to upgrade to Full membership within a year, as we feel that what we are offering has significant value. If you take full advantage of the benefits of your Guild membership, we're sure you'll agree and wish to support the HWG.

B5. Membership is on an annual, or yearly basis. Can you define a year?

In the "Trial" membership, the year starts from the day we receive your application.

B6. How do I pay?

Payment can be made by check, money order, or bank draft in US Dollars. Payment can also be made by credit card (MC/Visa) by fax or postal mail or online via a secure server.

B7. I live in a foreign country and it would cost me twice as much as Americans to send a check. What options do I have?

We are aware of the problem and that we are researching the best way for payment - if you have suggestions, ideas, or resources, please semd email to membership@iwanet.org

B8. Is my membership tax-deductible?

Yes*, but only as business expense and not a donation. *Please first check with your tax advisor.