Other Membership Options
In addition to our regular membership categories, Standard Accessibility Reporting, Inc. offers the following membership options for organizations:
The following options are for Individuals:
- Non-independent individual professionals who are working at eligible organizations
- In-Kind Services Member [free)]
- Invited Experts [free for up to a year]
Organizations
Reciprocal Association Membership [free]
If you are part of an existing member association or group workign to improve technology accessibility, your organization can become a member of ours with a reciprocal agreement:
- You promote us on your website and member communications, and we promote you similarly
- You can provide an annual webinar to our members on why they should consider joining your organization, and we do the same for your members
- Your organization’s leadership is considered a member and afforded all of the benefits of membership of us (except voting and standing for election), and vice versa
- Your members are not considered members of SAR, and vice versa
- Membership is based on a singed agreement / memorandum of understanding between our organizations
- Please note that associations have the option of foregoing any of the above, and become voting members of SAR by signing up as regular organizational members.
If you are interested to discuss reciprocal association membership, please contact us.
Project Sponsor Strategic Partner
We develop standards by means of paid contract work that is overseen by an oversight committee made up of members (see also How we Develop Standards). In order to cover the development, we conduct fundraising and seek out project sponsors. The sponsor of a given project receives the benefits of Strategic Partner Organizational Members (although the sponsor can also be an individual), and the sponsor (individual or organization) is not required to be working in the field of technology accessibility.
Project sponsors receive a prominent logo on our website, along with the name of the project they are sponsoring. Membership lasts through the duration of the project.
Project sponsorships start at $25,000. Please contact us to discuss sponsorship options.
Individuals
Non-independent individual professionals who are working at eligible organizations
The problem: Company X provides products and/or services that relate to accessibility and technology, and you work at Company X. You would like to be an individual voting, participating member of SAR, but you are not considered independent because you work at. Company X, so you cannot apply to join SAR as an independent individual member with voting rights.
The reason: The existence and proliferation of our new standards may result in resource implications for Company X, and so the leadership of Company X must decide for itself whether to join SAR and receive the benefits that come with membership. In fairness to all of SAR’s paying members, we must ensure that representation of any given company’s opinions and votes are cast only by authorized representatives of that company. This is why it is not possible for one or more individuals who work at Company X to join as individuals, because by virtue of their employment we have no way to ascertain whether those individuals are casting votes independently.
The options: For individuals in this position, there are three possible pathways to be involved with SAR’s mission.
- Join as an Individual Supporter or Supporter Champion. This option is open to anyone. It does not include voting rights or access to prototypes, but it does keep you in the loop as to what is coming in the future.
- Offer your services as an In-Kind member (see below). This option lets you vote and participate in return for your time and skills; but you are not representing your employer.
- Discuss options for joining SAR with your leaders at Company X. If and when the company joins, you can represent them as a full voting, participating member.
If you would like to discuss any of the above options, you can always ask to meet us, using the Contact US link.
In-Kind Services Member [free]
We are a small but growing organization, and people can help by volunteering their time and skills in certain areas. In return, we waive the membership fee for the remainder of the current fiscal year. All In-Kind memberships require approval of the Board of Directors. An In-Kind Member maintains the status that they are eligible for as a paid member, including voting rights.
If you would like to discuss in-kind membership options, contact us.
Our current In-Kind Services needs:
- Marketing lead [Filled]
- Web social media marketing support [filled]
- Graphic, Video & Communications Design
- Website development and maintenance [Filled]
- Web hosting services & web technical support [Filled]
- Captioning / ASL meeting services
Invited Experts [free for up to a year]
If we are working on a project where there is a skills requirement that is not being met within the current membership, we may seek outside expertise to become a member. Invited Experts do not pay membership fees for up to one year, but are otherwise afforded the full benefits of membership, including voting rights.
Membership invitations always come from the Board of Directors. Invitations will be sent to our professional mailing list (join here) and/or by direct outreach to individuals or organizations. (Please do not contact us to offer your services as a potential Invited Expert. If you are an expert in this area, you should join our membership).