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APA Hardship Assistance Policy

For questions concerning APA's Hardship Policy, email ExecutiveDirector@APAaccess.org.

Adopted March 13, 2026

  1. Purpose: To support APA members facing temporary financial instability due to unforeseen regulatory, economic, or other circumstances, ensuring they maintain their APA membership and remain connected to the professional community and resources.
  2. Eligibility:
    1. Must have been an active member in good standing for at least 12 consecutive months prior to the current expiration.
    2. Must demonstrate a direct link between the hardship and external factors (e.g., regulatory changes, industry-wide downturn, layoff).
    3. Must submit a request for assistance prior to the expiration of the current membership term or within a 30-day grace period. Extensions to the request deadline may be made for members who expired in the 9 months prior to the activation of this policy.
  3. Relief Options:
    1. Hardship relief is granted for one (1) year.
    2. A second consecutive year may only be granted under extraordinary circumstances via Board vote.
    3. Relief is confidential and will not be disclosed to the general membership.
  4. Implementation
    1. A task force will be appointed by the APA Board of Directors to approve or deny requests and the relief option. The task force will be composed of three people to include the executive director, at least one board member, and up to one chapter leader. The chapter leader designee may rotate so that the chapter leader represents the chapter to which the member making the request belongs.
    2. To maintain member privacy, the details of the requests and requester names may only be discussed among the task force members; however, the number of requests, type of relief, and general reasons for requests may be reported to the board to keep the board informed of the scope of the need.
    3. Management may reach out to members who disclose that economic hardship is the reason for non-renewal and offer them the opportunity to submit a request.
    4. The following statement will be added to the renewal invoice or renewal reminder, “If you are experiencing temporary financial hardship, please contact ExecutiveDirector@APAaccess.org to discuss confidential assistance options."
    5. Whenever possible, the task force approving the request will make a specific personal invitation to the member to become involved on a committee or chapter, to submit a newsletter article, or to participate in another activity.
    6. Members receiving hardship assistance shall receive all benefits of APA membership including discounts.
  5. Evaluation
    1. Upon receipt of a fourth hardship request within the initial year of implementation, the finance committee will review the financial impact and sustainability of the policy and, if needed, make recommendations to the board of directors regarding changes to or suspension of the policy.
    2. This policy shall be reviewed by the board of directors one year after implementation to determine if it should be continued and/or modified.