Join NAMI DuPage!
Become a part of NAMI DuPage and help support our mission. Membership demonstrates your support for the important work being done by NAMI DuPage and helps make our voices heard in DuPage County, Springfield and Washington DC. Membership provides you, among other things, with the latest mental health updates, allows you to participate in an online discussion groups, and adds your voice to the NAMI movement to improve the lives of millions of people struggling with mental illnesses.
Become a NAMI DuPage member for $35 per year. Help us more – be an “Advocate” for $100 per year to help us cover more of the costs of providing free supportive recovery services. Membership is at all three levels—national, state, and local.
(CLICK HERE to join or renew online)
(CLICK HERE to download online membership form)
Benefits include:
- Being part of a nationwide movement in providing a voice and advocating for better treatment and quality of life for those individuals and families who struggle with mental illness.
- Helping to fund NAMI DuPage programs and services, the majority of which are offered free of charge.
- Receiving the NAMI Advocate magazine and NAMI DuPage Newsletter
- Attending the National Convention at a discounted rate.
- Availability of books, brochures and fact sheets on brain disorders, medications and related issues at the NAMI DuPage office library.
- Accessing member-only online content
- Connecting with others in discussion groups
Membership FAQs:
Who can be a NAMI member?
Anyone who accepts the NAMI mission and pays annual dues may be a member of NAMI. There are no membership categories. All membership is individual. Multiple members of a single family are welcome to join NAMI as “one” individual. However, in order to obtain voting privileges on any NAMI-related matters that shape NAMI’s future, then each family member must pay dues in order to be officially counted among the NAMI ranks. If cost is an obstacle to becoming a member, a reduced rate called “open door” is available.
What does it mean for me to be a NAMI member?
NAMI has a strong commitment to “a member is a member is a member” — meaning that anyone who joins the organization at any entry point has joined the organization at all points (NAMI Affiliate/NAMI State Organization/NAMI National). NAMI membership helps ensure a better tomorrow for the nearly 60 million Americans living with mental illness and their families. NAMI is the foundation of a grassroots movement to raise awareness and provide essential and free education, advocacy and support group programs. Because mental illness impacts the lives of so many Americans, each membership is vital as we work together every day to save every life. The more members we have, the more power we have to improve the mental health system.
As a member, you receive benefits from your NAMI Affiliate, NAMI State Organization, and NAMI National including the national news magazine the Advocate, local and state newsletters, and discounts at conventions and the NAMI Store. You also receive voting privileges through your NAMI Affiliate to shape NAMI’s future. Most importantly, you benefit by being part of a group of people committed to a better future for those affected by mental illness.
The NAMI (National) Board of Directors set the standardized dues at $35, with the option of an “Open Door” (reduced dues) rate of $3.The dues rate became official on July 1, 2012. Of the standard $35 dues collected by NAMI DuPage, $10 goes to NAMI (National), $15 goes to NAMI State (Illinois) and $10 goes to the NAMI Affiliate (DuPage). Of the $3 Open Door dues, $1 goes to NAMI (National), $1 goes to NAMI State (Illinois) and $1 goes to NAMI Affiliate (DuPage).
In order to cover more of the cost of our programs and services, NAMI DuPage also offers its members the opportunity to be an “Advocate” at a $100 per year. Please consider joining and renewing your membership at this level.
In a survey of NAMI Affiliates conducted in the spring of 2011, most respondents were charging $35 for membership. Similarly, $3 was the most common Open Door dues rate. Because those amounts were already widely used, NAMI selected them as the standard dues amounts. Since then, more than 25,000 people have joined NAMI at those rates.
Who is eligible for Open Door rate?
NAMI National, NAMI State Organizations and NAMI Affiliates are required to offer a reduced dues rate, called Open Door, for members with limited financial resources. Open Door members enjoy all the same rights and privileges of membership; they just pay less. The NAMI Board has set the Open Door dues rate at $3, $1 of which comes to NAMI National with the balance split between the member’s NAMI State Organization and NAMI Affiliate.
Open Door membership is not a consumer membership and recipients do not need to prove their need – all they have to do is ask. Although the Open Door dues rate is universally available, it is not offered online for new members. Individuals wishing to secure the Open Door dues rate may submit membership via a NAMI Affiliate or NAMI State Organization. Open Door dues rate are included on the standard membership forms made available by NAMI DuPage.
To become a new member, you can join online above or by sending in a completed form, along with your dues payment to NAMI DuPage.
How are donations made when members join NAMI DuPage?
If a member wishes to make a donation of which 100% of the proceeds will benefit the communities that NAMI DuPage serves, then we encourage our members to donate directly online.
How can I renew my NAMI membership?
As a loyal member, you can renew your membership as follows:
- Pay your annual dues via check and send it directly to NAMI DuPage, or
- Pay online above to renew your membership online by credit or debit card.