Membership FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

Skip the blather, just take me to the payment page

WHAT THE HECK IS THIS ALL ABOUT?

We want you to support Locally Grown Northfield (LG or LoGro) financially by becoming a member. We’re proud of what we’ve done since 2006. We want to keep doing it and more. Financial support will help sustain that effort.

Our broad mission is similar to Northfield.org’s, i.e., using the internet/online tools to strengthen the civic fabric of the Northfield area since we’re part of Northfield’s civic blogosphere. But we focus our efforts on:

curating local news and issues with the help of our fellow citizens
convening civil but opinionated conversations with citizens and community leaders
publishing photos of local citizens in public to ‘show the community to itself’
delivering it all in a way that’s responsible, ethical, fun, and sometime irreverent. We even toss in some faux news occasionally, just to keep you on your toes. This approach keeps it interesting for us and hopefully for you.

IF I BECOME A MEMBER, WHAT CONTENT WILL I GET THAT NON-MEMBERS WON’T GET?

None. But you get to add content (blog posts) that allow you to advertise your products/services or promote a cause or event. A business owner or a non-profit organization staffer or a local citizen can all advertise/promote in the same way.

WHY NOT BECOME A NON-PROFIT? YOU COULD GET GRANTS AND MY MEMBERSHIP WOULD BE TAX DEDUCTIBLE, RIGHT?

We’ve not ruled it out. But NCO/Northfield.org currently occupies that space in town and so it makes sense to us to try a different model.

WHY NOT SUPPORT THE SITE WITH ADVERTISING?

We do. See our Advertising page.

SO I GET NO EXTRAS BY BECOMING A MEMBER, NOT EVEN A USELESS MUG OR CHINTZY MOUSEPAD?

No membership trinkets right now (we’ve not ruled them out), but there are some benefits to becoming a member:

Basic members get to publish issue-oriented blog posts.
Premium and Premium Plus members also get to publish 2-4 blog posts/month advertising products/services or promoting a cause or event. So we’re allowing for advertising but in the form of members’ blog posts and attached conversations. A business owner or a non-profit organization staffer or a local citizen can all advertise/promote in the same way.

We’ve created a 7-minute screencast video in which we explain how a LG Membership can be used to promote a product, service, cause, or event for $2.50.

IF I BECOME A MEMBER, WHERE DOES MY MONEY GO?

Into Griff Wigley’s Locally Grown bank account. He uses the money for pay for

Web site-related expenses (hosting fees, software updates, etc);
Photography-related expenses. Griff has published thousands of Northfield-related photos since 2003. Many local organizations (eg, NDDC, Northfield Chamber, Northfield Entertainment Guide) regularly use his photos in their publications, posters, and brochures. He has never charged anyone to use his photos.

WHAT ARE THE MEMBERSHIP PLAN OPTIONS?

Basic: $3/month OR $36/year, sustaining (recurring). (Blog posting privileges)
Premium: $5/month OR $60/year, sustaining (recurring). (Same as Basic, plus the ability to submit two ads/PR-type posts to the blog/month)
Premium Plus: $10/month OR $120/year, sustaining (recurring). (Same as Basic, plus the ability to submit four ads/PR-type posts to the blog/month)

HOW DO I PAY?

We prefer that you pay via debit/credit card or PayPal. It saves us time.

What about paying with cash or a check?

Both are accepted. Use our Contact Us page to make arrangements.

WHAT IF I WANT TO CANCEL?

You can easily cancel a sustaining (recurring) account any time. We provide a link for you to click.

I DON’T LIKE RECURRING CHARGES. WHAT IF I JUST WANT TO GIVE YOU A LUMP SUM?

We provide an option for you to ‘donate’ any amount.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER I PAY?

You’re sent to a web page with a form to fill out that asks for your first and last name, your email address, a username and a password.

WHY DO I NEED A USERNAME AND PASSWORD?

You have to be logged in if you don’t want to see the Google AdSense ads. It’s optional.

Who’s had good results from using the Membership posts to promote something?

See this blog post: Membership testimonial: PEHS gets a third of its web traffic from Locally Grown

IS THERE A WAY TO GET A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT POSTED FOR FREE?

Yes. See the blog post: Three ways to get an announcement posted on Locally Grown.

WHAT IF I HAVE MORE QUESTIONS?

THIS FAQ HAS GONE ON WAY TOO LONG. WHAT SHOULD I DO NOW?

Click here to consider which membership payment options are best for you.

And thanks for considering it.