Frequently Asked Questions - Membership
Absolutely! We welcome anyone who wants to support the organization. The minimum annual donation for membership is US $10.
The OTW is able to accept donations via PayPal, or by check via mail to our post office box. See Support the OTW for the details.
PayPal will not reveal credit card or bank account numbers to the OTW. Personal checks received by mail will necessarily have account information on them, but the information will not be retained.
Fans do not have to pay to use the Archive or any of OTW's other services, including the archive software, academic journal, or wiki. All of these things will be free.
We have been formed on the model of U.S. public television and radio: anyone can listen to NPR or call in; it is supported by voluntary membership drives. People who pay to become members in the OTW will be able to vote in OTW elections and thereby shape its future direction, but the things we're building will be free and open to everyone, members and nonmembers alike.
Please fill out our membership form and send in a donation (minimum US $10).
No. We will never charge a fee to use any of our services, nor will we place paid advertising on fanworks.
The OTW is a member-supported nonprofit organization, like the U.S. organizations National Pubic Radio or Public Broadcasting Service. Your donation helps us provide services not just to you personally but to all who might want to use them. Becoming a member also gives you a stake in the organization, and as mentioned above, confers the right to vote in OTW elections.
The requirement that most nonprofits use for membership is a minimum donation. This is a straightforward and easy-to-check requirement, and ensures that each member is a single individual (as opposed to one person creating multiple membership accounts in order to have multiple votes).
These fees also go to help support the OTW - to pay for our operating costs for both the organization and the archive, so that we do not need to use advertising or charge fees to users. We intend to keep our minimum donation low in order to ensure that it is not a barrier to entry for anyone who cares about the organization, but we hope that most members will give more if they can!
Yes.
The IRS has approved OTW's tax-exempt, nonprofit status. One of the benefits of our nonprofit status is that any donation that you make to the organization, including your US $10 OTW membership fee, is now tax-deductible in the United States! Even better, your past donations are also tax-deductible, back to our date of incorporation: September 5, 2007.
Please note that if you are located outside the US, your contribution may or may not be tax-deductible. You should consult with a tax adviser and see whether a gift to a US 501(c)(3) qualifies for a tax deduction under your local laws.
In order to ensure that all voting members of the OTW are in fact real people, and to hold fair elections, we cannot allow gift memberships. Supporters are welcome to make donations in honor of others through our form, but the donations will not confer voting rights or membership status.
Membership costs US $10. In return, you get a membership which lasts for one year, and which entitles you to one vote in the annual organization elections.
Individuals can become members in the OTW; corporations cannot.
Memberships cannot be shared; if you're a member, that membership is yours alone.
One month before your membership expires, we'll send you an email to let you know it's time to start thinking about renewing the membership. A membership can be renewed at any point during the month before it expires. If your membership expires, you're always welcome to join again at any time!
If you donated during the OTW's startup phase (before 3/24/08), you automatically became a voting member when we opened the doors for membership on 3/24. (If you didn't receive an email from us about that, let us know!) OTW membership lasts for one year; an election will be held within a year of the launch of membership. Donations above the US $10 membership fee will be counted purely as gifts to the organization.
We invite everyone who wants to support the OTW, or who wants a hand in shaping its future, to join the organization as a member.
If you’re not sure or can’t find your confirmation email, you can always contact us to find out when your membership renewal will be due.
We thank you for it, and we sing your praises! But it doesn't buy you extra years of membership; for elections purposes, memberships have to be renewed each year.
Or, phrased another way: the first $10 of your annual gift keeps your membership status active for an additional year. Anything you donate beyond that $10, during that year, is a donation, not a membership fee.
We'll do our best. Here's a list of the various terms we use, and definitions for each:
- User
- Anyone who uses or participates in a project under the umbrella of the OTW, including anyone who contributes content to An Archive Of Our Own. There is no fee associated.
- Member
- Someone who has paid the annual membership fee of $10 to the OTW, and receives a vote in our annual elections in return. Only an individual can become a member.
- Donor
- Someone who donates money to the OTW, over and above the $10 membership fee. Individuals and corporations can both be donors. (See our corporate gifts policy for information on how, and under what circumstances, we'll accept corporate gifts.)
- Staffer
- Someone who is doing a specific, long-term job for the OTW and has access to all of Basecamp and Campfire (our web-based project collaboration tools). These people may be board members, committee members, or individuals (non-board, non-committee) with an assigned long-term task. All staffers are unpaid.
- Board Member
- Someone who is on the Board of Directors. You'll know these folks because they're listed on our website, and because we'll always use the word "Board" to differentiate Board Members from Members.
- Committee Member
- Someone who is on a committee. We'll always refer to these folks as "Committee Members," to differentiate them from Members.
- volunteer
- In lowercase, this means someone who is doing a temporary or limited job for the OTW under the guidance of a committee or the board.
- Volunteers
- In uppercase, this means the OTW's human resources committee.
The OTW firmly supports the right of users to separate fannish and nonfannish identities. Donating to the OTW and using the OTW's services are entirely separate—if you choose to donate or become a member (and we hope you do!), you do not need to tell us your fan identity, and we will not have any connection between your fan identity and your financial information or real-life identity.
The OTW is committed to protecting the privacy of fans, whether they are users of our services or not. We do not allow anyone to connect fan identities and real life identities on our services against the wishes of the individual in question. Our content policy committee and focus groups are working on policies and procedures to both prevent this and minimize the damage should someone break the rules.
Only non-membership donations can be made with cash. For membership purposes, we need to be able to connect your payment with a bank account or credit card so we can verify that you’re a real person and an individual when we hold elections.
Only non-membership donations can be made with a money order. For membership purposes, we need to be able to connect your payment with a bank account or credit card so we can verify that you’re a real person and an individual when we hold elections.
OTW memberships can be purchased with a family member’s credit card or bank account if the address associated with the card/account is the same as the address given by the new OTW member (and, of course, if the new OTW member is authorized to use that card/account!).
There will not be a public members list at this time. Please see our Privacy Policy for specific information on under what circumstances we may be obliged to release donor information to third parties. Members are encouraged to identify themselves as such on their own sites, blogs, and journals, and we provide a page of official OTW supporter graphics for this purpose.