Membership Change Highlights:
ACP has not raised membership dues since 2006. The Board of ACP has concluded that a slight increase is needed to help us cover our increasing overhead costs and allow us to continue to provide quality service to our members.
ACP will be moving to a common membership period and membership rate for all members, effective July 1, 2019.
Differences in membership levels will be discontinued. All memberships (with the exception of broadcast) will be $135 per year with the option to add on a critique for $89. Broadcast membership fees will increase to $99.
All memberships will become annual for the school year. They will begin July 1 and end June 30. You can renew your membership early or late without penalty. The first school year membership that will be offered is the 2019-20 school year. All current members will need to renew again for the 2019-20 school year on or after July 1. Those members who renew after the ACP midwinter convention (after March 1) will have their membership extended through the end of the 2019-20 school year (June 30, 2020). Any membership started during a school year will be good for that school year only. This will ensure that memberships align to the fiscal year and will align ACP’s membership policies with best practices for nonprofit financial management.
In order to enter a Pacemaker contest, you must have a membership for that school year (i.e., you must have a 2019-20 membership to enter the 2020 Newspaper Pacemaker). You must still have an active NSPA membership at the time of deadline for all 2019 contests (your membership must be active as of June 7 to be eligible for individual awards, Newspaper and Magazine Pacemakers).
We hope that by making all membership periods coincide, we can simplify the member renewal process. All ACP memberships for all publication types will end on June 30.
Thank you for your continued support of ACP. The ACP staff and Board are committed to supporting scholastic journalism; we consider these membership changes as critical to prudent financial stewardship and to improving your membership renewal experience.
Please reach out if you have any questions on how your individual memberships will be affected. We want to ensure a smooth transition for all members.