About Non-Profit SubscriptionsPolicies for Different Types of Nonprofits
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How to Use the BPN Website
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Who can subscribe?
Nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations that serve children and families in the SF Bay Area and don't operate schools, classes, or camps.
- Public libraries
- Religious congregations (Exception*: subscribe here if posting about a school or preschool)
- Regional parks
- Museums, orchestras, performing arts, and other nonprofit cultural venues whose chief activity is *not* operating classes or camps for kids (subscribe here if posting about classes or camps)
- Nonprofit organizations that offer free services to everyone in the community
- Groups for parents or kids that are run by volunteers, such as scouting and parent meet-ups
- Universities, nonprofits or public media looking to post a research query on BPN (more info)
Exceptions:
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Professional services such as medical, therapeutic, or consulting services: If any of your clients are charged a fee, then you are not eligible for the free nonprofit subscription. Please instead subscribe as a business.
- Schools, preschools, camps, childcare, classes, teams, choruses, and other programs that enroll multiple kids or parents for recurring classes are not eligible for the nonprofit subscription. Please instead see one of these categories:
How do I subscribe?
Click 'subscribe' in the upper right corner of the website. If you are already a BPN parent subscriber, log out of your parent account first.
What are the benefits of subscribing?
- Ability to post to BPN's Announcements and Events listings (about your programs, events, volunteer opportunities, jobs)
- Ability to edit your profile page.
- Parents can post reviews of you directly to your profile page.
How do I publicize my organization on BPN?
This guide explains how to post events and announcements on BPN, how to update your profile on BPN, and how to make the most of your BPN subscription.
How is my post signed?
All posts from organizations include your username, which BPN subscribers can click on to send you a message. You are also required to include a Contact name plus email or phone on events and announcements, since your post is available to all website visitors whether BPN subscribers or not. We recommend that you use your business name as your username, since all posts include your username. See How to Change Your Password, Username or Email if you'd like to change your username.
How do I update my profile page?
When you are logged in, go to your profile page and click the Edit tab. Or, go to your account page, find the "My Profile Page" section, and click 'edit' next to the profile page you want to edit. Note that some fields such as the name of your business can only be edited by BPN administrator. Please contact us if you need to change the name of your business.
- About Your Business or Organization: Type in a short description of your school, which will appear in a shaded box at the top of your profile page.
- Phone: This field accepts any format for phone numbers. You can enter more than one phone number, or add text such as "email preferred" or "leave a message."
- Email: Enter a full, valid email address. Parents will be able to click on this to send you an email.
- Website: Enter your website and it will be clickable.
Nonprofits that operate schools, camps, classes, teams, or other groups
Many local classes, camps, schools, and other groups are operated by nonprofit organizations. However, the nonprofit subscription is not offered in these cases because fees are charged. Instead, you must purchase a subscription as a class/school/camp/group for $75-$250 per year, depending on the maximum number of participants you can accommodate at once. Free subscriptions are available for public schools and city-run programs. View subscription fees for Schools, Classes, & Camps.
Please contact us if you have any questions about what the subscription fee is for your program.
Nonprofits that support programs at a specific public school
Public schools subscribe to BPN for free, and they can publicize any classes, camps, or other groups at the school as long as the programs are operated by the school district (i.e., all staff are school district employees.)
Many public schools also have programs that are operated by nonprofits. These nonprofits can also subscribe to BPN in order to publicize their programs and some fundraising activities.
Posting about your program: BPN doesn't accept posts about events or classes that are only available to students at a specific school. However you can still publicize events that are open to the public, post job announcements, and request donated items on the Marketplace listing. You will also have a profile page on BPN with information about your organization, that parents can post reviews to.
Exception: If your nonprofit operates a program at a public school that is open to anyone in the community, not just students at the school, and there is a fee to participate, you must subscribe as a class/camp/group rather than as a nonprofit, and your subscription fee is based on enrollment capacity (see Subscription Fees for Schools/Classes/Camps/Childcare.) This includes after-school care, summer camps, team sports, and classes.
Volunteer-run parent support groups
Parent-run groups such as moms' clubs and parent support groups may subscribe as a free nonprofit, even if there is a membership fee, as long as the group is organized and run by parent volunteers and there are no paid staff or professional facilitator.
Researchers seeking to interview parents or children
BPN accepts announcements from researchers who are seeking parents or children to interview for their child-related or parenting-related research. Announcements can be posted in the category "Researchers & Reporters Seeking Parents/Kids" and remain published on our website for 30 days. New announcements (posted in the past 10 days) are also included in the weekly newsletter that is mailed to all BPN subscribers. For information about how to subscribe and post announcements, see Research Queries on BPN.