Associate Member Benefits

Benefits available only to members at the associate membership level

All of our membership tiers are associate memberships, and each membership supports the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and its worldwide mission to promote computer user freedom. To distinguish the two membership tiers, we call the membership that with fewer benefits a friends associate membership. Some benefits are only available to members at the regular associate membership level. Here's a list of those more comprehensive benefits.

Free entry to the LibrePlanet conference

Associate members of the FSF are invited to attend the FSF's annual conference. The conference is an opportunity for associate members and free software supporters to meet each other and discuss current issues with FSF staff and some members of the FSF's Board of Directors.

Jitsi Meet access

Becoming an FSF associate member gives you access to our Jitsi Meet server, allowing you to have gratis videoconferencing with your friends, colleagues, and loved ones. Associate members can start calls or conference rooms that anyone can join using a special URL. We have taken great pains to maximize the privacy and freedom of your calls. As you can expect from the FSF, and unlike other instances, our Jitsi Meet server does not distribute proprietary JavaScript, and rooms are created and moderated with an FSF account, not one controlled by Big Tech. It's the perfect way to stay in touch without resorting to proprietary software.

20% discount on FSF merchandise

You will receive a 20% discount on all purchases in the FSF's shop — we've got plenty of books, t-shirts, and GNU gear to choose from! To use your discount, simply log into your FSF account, and you'll be taken to a page that explains the process.

IRC cloak on Libera Chat

Associate members can receive an IRC cloak in the form of fsf/member/username — please write to membership@fsf.org with your registered Libera.Chat nickname.

Email forwarding

Show the world you support free software! Receive up to five email aliases in the member.fsf.org domain to forward to other addresses. (Email-alias availability is not guaranteed; aliases are given out on a first-come-first-served basis.) Please note: This is not a substitute to your current email service; it is merely a forwarding address, so there is no POP or IMAP or outbound SMTP. Depending on the client and outbound email server you use, you may have the option of sending emails from @member.fsf.org, but they unfortunately won't be accepted by certain email providers.

Digital Credit Union eligibility

FSF associate members in the US are eligible to join a credit union for their banking.

Associate membership benefits at all levels

Here are the benefits that all associate members enjoy, including friends-tier associate members.

Ultra-slim USB membership card

You will receive an ultra slim, credit-card-sized, 16GB card loaded with Trisquel Live, a fully free GNU/Linux distribution. The card sports an incredibly sturdy and durable double-sided USB connector and fits in a wallet, so you can take it anywhere — sharing GNU/Linux on the go! Please note that the bootable membership cards are cost effective only if we print and send them out in batches. Cards go out once every month. Thanks in advance for your patience!

FSF member badge

Show the world you support software freedom by displaying your associate member badge online for the whole world to see.

Access to the Member Forum

The member forum is a great place to meet other free software activists, communicate directly with FSF staff, and suggest new directions and ideas for our campaigns for software freedom. To access, simply log into your FSF account, and you'll be entering a world of likeminded people.

Access to the Board Nominee Discussion Forum

Access to the FSF board nominee discussion forum, upon eligibility.

5% discount on hardware from ThinkPenguin

ThinkPenguin is a purveyor of computers and peripherals that provides 5% off all their products to FSF associate members. ThinkPenguin offers some devices that are certified by the FSF under our Respects Your Freedom hardware certification, and all of their products are able to run or interface with free GNU/Linux distributions.

Biannual FSF bulletin

The FSF publishes a compact tri-color bulletin twice a year to keep our members and donors informed of current FSF activities and efforts — sent to you via postal mail.

Use of an XMPP (Jabber) server

FSF members can use an XMPP (Jabber) server that is federated, enabling them to communicate with any other XMPP user, on our server or elsewhere. To setup: input your FSF username as the Jabber username, and member.fsf.org as the domain if your XMPP client supports server discovery via a DNS SRV record lookup. Most XMPP clients support this. If your client does not, you can use

jabber.member.fsf.org

as the server name. Make sure to enable encryption: we support TLS on port 5222 only. Note: your password is the same as your FSF member password. (Please report any problems you might encounter to sysadmin@gnu.org.)

LibreOffice Certification

Previously available only to The Document Foundation members and active LibreOffice project members, this valuable professional certification has been an associate member benefit since 2017. Learn more about the certification.

Tax deduction in the USA

The FSF is a 501(c)(3) charity in the USA, and your membership dues are therefore tax deductible in the USA. Since the estimated value of the membership-benefit items is $10, the full amount of your dues minus $10 is a tax-deductible contribution to the FSF.

Associate members are non-voting members of the Free Software Foundation, Inc.

Sustaining support of the FSF (aka "warm inner glow")

Perhaps most importantly, with an associate membership at any tier, you can proudly proclaim that you are helping the FSF carry out its mission to promote, preserve, and advance software freedom.

You can become an associate member at any time and receive these benefits. To join now, start by following the link below.

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Want to expand the reach of your support even further?

Ask a friend to become an FSF associate member to build a stronger movement! Talking with your friends and colleagues about our work to promote, protect, and develop free software — in particular about becoming an FSF associate member — is a great way to contribute further. The growth of the free software movement depends on members like you!

FSF membership card animation © 2012 Free Software Foundation, Inc. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.