Adding value to .NET Foundation membership

[codehippie1]

Member value addition suggestions.

• Mentorship programs - Look into https://www.mentoring-club.com
• Competitions and hackathons (E,g. simple bug bounties with a digital gift card of low value)
• Letters of support for volunteer time. For example, my organization has 8 hours of volunteer time every calendar year.
• Affiliations with coding academies and boot camps. Some of the senior volunteers have to put in time for the boot camps to give something in return
• Affiliations with code+learn platforms. Think small like egghead.io etc. If we volunteer courses, they may return the favor as free membership to our members.
• Exclusive learning - Access to members-only webinars, workshops, and certifications.
• Exclusive learning - Discounts on courses, technical certifications, and partner services.
• Exclusive learning - Curated content (articles, e-books, whitepapers) accessible only to members.
• Career Advancement Support - Resume reviews & Career coaching.
• Career Advancement Support - Exclusive job board with opportunities in tech companies looking for skilled talent
• Career Advancement Support - Discounts for conferences, summits, and other professional events
• Networking Opportunities - Personalized introductions to key industry experts or mentors
• Networking Opportunities - Invitation to VIP events where members can meet industry leaders
• Community Contribution and Recognition - Opportunities to contribute to technical publications or speak at events
• Community Contribution and Recognition - Recognition programs like “Member of the Month” for notable contributions.
• Community Contribution and Recognition - Badging and certification programs to show industry expertise.
• Technical Resources - Access to a library of case studies, best practices, and industry reports.
• Technical Resources - Online forums or Slack channels for troubleshooting, peer advice, and discussions.
• Technical Resources - GitHub repository access for exclusive projects or shared learning materials.
• Special Discounts and Offers - Discounts on software tools, books, and subscriptions relevant to the field.
• Special Discounts and Offers - Partner deals with coworking spaces, tech equipment providers, or training courses.
• Special Discounts and Offers - Sponsorship deals from relevant tech companies for association members.

Once a member 'significantly' contributes to the OSS projects or internal DNF projects under committees (Membership committee to define 'significantly')

• The member is highlighted/celebrated in the DNF Newsletter - Member Spotlight.
• The member is celebrated on social media
• The member is given recommendations on LinkedIn etc.
• The member is given a special badge that can be added via Credly (or similar if credlly cost can't be budgeted) to LinkedIn
• The member can be given a simple PDF certificate/letter with the DNF logo, etc.

We should name and market this program via our channels before the launch. Membership tiers like the British Computer Society or Python Software Foundation would be good. Folks like tags like 'MVP', 'Fellow', 'Insider', etc.

E.g., Membership tiers of Python - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Python_Software_Foundation
E.g, Membership tiers of the BCS - https://www.bcs.org/membership-and-registrations/become-a-member/
E.g, Membership tiers of Apache foundation - https://community.apache.org/contributor-ladder.html

Please feel free to add more to the checklist.

[codehippie1]

Also, please see 144 from @cwoodruff for original thoughts. All the points mentioned in 144 are captured as a checklist to indicate completion.