Eligibility

Public, not-for-profit Canadian museums and other Canadian heritage organizations are eligible for membership in the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN).

If your organization is eligible, you may register at no charge in one of the following categories:

Basic or Contributing Membership

To become a Basic or Contributing Member, a heritage institution must be:

  • public;
  • not-for-profit;
  • a permanent physical establishment;
  • exempt from federal and provincial government income taxes;
  • open to the public;
  • administered in the public interest for the primary purpose of conserving and preserving, studying, interpreting, assembling and exhibiting objects and specimens of educational and cultural value. This includes artistic, scientific (whether animate or inanimate), historical and technological material;
  • a museum, art gallery, art exhibit centre, botanical garden, zoological park, aquarium, planetarium, historical society museum, historical house, preservation project or site which meets the aforementioned requirements.

Requirements

Basic and Contributing Members must provide information about their institution, the scope of their collections and upcoming events through the Your Institution and Your Events online entry forms (either of which was formerly referred to as ‘the Guide’). The data contributed to Your Institution and Your Events is made available to the public through the Virtual Museum of Canada’s (VMC) Museums in Canada and Calendar of Events sections.

Contributing Membership

Basic Members become Contributing Members once they contribute collection records to Artefacts Canada. Canada’s national inventory of museum objects, Artefacts Canada is a database of several million records and images from Canadian museums. Records are also shared with the public through the VMC's Image Gallery.

Associate Membership

Canadian, not-for-profit heritage organizations that are not open to the public may be eligible to become Associate Members.

Associate Members must provide information about their organization and its programs through the Your Institution and Your Events online entry forms.

Become a Member Today

Apply for CHIN membership.