Please note that most (if not all) exchanges within the association are done in French.

1. The advantages of membership
2. You are still hesitating because you wrongly believe that
3. Tell others about April
4. Price of the membership fee
5. Paying the membership fee
6. Attending the general assemblies
7. Renewing the membership
8. Joining again

Frequently asked questions regarding April's membership

The advantages of membership

• Be informed in priority and regularly of April's projects, thoughts, initiatives and publications;
• Participate to any of April's workgroups as well as any members-only meeting;
• Suggest the creation of a new workgroup;
• Reach immediately April's team;
• Share with April's team your thoughts and strategic guidances;
• Participate free of charge or at discounted price to April's events.

You are still hesitating because you wrongly believe that

April is solely opened to computer scientists, technicians or elite researchers. As a matter of fact, the R in April stands for Research.
Far from it, April is open to all, from the user to the best technician. The word "Research" in April's name is a reference to the fact that the association (or at least part of its members) follow and are involved in the evolution of free software, whether it is technically, legally, politically, ... April counts very varied members, and that is an outstanding resource. What unites April's members is a common attachment to liberty. In its actions, April requires many varied areas of expertise: communication, organization, logistics, ability to convince ...

I'm would be somewhat alone in my region.
A majority of members live in the greater Paris area and many actions aiming at defending free softare take place in that area due to the centralizing of decision-making in France. But to ensure the breadth of our actions, it is important to be present in the society as a whole and to ally national actions with local ones. Thus, you can relay April's actions to your friends, your member of Parliament, your mayor... Additionally, the other members of April will be hapy to hear of the actions or initiatives that have taken place in your region. Not to mention the fact that April's strength lies also in the exchanges and the debate between members with different backgrounds.

Tell others about April

One of the main strengths of an association is the number of its members. April always needs new members. Be April's first ambassadors by telling others about it.

You probably have friends, colleagues or other people who sould be interested in our activities.

Don't hesitate to recommend to these people to join or to make a donation to April.

In case of need, here are a few useful link to better know the association:

• Put on your website buttons or support banners [4]
• Variouscommunication documents [5] (logo, flyer, posters...) are available

Price of the membership fee

The membership fee is due on the month following your joining, and is to be renewed at the anniversary of your joining.

Individuals

The minimum annual membership fee for individuals is 10€.

Institutions

For institutions, the membership fee varies according to the kind of institution: companies, associations, public authorities, university departments...

Refer to the membership fees grid [6].

Paying the membership fee

Members have the following ways of paying:

• standing order.

  This system of payment by standing order (monthly, quaterly, bi-monthly, annually) allows members to pay their membership fee over a period of time, and potentially increase the amount they spend. Furthermore, this simplifies the treatment of their membership (no more annual reminder). The process is simple and can be found here: http://www.april.org/association/prelevements/cotisations/ [7].

  We encourage members to chose this payment method. Even for members who do not wish to extend the duration of the payment, the standing order still simplifies greatly our work.

• credit/debit card.

  In order to pay by credit/debit card, go to your personal space [8].

  There are several fixed amounts as well as the possibility of entering a personnalized amount.

• check (for April) ou cash.

  Payment by check (or cash) can be sent to the association [9].

• money transfer, (to get April's bank details, please contact us [9]).

For any further information regarding the payment of the membership fee, you can contact our secretary by email [10] or by phone [9].

We do not use Paypal's payment system mainly because that company charges excessive amounts compared to other methods (including credit/debit card). For instance, for the average 30€ fee, if the member pays:

• by money transfer or check, it is free for us,
• by standing orde, it costs us 0.22€,
• by credit/debit card, it costs us 0.27€,
• by Paypal, it would cost us 1.27€ (1€ more per transaction is huge).

Attending the general assemblies

Physical attendance of members during the general assembly is not compulsory. Electronic voting for those not attending the general assembly is organized to allow each and every one to vote.

Renewing the membership

The continuation of the membership is subject to the payment of an annual fee.

To renew his membership, the member will have every year until one month after the anniversary of his joining to pay the membership fee.

The process is very simple: he must make this payment to us, specifying who it concerns.

The fee [11] is the same as the one for a new member (but the member may change that amount from one year to another).

In case of non-payment, after being sent reminders, the members would be removed from the association.

Joining again

Any former member can join again the association, but he must in that case go through the whole of the membership process, as described above.