FAQ About Household Membership and Dues Increases Starting July 1, 2017

Overview of New Dues Structure

  • What are the new dues rates?
  • $60 for Household Memberships; $40 for Individual Memberships; $5 for Open Door Memberships.
  • What does NAMI consider a “household”? Is this rate for families only?
  • A household consists of any individuals living at the same address. This could be a family in the “traditional” sense (spouses plus children) or even roommates. The NAMI Board chose the name “Household” to be more inclusive and to simplify the distribution of benefits.
  • What is a Household Membership?
  • A Household Membership is a membership that is intended to allow all individuals living at the same address to be counted as members in NAMI with the benefits of membership being applies to each member listed as part of the household. The household membership will only receive one copy of the NAMI Advocate, but all other member benefits are granted to each listed member. While each member is counted as a member of NAMI, the paid household membership counts as ONE when determining Affiliate vote weight for NAMI Elections.
  • What is an Individual/Regular Membership?
  • This member is intended for one person to become a member of NAMI. We recognize there are two different names for this membership. NAMI is moving to call this an Individual Membership, but understand there many NAMI members know this as Regular Membership so that transition will happen over the next couple months.
  • What is an Open Door Membership?
  • Members may become members through an "Open Door" policy that allows for a reduced dues payment. Open Door members are defined by income or economic necessity, at the discretion of the Affiliate member or State Organization. Open Door members shall have all the rights and privileges of members who pay full dues.
  • Are there any differences for the membership benefits between the three different rates?
  • No, every membership is with the national, state and local levels and includes from the national NAMI office:
  • One copy of the Advocate magazine, mailed twice per year
  • Access to members-only areas of the NAMI.org website
  • Discounts on National Convention registration rates
  • Discounts on items in the NAMI Store
  • Each NAMI Affiliate and NAMI State Organization offers additional membership benefits that vary depending on which group the member is a part of.
  • Can an individual living in a household have their own, separate membership or do they have to be part of a Household membership?
  • Yes, that person can still have their own Individual or Open Door membership even if they are living in the same household as a group with a Household membership.
  • Is everyone in a household counted as a NAMI member if someone at the household paid for a Household membership?
  • The person who pays the Household membership will need to list the specific individuals in the household for them to be counted as members. Someone is not considered a member if they were not listed on the Household membership, or does not have a membership of their own.
  • Can a child who is away at college be part of the Household Membership? Can an adult child or elderly family member who is living in a care facility and supported by a parent/caregiver in the household be part of the Household Membership?
  • Yes, but that member of the household membership will not be assigned a separate address in NAMI 360. NAMI will not send the magazine to additional addresses.
  • Can we add someone else to our Household membership prior to paying our renewal?
  • Yes, as long as each person is considered living at the same address.
  • The $60 Household membership costs too much for some families in my area—how can they still become members?
  • Eachindividual who wishes to become a NAMI member is welcome to pay the Individual or Open Door rate to have their own membership. That person’s membership would not cover anyone else in their household, however. There is not a low-income Household membership rate.
  • How many people can a Household membership cover?
  • Right now, the system is set up to include up to 10 members in a Household Membership. Contact Member Services at to discuss adding more members than 10. There may be exceptions to this rule.
  • I have decided I want to my own Individual Membership but am currently part of a Household Membership. Is that possible?
  • Yes. At any time, an individual may purchase an Individual or Open Door membership if they no longer want to be included as a household member but want their own instead.

Impact of New Dues Structure on NAMI Affiliates and NAMI State Organizations

  • Does my NAMI Affiliate or NAMI State Organization have to adopt the new dues amounts and Household membership rate?
  • Yes.
  • When must we have our membership forms/website and other materials promoting membership amounts changed to reflect the new dues structure?
  • The dues rate for everyone will change at the same time – July 1, 2017. You may not begin charging the new rates before then. The focus of your time now is in messaging to members and preparing all the supporting pieces.
  • What information do I need to collect for the Household membership?
  • You will need the name and contact information for the primary/Head of Household member.
  • You will also need the first and last names of each individual in the household who will be covered under the membership. If the individual has their own email address, please collect that as well so they can create a NAMI.org account and access member benefits that way as well as resources on the Extranet if they hold any volunteer or leader positions with an affiliate.
  • How will the dues be split?
  • NAMI membership dues are shared between NAMI, the NAMI State Organization and the local NAMI Affiliate. Each state’s dues allocation is different but NAMI receives $20 for each Household membership, $10 for each Individual membership and $1 for each Open Door membership.
  • How will vote weights be determined?
  • Each Household, Individual and Open Door membership will equate to one vote. No matter how many people are included in the Household membership, that still counts as one for the purposes of voting. This will mean that the number of members that a NAMI Affiliate has and the number counted toward the vote weight of a NAMI Affiliate will be different.
  • What do I do if someone pays more than the standard dues amount?
  • You may want to treat any amount over the $40 for Individual, $5 for Open Door, or $60 for Household as a donation to your NAMI Affiliate. This way, people can pay what they can afford but they can also give to their local group as they are able.
  • Can my NAMI Affiliate have additional membership categories/rates?
  • NAMI’s goal is to make memberships uniform across the country so that being a member means the same thing no matter where someone lives. To achieve this, each NAMI Affiliate and NAMI State Organization should only offer the Household, Individual, and Open Door membership and rates for membership as of July 2017. These membership and dues rates should be listed on their membership. If you wish to have other categories/rates, you could consider adding donation/supporter levels or including one of the NAMI membership rates as part of a larger donation/supporter level. For example, “Gold Level Supporter” could include a $40 Individual membership plus a $20 donation.

Standards and Household Membership and Dues

  • Will our bylaws need to change?
  • If your bylaws language around membership mirrors NAMI's language — “A Member may be one individual or a family of individuals living in one household that is counted as one for the purposes of paying dues and voting.” — the bylaws are still in compliance with NAMI. If you have more questions about the bylaws, you can contact our Standards team at .
  • Our NAMI State Organization/NAMI Affiliate bylaws use the term “family membership” do we need to change our bylaws?
  • No, it doesn’t need to change. The Household membership aligns in practice with how family membership is described in the NAMI Bylaws. If the language in your bylaws now aligns with NAMI as noted above, it should be fine. If in doubt, run it by .
  • Our NAMI State Organization/NAMI Affiliate bylaws use the definition “Individual/ Family Members (I/FMs)”. Do we need to change our bylaws?
  • IFM is outdated language NAMI State Organizations/NAMI Affiliates took from NAMI in the 1990’s. Lots of State Organizations and Affiliates still have it in the bylaws. We would encourage an overall "refresh" in language but by the letter of the law, the use of I/FM does not contradict the dues rate changes and the new emphasis on household. If you are already making other changes to the bylaws, we encourage language changes on this point, but will not require in order to be in compliance.
  • Note: While your bylaws may not need to change, we are directing you to change your membership materials to say “Household” membership and not “Family” membership as those are not the same—“Household” includes any individuals in the same household even if they are not related as family. The NAMI Board chose the word “Household” to be more inclusive and to simplify the distribution of benefits. If you have more questions, you can contact .
  • Do the NAMI State Organization and NAMI Affiliate Bylaws need to state that NAMI has three levels of membership?
  • NAMI State Organization bylaws include the clause “dues are established by the Board of Directors of NAMI”. NAMI Affiliate bylaws reviewed for re-affiliation must also include this clause so the new dues structure does not need to be reflected in the bylaws.
  • However, if NAMI Affiliate bylaws do not have this clause currently, the bylaws must be amended to state that “Dues are established by the NAMI Board of Directors” in order to meet the requirements for re-affiliation.
  • If in doubt, send the “membership clause” from your current bylaws to .

Last updated 6/27/2017