ACT SECTION 28 — MEMBERSHIP - GENERAL

Dues payments are not returnable or proratable, except to adjust Family Member dues to the renewal date of the parent member, or to convert pre-paid dues for future years so as to allocate them to life membership or sustaining life membership dues.

Application for any class of NSS membership may be made only on the form appearing in the official NSS membership brochure, on a facsimile thereof, or on other forms approved by the Executive Committee which are in conformance with all policies and acts of the NSS.

Members who contribute to the Society in addition to their dues are entitiled to the following designations in appreciation of their contribution:

Amount	Designation
<$100	Contributor
<$500	Supporter
<$1,000	Friend
<$2,000	Mentor
<$5,000	Sponsor
>$5,000	Patron

Gift memberships or renewals may be given by NSS members in good standing. Ordinary membership rates apply.

Effective January 1, 2005, the dues of the Society are as follows:

Institutional Dues will be $75.00 per year, Regular Life Membership will be $720.00 and Family Life Membership will be $360.00.

Family members in the immediate family of a member accepting the prepayment option must prepay at the same time for the same number of years.

Limited Members will receive annually the Members Manual and American Caving Accidents as published. Existing membership application forms may be modified by interlineation or supplemented to provide for General Membership.

Conservation Member annual dues will be $100.

Conservation Life Members will be Life, Family Life, Outstanding Service, or Honorary Members who pay an additional contribution of $1,000 for this purpose.

The difference between the fee for a Conservation Life Member and that for Life or Family Life Members will accrue to the endowment fund.

The expenditure for conservation and educational activities will be equal to or greater than the amount of the difference between annual conservation dues and regular dues that were paid during the preceeding fiscal year.

Family Life Members or Spouses of Deceased Life Members who contribute $1,000 to become Conservation Life Members will receive the status of ordinary Life Members with all the privileges of a Life Member.

The periodical subscription rate shall be changed to be consistent.

The President, once a year, shall prepare a letter to the NSS membership summarizing accomplishments, goals, and current activities of the NSS. A copy of this letter shall be included with all dues renewal mailings and solicitations for new memberships made by the office.

Donations made to the National Speleological Foundation for funds managed by the NSF to support the goals and activities of the NSS shall be considered the same as donations made directly to the NSS for membership contribution status purposes. The NSF Treasurer is requested to send to the NSS President at least annually a list of all contributions to such funds and the amount donated by each individual. The NSS Office will note the contribution of each member in the membership records; the contribution status will be included in the next-published MEMBERS MANUAL.

To honor life members the Operations Vice President shall create and maintain a specially protected membership card and a life membership certificate.

A general liability waiver, approved by the NSS Legal Committee, will appear on all membership applications and renewal applications for NSS membership.

Membership in the NSS shall not be denied on the basis of the applicant's age, race, sexual orientation, gender, religion, handicap, or national origin.

NSS dues renewal mailings shall contain a form on which members may state skilled services they are willing to volunteer to the NSS or its organizations.

Effective September 1, 2007, people joining the NSS for the first time shall receive a non-transferable, non-replaceable New Member Discount Coupon worth $40, applicable toward the registration fee for a NSS Convention.

The dues of members with a mailing address outside the U.S. and U.S. Territories shall have a surcharge added to reflect the additional cost of mailing their NSS publications over what is incurred for members residing in the United States and its Territories.

NSS Members in good standing who:
(A) Contribute a cumulative of $10,000 to the Society, or
(B) Name the Society as a beneficiary under a will or living trust for at least $10,000, or
(C) Create a charitable remainder trust that names the Society as the beneficiary of at least 25% of the corpus of the trust are designated as members of the “Stephenson Group.” Membership in the Stephenson Group will include past donors and deceased members who have had funds contributed in their names. The Fund Raising Committee Chairman is responsible for managing this program. Membership in the Stephenson Group will be designated on NSS National Convention nametags beginning in the Year 2000.

A group of NSS Sustaining Members may not combine their cumulative Sustaining Membership payments towards establishing only one Life Membership.

The Membership Committee is established in the Office of the President. The Membership Committee will create and implement effective membership recruitment and renewal strategies and programs that will include, but are not limited to, the following: developing programs to effectively reach out to non-member cavers; monitoring and evaluating membership figures; following up on requests by non-memebers for more information about the Society and caving; following up with members who do not renew to develop strategies for increasing the renewal rate; developing audio visual programs for grottos on the NSS and the benefits of membership; maintaining an informative NSS web page for prospective members; and ensuring the quality and content of NSS membership brochures, applications, renewal forms, and new member information packets.

Cross References

02-072 Election Eligibility
25-043 Grotto Directory
50-782 Conservation Statement
Section 72 — Membership

9-15-07

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