New GFOA Membership Model Launching August 2025

GFOA will transition to a simplified membership structure, a true organization-based membership model where most public-sector organizations will pay a single fee for membership—making all individuals who are either employed by or elected and who have responsibility for any aspect or function of public finance to be eligible for membership at no additional cost.

This change aligns with GFOA’s mission to advance excellence in public finance. It allows government agencies to provide unlimited access to resources, professional development, and networking opportunities for all of their employees, fostering broader participation and engagement. GFOA is fortunate to be in a strong position with growing revenue and membership—and this change accomplishes a strategic goal to modernize our approach to membership for the future.

GFOA’s membership structure has long blended components of organization-based membership with individual membership. Government members could join either by base membership—where the first few members from a single government would be included in a fixed amount, based on the organization’s size (governments received one to seven “base” members, depending on their size)—or by adding on additional memberships at a current rate of $150 per member. Our change effectively eliminates the fee for additional memberships and opens up GFOA membership and the programs, services, and benefits to everyone within the organization. 

The new membership model will be implemented on August 1, 2025. For member governments renewing their membership after August 1, 2025, GFOA’s new fee schedule will apply.

No. Individuals working for retirement systems, state/provincial governments, or the federal government will use an individual membership model. 

This change will have little impact on the way most members receive benefits. GFOA will continue to provide discounts for the annual conference and training, access to GFR, the weekly newsletter, online communities, and opportunities to participate in the CPFO program, affinity groups, standing committees, and more. 

The cost for your organization will still be based on factors such as population size and organization type. You can view the updated fee schedule above on this page. However, the pricing now covers unlimited memberships for most organizations, so there will be no more add-on fees for additional members. In other words, individual costs should be covered under your organization’s membership. 

Members who have earned the CPFO credential will continue to pay an annual $175 fee to maintain the designation. (This does not apply to CPFOs who follow the legacy reporting requirements.) For more details please see the CPFO policies guide or the reporting pages. Please email CPFO staff at certification@gfoa.org with questions.

To ease the transition to the new structure, GFOA has automatically extended the membership of any individual or add-on member set to expire between April and August. When the new model goes into effect in August, individual memberships will be connected to the membership period of the organization.   

If you currently have an individual or “add-on” membership and work for a government, it will remain active, and you will continue to have access to GFOA’s member benefits. GFOA will be implementing a new member activation process to enroll new members from member organizations. You (and all other GFOA members) will need to complete this short survey form. Going forward, your membership will automatically transition to the new model, and you will continue to access GFOA benefits as long as your organization renews its membership.

Yes, you will retain full access to all benefits of your individual membership until it expires. After the transition, you will have access to the same resources through your organization’s membership.

No, after August 2025, individual memberships will no longer be offered. You will transition to your organization’s membership, but you will continue to enjoy the same benefits. If you have a current individual membership but your agency is not a member, your membership will remain active until your paid-through date.

The new pricing structure is based on your organization’s membership, not on individual memberships. You can view the new fee structure above.

For the purposes of your employee count, only full-time employees of your organization should be included. Part-time and temporary staff are not counted toward this total.

GFOA currently has approximately 200 retirement systems that have organizational memberships. When organizations are up for renewal over the next year, GFOA will contact each organization to identify the individuals who wish to retain membership or to find out if any additional members are interested in joining. GFOA can then provide an invoice for renewal. In the future, all renewals will be tied to individual membership renewal dates. 

Pricing for associate membership will remain unchanged. GFOA has an associate membership fee of $225 per person and offers discounts for individuals from Canada ($200), international members ($150), academic faculty ($50), retired members ($35), and students ($25).

State and provincial government finance professionals will continue to utilize an individual-based membership model and will experience no change in the structure of membership. Currently fees are based on the population of each state and going forward, GFOA will charge a single fee of $175 per person for membership ($150 for members from Canadian provincial governments). 

Note: Financial professionals from US or Canadian Territories and either United States or Canada’s federal government will have a similar experience, with fees set at $175 for US and $150 for Canada. 

Your organization will automatically transition into the new model by August 2025 if you are a current member. Detailed instructions on how to activate unlimited employee memberships will be provided.

The organization-based membership provides unlimited access for all employees to GFOA’s member benefits such as resources, professional development programs, discounts on training and events, and more—all for one set membership cost. This offers excellent value and flexibility for your entire team. For individuals who are not currently members, we have removed some of the most significant barriers to joining. We also anticipate a much larger network of members, improved leadership opportunities, more resources, and stronger brand awareness driving improvements to financial management. 

That’s great! You can still join as an organizational member at any time here, but the new structure and pricing does not go into effect until August. Starting then, you can join through GFOA.org under the new structure and add your employees as members.  

Yes! GFOA will provide comprehensive resources, including training materials and webinars, to help organizations manage the new membership structure smoothly. More information about these resources will be communicated to current members, or you can contact Katie Little at klittle@gfoa.org.

Yes, all current benefits, including discounted access to webinars, conferences, online communities, and exclusive resources, will continue under the new model. The main change is the shift from individual memberships to an organization-wide structure.

GFOA will send regular email updates and post detailed information on the website leading up to the transition. Be sure to keep an eye on your inbox and the GFOA website for the latest updates. Also, if you are attending GFOA’s 2025 Annual Conference, join us at the special sessions about the new membership structure or visit our booth at the GFOA Hub.

Individual memberships purchased before the new model is implemented will automatically transition into the new organization-wide structure at no cost. We will not charge for individuals or add-ons to agency accounts after the announcement regarding this change is made in April 2025.

If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact Katie Little, Director of Member Strategy, klittle@gfoa.org, or our membership team at membership@gfoa.org or refer to the FAQs on our website for further information.

To join, please click here and complete the online application form.

Members receive discounts on educational opportunities, access to online communities, subject matter experts, and the latest information on industry best practices. For a full list of member benefits, click here.

Membership is open to anyone whose career, studies, or interests involve government finance.

To renew, transfer, update, or cancel a membership, click here.

Your membership information is available in your GFOA account. Please log in to view your profile at members.gfoa.org.

If you don’t know your login information, please contact us to receive temporary credentials.

You can view your membership term in your profile at members.gfoa.org.