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How It Works

Visit a Hub

Search, Select, Click. It’s That Easy to
Attend a Meeting

If you’d like to attend an upcoming Hub meeting, fill out our self-registration form. All we need is your first name, last name, and email address. Search for the meeting you’d like to attend, click it and then click submit to reserve your seat. Next, you’ll receive a series of confirmation emails with more detailed information regarding your meeting. We’ll even follow up with you after the meeting to make sure you stay connected with everyone who attended.

We allow up to three complimentary meetings before you need to make a decision about becoming a member. See you at our next meeting!

Hub Sponsorship

Make An Impact. Support A Synapse
Nonprofit Hub

We’ve completely redesigned our website from the ground up, launched our own foundation, Synapse Serves, refined a custom-designed database that will increase communication and collaboration across the Synapse network, and are launching in new markets in the U.S. and beyond.

We are poised to make a larger impact and are ready for supporters, sponsors, and community partners to join hands with us and help us continue to create vibrant, sustainable nonprofit and business-aligned communities. Keep going to see how you can get involved.

If you believe that a rising tide floats all boats. If you believe that networking can have a heart and soul. If you’ve been looking for a way to give back – not just occasionally but as a transformational lifestyle choice – consider investing in your community by joining Synapse.

Help us facilitate connections between businesses and nonprofit groups for community and economic development.

Sponsorship Levels

We’re Different. So Are Our Pricing Options.

Over the past six years, Synapse has grown from the seed of an idea to a fully-realized force for good, driving philanthropy, investment, and economic development in all the communities we touch. Our member subscribers, nonprofits, and community partners are passionate, loyal, and giving. They are servant leaders who realize that the investment of their time and energy not only strengthens their communities but can also be a potent business and economic driver.

Our flexible membership pricing options reflect our commitment to meet members where they are in their careers and lives. Take a look at our membership options below and see which price fits you best.

We offer many flexible membership options.
Take a look and see which one fits you best.

Payment plans are available for most membership options.

Corporate Hub Sponsorships – Starting at $3,000 per year

Support a nonprofit hub and get exposure to our 400 member network. We offer a number of sponsorship opportunities, each with its own specific benefits. See our pricing grid above and talk to us to find out more about our sponsorship opportunities.

Business Membership – $499 per year

Synapse members not only not have access to the best and most rewarding networking experience but also enjoy direct member-to-member discounts, discounted Barter Authority membership, travel discounts, discounted credit card processing and giving for their business, and more. Want more than one individual from your business to have access? Talk to us about our custom pricing options for your business!

Participating Nonprofit Board Member – $365 per year

In appreciation of our nonprofit partners, we’ve created this special rate nonprofit board members rate.

Nonprofit Membership – $365 per year

Nonprofits represent an important part of what Synapse is about. We need strong nonprofit partners who understand what becoming a Synapse member can mean to their organization. We also understand nonprofit budgets. That’s why our rate is so affordable.

Community Partnership Membership – $365 per year

For those strong community partners who regularly provide event/meeting hosting rooms or support either Synapse or a nonprofit in our network through events or fundraisers, we offer a special $365 Community Partner rate. Meet our criteria, get involved and save.

Nonprofit Neighbor – $250 per year

If you are an individual working for a nonprofit and want to get involved in a network focused on nonprofits and their causes, our Nonprofit Neighbor option is for you. This low-cost membership is designed to make nonprofit participation affordable and flexible. Talk with us about your options.

30-day Trial Hub Hopping Membership – $75

Not sure if Synapse is for you? Try out our 30-day trial membership. If you like what you see and want to become
a member, we’ll apply your $75 fee to your new membership.

Student/Job Seeker Membership – $99

For students and potential members looking for a job, we offer a deeply discounted rate, good for 90 days, that is convertible to a full membership after graduation or once a job has been secured.

Hubless Freedom Fee Membership – $25

Should you choose to remain “Hubless” after 90 days, you’ll pay a monthly “Freedom Fee” of $25 to our nonprofit, Synapse Serves, in order to remain active.

Frequently Asked Questions

Synapse offers a unique value proposition to businesses and nonprofits alike. It only takes a few visits to our Hub meetings to not only hear and see what makes us different but, more importantly, feel the difference. This FAQ is designed to answer a few basic questions and to point you in the right direction on our site where you can get more complete information.

What makes synapse different from other business networking organizations?

Although there are a host of reasons, there are four important differentiators that make the Synapse experience unique.

  1. We facilitate connections between businesses and nonprofit groups for community and economic development. Think about the intersection of big ideas and big hearts.
  2. Members are not locked into one group to conduct business but rather encouraged through “Hub Hopping” to leverage our entire network.
  3. We are relationship based, not transaction based. No bean counting. No quotas. No pressure. No kidding. You are free to create your own Synapse experience. We provide the framework. You bring your drive and special sauce to the party.
  4. We learned during the first national shutdown that being virtual is not only essential to business survival but vital to our mission. Over a weekend we flipped the switch from all face-to-face to all virtual. As circumstances dictate, we’ll be back to our all-important face-to-face meetings, but we’ll also be committed to a hybrid meeting virtual presence too. Our virtual stance has not only opened new markets for Synapse but has also expanded our member’s reach in ways we never thought possible.

If you believe in networking with a heart and soul. If you believe that a rising tide floats all boats, then Synapse is for you.

What is the cost of the membership?

While our annual regular business membership fee is $499 and our nonprofit membership fee is $250, we have a number of enhanced options based on you or your organization’s desired level of involvement. See our membership pricing section above to explore those options.
There is no joining, application or compulsory training fee, nor any other kind of fee associated with membership. With a Synapse membership, you get the value of collaborating with motivated and like-minded business and nonprofit professionals who help one another conduct more business in a climate of trust and mutual cooperation.

What else do I get?

Members also have access to our private Facebook groups, both for their Hub and for the entire membership base. Recent changes in LinkedIn have caused us to turn our attention toward and focus on the power of the LinkedIn network too. As we build out our LinkedIn presence, additional focus will be directed toward this invaluable resource. The bottom line: more high-quality connections, collaborations and opportunities to contribute.

What if I’m already a member of a business networking organization

Just as membership in another organization should, in our opinion, not prevent you from joining Synapse, membership in Synapse does not prevent you from being a member in another business networking organization.

Is there a hub location near me?

Although founded in Richmond, VA, we have expanded into additional markets in Coastal, Charlottesville, and the Peninsula region of Virginia, Charlotte, NC, Dallas/Fort Worth, TX, and Belfast, Northern Ireland. We’re continually adding new Hubs, with most, when it makes sense to return, meeting at the locations of our nonprofit partners. We have also added a virtual component to all our meetings. Check out all our Hubs on our Hubs page. You can reserve a seat at any Hub meeting by going to the ‘Visit a Hub’ page. If you don’t see a location that suits you, email us and let’s talk about forming a Hub near you.

Can I pick which hub I want to join?

You can apply to or be introduced to any Hub that either fits your location, day, time, nonprofit partner preference, or Hub style. Our intention is to have the right people at the table in every Hub. We try to put people together who will potentially collaborate as a group for the benefit of all. Members may also visit any other Hub in the network and may also transfer from one ‘home’ Hub to another if that suits their business networking needs.

Can you build a hub around my business?

Yes – let’s chat!

Glossary

Synapse has a unique culture and we like it just that way. People who hate networking love our approach. In short, we facilitate connections between businesses and nonprofit groups for community and economic development and our novel lexicon describes how we think about our member, nonprofit, business, partner, affiliate and sponsor relationships. We use alliteration and capitalization to inject fun into our process and communications. We’re serious about what we do but we don’t take ourselves seriously. Catch up on the Synapse lingo here.

Community Partner

A wide constellation of like-minded business professionals and entrepreneurs who help drive social and economic change in their communities by engaging in innovative and altruistic endeavors.

Connect, Collaborate, Contribute

The Synapse tagline. Do all three and you’ll be well on your way to designing the business and personal life you’ve always wanted.

Head to Head

Those all-important individual meetings that happen after a productive group Hub meeting.

Hop

The simple act of attending multiple Synapse Hub events. The core building block of effective Synapse networking.

Hopportunity

The act of receiving or creating a mutually beneficial option between two Synapse members. Also the act of being Hopportunistic.

Hoptions

All the ways in which you can experience Synapse and contribute to the network

Hub

The central nonprofit unit around which many Synapse activities take place

Hub Hopping

Moving about from one Hub to another to attend Hub meetings. Smart members maximize their exposure and ability to Connect, Collaborate and Contribute in this way.

Hubba Hubba

When two Hubs decide to combine their meetings in a powerful way you get double your pleasure and double your fun!

Hub Honcho

The servant-leader of any of our 40+ Hubs. A solid Hub Honcho is the straw that stirs the Synapse drink.

Hubmate Highlight

Our members are unique. We love the energy and diversity they bring to the party. A Hubmate Highlight is a special Hub meeting where we cast the spotlight for a few extra minutes on a Hub member and give them an opportunity to tell the audience in more detail what they’re all about.

Hubmate

Members who have declared one or more Hubs their home hub. Hubmates support their fellow Humates and champion the cause of their nonprofit.

Local Leader

An individual or entity who embraces and embodies the Synapse concept at a high level, resulting in an organically authentic positive influence.

Nonprofit Neighbor

Those special organizations that steadfastly protect, serve, and promote their cause with unflagging dedication. They are the central Hub of the Synapse spoke and wheel.

Synapsifier

The ineffable “it” that a Synapse Member, Hub Honcho, Nonprofit Neighbor or Super Sponsor fires when they are hyper-connecting around the network. If your Synapsifier is highly evolved, you are connecting, collaborating, and contributing when any Hopportunity is presented to you.

Synapse Support Session

An ongoing series of events that teach our members about Synapse, networking and how to succeed in our unique culture.

Synapse Spark Session

An ongoing series of Synapse hosted events that bring businesses and nonprofit leaders together to talk about topics of interest to our members.

Special Speaker

Someone selected by Synapse or referred to management by a Synapse member to present a unique topic to a particular Hub or Hubba Hubba. Special Speakers are also often utilized in bigger events like Synapse Support or Spark sessions.