Institutional Governance

The Founding Member Covenant

This is a binding document. Read it before you join. It says what NFA owes you — in writing. This Founding Member Covenant is a binding institutional promise between Not A Footnote Academy and each individual designated as a Founding Member. It exists to recognize early support, protect mission integrity, and prevent future erosion of trust as the Institution scales.

Effective upon acceptance.

This Founding Member Covenant (“Covenant”) is a binding institution promise between Not A Footnote Academy (“NFA”, “the Institution”) and each individual designated as a Founding Member.

This Covenant exists to recognize early support, protect mission integrity, and prevent future erosion of trust as the Institution scales.

I. Recognition of Founding Members

Founding Members are individuals who joined Not A Footnote Academy during its formative phase, prior to institutional maturity and long-term financial stability.

Their early participation contributed materially to the Institution’s ability to establish its archive, curriculum model, and production infrastructure — creating the foundation on which all later work is built.

II. Permanent Pricing Guarantee

NFA guarantees Founding Members the following for the lifetime of their membership:

• A permanently price-locked rate of
• $3 per month OR $30 per year
• No future price increases
• No forced upgrades
• No conversion to a one-time “lifetime access” buyout
• No expiration of Founding Member status while the account remains active

If pricing tiers, products, or access structures change in the future, Founding Members retain full access at their locked rate with no reduction in access scope.

III. Access Parity Guarantee

Founding Members are guaranteed access parity with the highest individual membership tier offered by NFA.

This means:

• Founding Members will never receive less access than later members
• New learning tools, curriculum features, or platform capabilities made available to individual members will be included in the Founding Member access scope at no additional cost
• Access parity does not imply exclusivity and does not restrict access for others

IV. Mission Protection Commitments

NFA affirms the following mission commitments as permanent:

• Canonical historical essays will remain publicly accessible and will not be paywalled
• Payment will never restrict access to historical facts or primary narratives
• Paid access applies only to structure, sequencing, assessment, diagnostics, and convenience layers
• Optional OER resources will remain support-only and never be required for mastery
• The Institution will not be converted into a partisan, ideological, or political organ

Founding Members hold moral standing to raise objections if these commitments are violated.

V. Continuity, Transfer, and Survival

This Covenant:

• Survives platform redesigns, rebranding, and leadership changes
• Survives institutional restructuring, mergers, or successor entities, or is honored through equivalent guarantees if legally required to transfer
• Remains in force unless voluntarily terminated by the Founding Member through account cancellation

VI. Non-Ownership and Legal Boundaries

This Covenant:

• Does not grant equity, profit sharing, or ownership interest
• Does not create governance or voting rights
• Does not establish fiduciary duties

It is a contractual and ethical commitment governing access and pricing only.

By accepting Founding Member status, both parties affirm this Covenant in good faith.