Night Sky Network Features and Benefits

Club Services

• Members can update their own personal information and set up how to be contacted - by email, text, or phone
• Public can apply for club membership
• Privacy for all online information
• Keep track of dues, join date, club jobs, and club-designated fields
• Club "memory" is maintained online so transferring duties not as painful
• Keep track of member volunteer hours
• Keep history of changes in each member profile
• Growing Your Club Videos give advice for recruiting and keeping membership
• Beautify your club's NSN presence with logos, pictures, and links

• Communicate with members, subsets of members, the public, and media contacts
• Send messages with automatic links to events and one-step RSVPs
• Send club newsletters, announcements, and more to any group of members
• Keep records of non-member contacts, such as teachers, media, or rangers, making it easier for your club's Board transitions

• Your club's calendar can easily be added to your club's website
• Schedule upcoming events including pictures and formatting plus details about locations, links, and more
• The Night Sky Planner is your one-stop-observing link with highlights, sky charts, weather information, and more.
• Send announcements about events to members and public
• Request and keep track of member RSVPs to events
• Easily cancel events and notify concerned parties by email or text
• Your regular event locations are stored with instructions and can be easily managed
• View history of changes for each event

Publicity Management

• Public and club members can download upcoming events into iCal compatible calendars (like Google Calendar and Outlook, among others)
• Share club events easily through social media and email
• Public can request events with club-personalized forms
• Increase publicity just by adding events to the calendar - events are then publicized widely through the widget and partnerships with other organizations

• Outreach ToolKits filled with materials to present activities and demonstrations - created for and tested by amateur astronomers. You can also find the activity write ups and training videos online.
• Quarterly prizes go to 5 clubs four times a year. Winners are drawn randomly from all events logged using NSN resources. The more you log, the better your chances of winning prizes such as Mars globes or meteorites.
• Order free handouts from our partners to use at club meetings or outreach events.
• Clubs logging at least 5 events a year qualify for Annual Award Pins to recognize members' contributions to outreach.

• Add the widget to websites so that the public can find your club and events
• Mobile apps, like Distant Suns also use the events on the calendar to publicize events, reaching hundreds of thousands of astronomy enthusiasts
• Partnerships with other organizations, like SunEarth Day and International Observe the Moon night increase visibility
• Active clubs also get listed as Stars of the Network on the NSN homepage

Exclusive Member Benefits

• NSN hosts exclusive member teleconferences every 2 months where members are able to talk with leading scientists. See past teleconferences here.
• Members can easily order discounted subscriptions to Astronomy, Sky & Telescope, and StarDate.
• Outreach Topics Training Videos cover common concerns club members have about working with the public, such as Connecting with Kids and How to Say "I Don't Know."
• Growing Your Club Videos give advice for recruiting and keeping membership.

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