Founder membership: This level of membership is for those companies who were full members at 1st January 2006 and reflects the work put into funding and establishing the Association over the years. This level of membership agrees to abide by all the rules of the BSA. Founder members have the right to use the words ‘Founder member’ under the logo when they use it on stationery and in publicity materials.

Full membership: This is for new members joining the Association who meet full membership criteria, and who are voted in by the current membership as full members with full voting rights and the right to use the BSA logo immediately. They agree to abide by all the existing membership rules.

Associate membership and Sponsored Associate Membership: this is an intermediate membership classification for companies BSA members want to see as members but who will not be able to use the logo on products and product packaging from ‘day 1’. These are companies where BSA members feel membership is something we want to see but we feel the associate member needs to either improve the quality of their products to meet the standards or where they feel they want to see the quality of products maintained over a six or twelve month period before that company can begin to use the logo on product packaging. They can use the logo on stationery and web sites but not on product packaging. Sponsored Associate Membership is similar but reflects the willingness of an existing full member to mentor that associate member towards full membership. This level of membership would be required to abide by all the BSA membership rules as if a full member to make transition to full membership simple.

Approved supplier membership: This is a level of membership for companies that provide a product or service that is not specifically garden bird related but which is clearly relevant to what the BSA does and seeks to achieve. Suppliers of products to BSA members, of products that are garden bird friendly for example. This level of membership would be required to abide by a set of published rules that are less onerous than full membership rules and which require a lower level of commitment for meeting attendance for example.