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You are here: Home Associate Member Associate Member Benefits

Associate Member Benefits

by Jeanne Rasata Contributions Published on Mar 30, 2012 12:54 PM
Here are just some of the benefits of being an associate member of the Free Software Foundation...
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Sustaining support of the FSF (aka "warm inner glow")

You can proudly proclaim that you are helping the FSF carry out its mission to promote and preserve software freedom.

Ultra-slim USB membership card

Picture of USB Member Card

You will receive an ultra slim, credit-card-sized, 4GB 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 will go out every month. Thanks in advance for your patience!

FSF member badge

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

FSF Associate Member

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.)

Free entry to the LibrePlanet conference

All current associate members of the FSF are invited to attend the FSF's annual conference held in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. 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.

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.

Jitsi Meet access

Becoming an FSF member gives you access to our Jitsi Meet server for associate members, 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 the 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. It's the perfect way to stay in touch without resorting to proprietary software.

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.

5% discount on hardware from ThinkPenguin

ThinkPenguin is a purveyor of computers and peripherals that provides 5% off all their products to FSF 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.

IRC cloak on Libera Chat

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

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. Use 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. Your password is the same as your FSF member password. (Please report any problems you might encounter to sysadmin@gnu.org.)

Digital Credit Union eligibility

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

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.


Ask a friend or free software supporter to become an FSF member, to build a stronger movement!

A great way to contribute further is by talking with your friends and colleagues about our work to promote, protect, and develop free software -- in particular about becoming an FSF member. The growth of the free software movement depends on members like you!

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.

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