Membership

Become a BAVC Media member!

BAVC Media (Bay Area Video Coalition) has empowered activists, artists, and media makers since 1976.

Membership is the best way to connect, learn, and grow alongside our community.

As a member, you’ll enjoy year-round benefits, including discounts on BAVC Media classes and workshops, networking opportunities, access to facilities, equipment, and more. See our full list of benefits below and choose the level that’s the best fit for you!

Benefits

*Audio post-production services discount limited to one project per year

  • FREE access to SF COMMONS services (for San Francisco Residents only)
  • Eligibility for Fiscal Sponsorship
  • First-look access to VERSED workshops
  • Screening Room rental ($100-120 per hour; two-hour minimum)

  • Exclusive access to member community Discord server 
  • Exclusive access to member events, including mixers, feedback sessions, and rough cut screenings

Only available at Producer membership level

  • Grant application review from BAVC Media’s Artist Development team (limited to one application per annual membership period). Please see the FAQs below for more information.

Our grant review process has you working directly with a member of our BAVC Media team to help ensure your application is competitive and meets the ever-changing criteria for grant funding.

Membership Levels

Maker

$75

Become a Maker level member to join our community and receive all Discounts, Access, and Community benefits listed above.

Producer

$150

Producer level members receive all the same benefits as Maker members PLUS Filmmaker Services benefits listed above.

If you qualify for Low-Income status you can receive a $55 discount on our Maker membership level. Submit this form to provide proof of status and apply now. See our FAQs below for more information.

SF COMMONS

Public Access television has a vibrant and storied history in San Francisco. SF COMMONS offers a wide variety of services to BAVC Media members, including a regularly scheduled timeslot on local cable channel 29, access to the equipment and services it takes to create a television show, and membership to a community of unique and gifted local producers.

Available to residents of San Francisco.

FAQs

There are a few ways you can renew your membership:

  • Purchase a new Membership on our website at bavc.org/membership, just like you’re signing up for the first time.
  • Email our Membership team at membership@bavc.org to request an email invoice payable online.
  • In person at our office located at 145 9th St., Suite 101, San Francisco.

If you are purchasing online, choose the level you would like to renew at and go through the registration process normally – it’s the same whether you are a new or renewing member!

We know that financial insecurity can look different for different people. We encourage you to submit a request to receive a Low-Income discount along with your Proof of Low-Income status using this form. We follow the standards of the City and County of San Francisco and will accept  the following documents as Proof of Low-Income status for this purpose:

  • Your last available tax return (showing that you earn less than $23,750/year)

or proof of enrollment in one of the following:

  • Food stamps/ EBT
  • Healthy San Francisco
  • Medi-Cal
  • CalWORKS
  • Section 8 housing
  • a free and reduced school lunch program
  • the MUNI Lifeline program
  • Social Security

Producer level members can request a review of any grant or fellowship application. This includes applications to BAVC Media’s own programs, such as the MediaMaker Fellowship.

Each BAVC Media member can only request one review per membership renewal. You will have the option to request emailed notes or a 15-minute call where to ask questions. Members hoping to have their draft MediaMaker Fellowship application reviewed should expect availability to be extremely limited in the two months leading up to the deadline. There are limited times available each month, so please plan ahead if there is an upcoming deadline. 

If the work sample is longer than 15 minutes it cannot be reviewed in full unless the member requests a review of the sample and the project summary only. The application does not have to be the member’s own – BAVC Media members can request a review on behalf of another member of their project’s team. 

The Artist Development team, who will be conducting reviews, is most experienced in evaluating documentary/nonfiction film and media applications but can review fiction proposals as well.

It is imperative that BAVC Media members keep in mind that while our staff is experienced in writing and reviewing grants their opinion is their own. They will try their best to offer a least a few pieces of actionable advice and meaningful inquiries to improve the application, but they cannot predict how others will perceive the same materials or how your application will fare against an unknown competition pool. 

In order to submit the review request form below, plan to have the following materials prepared:

  1. Copy of the detailed description, instructions, and guidelines for the grant you are submitting to
  2. Copy of your application draft or a previously submitted application and any notes received
  3. Any specific questions you have about your application

Submit now using our review request form→

All members receive 20% discounts on BAVC Media’s Training classes which you can find at learn.bavc.org. You can find your unique discount code in the welcome email that you received from BAVC Media when you first purchased your membership.

All BAVC Media members receive 50% discount on in-person VERSED workshops and FREE access to virtual VERSED workshops. You will also get first-look access to register for VERSED workshops.

As a BAVC Media member, you have access to rent the following spaces:

  • Screening Room (programming partnership with 9th Street Independent Film Center)
  • Audio Services with a 20% discount:
    • Live Studio
    • Whisper Room

At this time, at our current levels of membership, we cannot provide access to BAVC Media for meeting or workplace support. We plan to expand membership offerings at an increased cost in the near future where this will be available.

Rental equipment is only available to SF COMMONS Producers for checkout. If you are both a BAVC Media member and a resident of the City of San Francisco, you are eligible to use this equipment to produce a show for the SF COMMONS Public Access channel. 

Additional services available to SF COMMONS Producers include:

  • Production & post-production training
  • Drop-in editing stations in the Access Lab
  • Live Studio trainings and reservations
  • Ongoing workshop and group production opportunities. 

For more information, visit the SF COMMONS page or email Javan Jiles (Community Media & Marketing Coordinator) at javan@bavc.org

To find out about the Training classes we offer and to sign up, visit learn.bavc.org

Have questions about classes? Get in touch with our Training & Workforce Development Team at edu@bavc.org

You can contact our Membership team at membership@bavc.org 

A link to our member community Discord server is included in the welcome email you received from BAVC Media when you purchased your membership. If you did not receive one, please email membership@bavc.org for the link.

To learn more about BAVC Media’s Fiscal Sponsorship program visit bavc.org/fiscal-sponsorship.

Look into booking our screening room! Fill out this form to get more information.

To host an event in the screening room at the 9th Street Independent Film Center the host must be an active BAVC Media member.

Requests for events in the screening room must be made at least 14 days in advance of the event date. Please allow plenty of time for BAVC Media staff to confirm screening room and staffing availability. 

The cost to rent the screening room through BAVC Media is $100 per hour on weekdays and $120 per hour on weekends with a 2-hour minimum. BAVC Media will include a complimentary 15 minutes on either end of your reservation for setup and cleanup. Daily usage of the screening room may not exceed 8 hours and 30 minutes including setup and cleanup.

If you have any additional questions, please contact membership@bavc.org

All new members are sent a Welcome Pack once they join BAVC Media. Please allow 7-14 days for your Welcome Pack to arrive. If you have not received yours in this time please contact the Membership team at membership@bavc.org

BAVC Media is located on the first floor of the Ninth Street Independent Film Center, at 145 9th St #101, San Francisco, CA 94103.

You can find information about our location and facilities on our contact page.