Join INTO

INTO is a coalition of National Trusts and similar organisations from around the world, united by their common interest in the conservation and enjoyment of our shared heritage – built and natural, tangible and intangible. We bring people together to exchange information, develop and promote best practice, and work to effect change.

INTO aims to give relevance to the work of the National Trust movement in the 21st Century by providing a communications framework that connects organisations around the world (website, e-bulletins, conferences, webinars), an expert network and knowledge bank, capacity building support, training, strategies for collective advocacy, and a forum for advancing intercultural understanding and the development of civil society.

You can find out more about the benefits of membership in our Membership Guide.

There are three categories of membership, Full Voting Member, Candidate Member and Associate Member.  INTO has established qualifications for membership which are listed below.

Download the Membership Criteria

Download the Membership fee structure

Download the INTO Constitution (2017)

You may submit an application for INTO Membership on-line by clicking on this link!

            INTO Membership criteria

A member of the Charity shall:

1. Be a corporate body or organisation which is not incorporated which – in either case – has as its principal purpose the conservation of the cultural and/or natural heritage, and which is professionally engaged in programmes and activities designed to further such a purpose;
2. Operate substantially independently and autonomously of government. While a member may be established under government authority, receive government funding, or have government representation in its governance structure, it must remain substantially independent from governmental influence with respect to its governance, operations, and policies;
3. Be a voluntary organisation governed by directors, trustees, or other individuals who do not receive any remuneration for their services (unless such services are performed as employees), and for which the remuneration of persons who are employed to carry out management or executive functions are not such as to materially prejudice the purposes of the voluntary organisation;
4. Be created and established for public benefit and not for profit; that is, the governing charter or statutes of the organisation, and its actual practices, must not permit any part of the income, capital, or property of the organisation to be used to benefit any director, trustee, shareholder, promoter, founder, member, or donor or any other private interest, except for reasonable remuneration for services provided to, or on behalf of, the organisation;
5. Be active in developing policies, analyses, or assessments that promote the conservation of heritage in its country of operation, thus having a capability to promote and influence policy;
6. Be actively engaged in public education, public advocacy, and raising public awareness about the benefits of conserving the heritage of its country of operation;
7. On applying for membership undertake to comply with the Charity’s constitution and once admitted as a member strive diligently to continue to comply;
8. Have been in operation for at least three years;
9. On applying for membership produce the previous two years’ Annual Reports and Audited Accounts for the organisation as well as the founding deed or constitution;
10. Be a membership organisation, or—if such a structure is not recognised or permitted under the laws of the country in which it operates—to be accountable to an involved and engaged constituency;
11. Be actively engaged as heritage practitioners preferably managing heritage properties, sites or nature reserves. Although the organisation may or may not itself own properties with cultural or natural value, it must be engaged in their management or assist in the coordination of management or site stewardship activities, or in the development and promotion of heritage management policies, so as to be able to demonstrate best practices in heritage conservation, i.e. be holistic in their approach to heritage and not merely a narrow issue organisation; and
12. Be of national standing and engaged preferably on a national level or at least on a provincial, state or identifiable regional basis within the specific country in which it is organised, and operates. It is expressly recognised that more than one organisation may qualify for membership in any given country.

The membership committee may grant one of the following types of membership to the applicant:

Full Voting Member

A full member is an organisation which the membership committee has approved as having met the membership criteria and shall have all the rights and obligations then in effect for members of the Charity.

Candidate Member

A candidate member is an organisation which the membership committee has approved as having met the necessary criteria to become a Full Member, other than one or more of subparagraphs h) to l).

Candidate Members of the Charity, subject to the ongoing payment of their subscription fees to the Charity, shall be non-voting members and shall have such rights and responsibilities as determined by the charity trustees or the Congress. Candidate Members may aspire to become Full Voting Members over time and will be nurtured accordingly by the Charity until such time as that they qualify to become a Full Voting Member.

Associate Member

An Associate Member is an organisation which the membership committee has approved as having not met the necessary criteria for membership but which is engaged professionally in the heritage conservation sector.

Associate Members of the Charity, subject to the ongoing payment of their subscription fees to the Charity, shall be non-voting members, and shall have such rights and responsibilities as determined by the charity trustees or the Congress.