Membership Information
Inform USA Membership is the standard of excellence for Information and Referral professionals. Together, we advance the sector through networking, advocacy, best practices, and support.
DOWNLOAD THE MEMBERSHIP GUIDE PDF Canadian organizations and individuals receive an Inform USA Membership with their InformCanada Membership. CANADIAN MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION
Platinum Membership
- Team access to the Inform USA Networker – a private knowledge portal for members that has thousands of members and contains hundreds of documents and discussion threads.
ANNUAL INVESTMENT of $585
Our best value & most popular option for nonprofit and government organizations. Benefits applicable to all staff & volunteers of the Platinum member organization. Membership terms are based on the calendar year.
Benefits applicable to all staff & volunteers of the Platinum member organization.
- Exclusive Training and Certification Support (New! Coming in 2025):
- Complimentary Certification Self-Study Guide.
- Access to Certification Preparation Classes based on the self-study guide (fees will apply).
- Training Consultation and Private Training at special rates, subject to availability.
- Program Discounts:
- Inform USA Certification Exam member pricing ($125 v. $300 for non-members)
- Inform USA Re-certification application member pricing ($62 for Platinum members v.s. $240 for non-members)
- Inform USA Accreditation member pricing ($6,000 v. $9,000 for non-members)
- Training and Educational Access:
- Access for all staff and volunteers to free Inform USA webinars and archived training material at our Inform USA Learn Platform.
- One hard copy (and unlimited electronic access) of the 3-volume 700-page Inform USA I&R Training Manual, plus a bookmarked PDF that can be shared with all staff, plus separate PDFs for more than 300 test questions and answers, and a trainers’ slide deck (value $450 for non-Platinum members). This year's edition aligns with the Inform USA Standards and contains nearly 40 new training scenarios.
- Reduced pricing on additional hard copies of the Inform USA I&R Training Manual ($75 each)
- Inform USA In-Person and Online Conference registration member pricing
- Option to create your own Learning Management System (that allows you to create training programs) through the Inform USA Learn Platform.
- Community and Networking:
- Free job postings on the Inform USA I&R Job Board
- Team access to the Inform USA Networker – a private knowledge portal for members that has thousands of members and contains hundreds of documents and discussion threads.
- Voting privileges.
Membership in the Inform USA (AIRS) state/regional Affiliate where applicable - Separate networking opportunities
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Advanced Data and Reporting:
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Access to Sector-level Data Reports.
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- Vendor Discounts:
- Access to special rates on telephone interpretation & bilingual staff testing from LanguageLine Solutions
- Access to preferred pricing for cloud telephony services from NICEinContact
- Access to Project World Impact’s Google Ad Grant Management at a special rate.
Gold Membership
ANNUAL INVESTMENT OF $330
Gold & Silver levels are distinguished by the program budgets of their nonprofit or government organizations. Gold is for budgets over $100,000, and Silver is for under $100,000. Membership terms are based on the calendar year.
Benefits applicable to all staff & volunteers of the Gold Member organization:
- Program Discounts:
- Inform USA Certification member pricing ($150 v. $300 for non-members)
- Inform USA Re-certification application member pricing ($72 for Gold/Silver v.s. $240 for non-members)
- Inform USA Accreditation member pricing ($6,000 v. $9,000 for non-members)
- Training and Educational Access:
- Inform USA In-Person Conference registration member pricing
- Access for all staff and volunteers to free Inform USA webinars, training material on the Inform USA Learn Platform, and member pricing for online training.
- Community and Networking:
- Team access to the Inform USA Networker – a private knowledge portal for members that has thousands of members and contains hundreds of documents and discussion threads.
- Voting privileges
- Membership in the Inform USA (AIRS) state/regional Affiliate where applicable
- Vendor Discounts:
- Access to special rates on telephone interpretation and bilingual staff testing from LanguageLine Solutions
Silver Membership
ANNUAL INVESTMENT OF $225
Gold & Silver levels are distinguished by the annual I&R program budgets of their nonprofit or government organizations. Gold is for budgets over $100,000, and Silver is for budgets under $100,000. Membership terms are based on the calendar year.
Benefits applicable to all staff & volunteers of the Gold Member organization:
- Program discounts:
- Inform USA Certification member pricing ($150 v. $300 for non-members)
- Inform USA Re-certification application member pricing ($72 for Gold/Silver v.s. $240 for non-members)
- Inform USA Accreditation member pricing ($6,000 v. $9,000 for non-members)
- Training and Educational Access:
- Inform USA In-Person Conference registration member pricing
- Access for all staff and volunteers to free Inform USA webinars, training material on the Inform USA Learn Platform, and member pricing for online training.
- Community and Networking:
- Team access to the Inform USA Networker – a private knowledge portal for members that has thousands of members and contains hundreds of documents and discussion threads.
- Membership in the Inform USA (AIRS) state/regional Affiliate where applicable
- Voting privileges
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Vendor Discounts:
- Access to special rates on telephone interpretation and bilingual staff testing from LanguageLine Solutions
Individual Membership
ANNUAL INVESTMENT OF $99
Membership terms are based on the calendar year. Individual membership are available only for:
- Students
- Retired information and referral or community navigation practitioners (i.e., folks who have been previously working for an Inform USA member organization)
- Military members (including veterans) or
- Inform USA Certification holders whose agencies (either nonprofit or governmental) will not take out a membership.
Anyone outside this definition cannot be an individual member.
- Inform USA Certification member pricing ($150 v. $300 for non-members)
- Inform USA In-Person Conference registration member pricing
- Access for all staff and volunteers to free Inform USA webinars, training material on the AIRS Learn Platform, and member pricing for online training.
- Receive regular information emails from Inform USA on I&R news
- Access to the Inform USA Networker – a private knowledge portal for members that has more than 5,000 members and contains thousands of documents and discussion threads
- Voting privileges
- Membership in AIRS state/regional Affiliate where applicable
Commercial Associate Membership
ANNUAL INVESTMENT OF $925
Designed for commercial, for-profit organizations engaged within the I&R sector. For-profit organizations cannot join at any other level. Membership terms are based on the calendar year.
- Inform USA Certification member pricing.
- Inform USA Conference registration member pricing.
- Inform USA Accreditation member pricing.
- Ability to have posted (approved by Inform USA staff) up to two information messages a year (e.g. webinars, new products) on the Inform USA Networker.
- Ability to submit up to 2 blog articles/year. Articles must provide practical guidance or thought leadership that is not product-specific. No sales pitches!
- Access for all staff and volunteers to free Inform USA webinars and archived training material at our Inform USA Learn Platform.
- When offering a discount on a product/service, Commercial Members can be featured on the Vendor Discounts page and be featured in an annual e-mail update.