INTERNATIONAL MEMBEROVERVIEW & APPLICATIONThe Sake Brewers Association of North America (SBANA) is a 501(c)(6) trade association for the sakeindustry across North America, headquartered in Washington DC. We are the first and only sake industry
trade association outside of Japan. We are bringing together sake breweries across the United States,Canada, Mexico, Japan (and beyond), distributors, retailers, rice farmers, governments, enthusiasts, anda wide array of the allied trade to form one of the strongest sake organizations in the world.

Three Core Areas of Focus:#1 Consumer Development
The majority of consumers are still unfamiliar with sake as a category. To address this the Association
engages in broad external communication initiatives. These include (but are not limited to): Publicity, strategic marketing, and ad campaigns
 Developing consumer education material to be distributed widely Webinars on sake related subjects of interest to consumers
 Editorials and broad media outreach Events and award ceremonies#2 Brewery Development
We are the “voice” of the North American sake community. We focus on a wide spectrum of initiatives
including (but not limited to): Access to brewing knowledge, techniques, materials, suppliers, and seminars
 Internal industry-wide communication to keep all members abreast of important developments
 Building a true community around sake and building connections through forums, networking,events, festivals, and an annual industry conference Collecting and analyzing industry data to predict future trends
 Developing sake related content and multimedia#3 Legislative Reform
At this time the legislative landscape is still confusing for the sake industry. At the federal level, underthe Internal Revenue Code, for matters relating to production and tax, sake is treated as beer. However,under the Federal Alcohol Administration Act, for labeling and advertising, sake is treated as wine. Theconfusion deepens at the state level, where alcohol control boards attempt to interpret federal
regulations with sometimes only a basic understanding of sake production. Hence the Association works
closely with federal and state law makers to: Address the legal confusion at both the federal and state levels
 Draft, propose and seek to pass model legislation both at the federal and state levels
 Clarify varieties of sake in the law to ensure quality control and transparency
 Work with law makers to better understand the industry’s interests and work collaboratively todevelop policies that are beneficial to our members

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Our Values:

1. Promoting and celebrating the independent, traditional and innovative culture of North Americansake brewers.
2. Vigorously defending our industry, promoting unity among our brewers, and providing brewers andmembers of the allied trade with a unified voice.
3. Educating consumers about the diversity, flavor and quality of sake.
4. Working to build and grow a collegial community of professional brewers, homebrewers and sakeenthusiasts.
5. Promoting our industry to government in support of improved regulations, legal clarity, and a morefavorable regulatory framework.
6. Fostering industry transparency, and promoting ethical and legal trade practices.
7. Developing best practices and adopting industry standards to build our industry’s reputation forquality.
8. Fostering deeper connections with the Japanese sake brewing community.
9. Improving access to brewing knowledge and developing our own unique knowledge set.
10. Building relationships and collaborating with our industry partners.

Member Benefits include, but are not limited to:
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Access to exclusive content including:o Industry data, surveys and analysis
o Sake research, reports, and technical informationo Sources for equipment and supplieso Our invite-only sake brewers forum which connects you to sake brewers around theworld
Participation in Association funded marketing and promotional initiatives such as:o Name and logo featured on SakeAssociation.org and on social media
o Public relations and earned media
o Having a spokesperson for you as it relates to media pitches and responding to media
requests
Regular networking opportunities with brewers, retailers, distributors, and otherbusinesses in the sake industry
Access to legislative and promotional support through our government relations team
Ability to vote and have input in regulatory and legislative matters that directly impact
your bottom line
Invitation to our annual sake conference
Ability to participate in association sponsored competitions and festivals
Access and use of official association multimedia materials for use on labels, marketing, orother co-branding opportunities
Regular news updates on the sake industry

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UNDERSTANDING YOUR MEMBERSHIP DUESMEMBERSHIP DUES OVERVIEWMembership dues for the international membership are US $750 per year.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT MEMBERSHIP DUES
• Dues will be paid on a rolling basis.
• Members that need to spread out their payments can do so monthly via credit card, however,there will be a 3.5% surcharge.
• Contributions to section 501(c)(6) organizations are not deductible as charitable contributions
on the donor’s federal income tax return. They may be deductible as trade or business expenses
if ordinary and necessary in the conduct of the taxpayer’s business. For more info, click here.
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION & PAYMENT
Signed membership application should be emailed to: membership@sakeassociation.org
Checks should be made out to “Sake Brewers Association of North America” and mailed to:
Sake Brewers Association of North America
1513 N. Ohio St.
Arlington, VA 22205
United States of America

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_____________________________________________________________________________________(Official Company Name)
hereby applies to join the Sake Brewers Association of North America (SBANA) as an International
Member. SBANA members considered in good standing abide by all applicable SBANA by-laws, federal,state and local laws and ordinances, and by their paying their annual fixed base rate. The SBANA Boardof Directors, by majority vote, shall have the right and power to revoke, suspend or censure any
member’s participation or membership for violation of these standards. For any SBANA membershipsthat are terminated willingly by the member or revoked by the SBANA Board of Directors, there will be
no refund.
Code of Conduct: All Members agree to abide by the voluntary SBANA code of conduct.
Company Profile:
Name and contact information of principal SBANA representative:__________________________________First Name______________________________________________
Last Name_____________________________________________________________________________________
Title in Company_________________________________________
Email_______________________________________
Phone Number (including country code)_____________________________________________________________________________________
Company Website_____________________________________________________________________________________
Company Mailing Address_____________________Country___________________________________________________________
Licenses Held by Company

Please list the Products made by the Company:_____________________________________________________________________________________New International Member Overview and Application | Last Updated April 12, 2020 | Page 5 of 6

Late Payment of Dues Notice: Members who fail to pay their dues within thirty (30) days of the initial
invoicing/billing will be notified by SBANA in writing of such non-payment. If payment is not made withinsixty (60) days of initial billing, the Member in arrears will receive an "intent to terminate" notice andlose the privilege of attending meetings and/or voting. If payment is not received within ninety (90) daysof initial billing, the membership of that Member shall be terminated, and all rights and privileges ofmembership in SBANA will be forfeited.
By signing this agreement, new SBANA members are acknowledging that they are fully aware of theSake Brewers Association of North America’s dues policies and bylaws:____________________________________________________New SBANA Member Signature______________________________
Date

Please Scan and Email Application Pages to membership@sakeassociation.org____________________________________________________SBANA Board Chair Signature______________________________
Date____________________________________________________SBANA Executive Director Signature______________________________
Date

Timeframe for New SBANA Membership: SBANA Memberships are effective for a 12-month period
from the latest date of all co-signed parties and remittance of all applicable dues. Memberships willautomatically renew annually. If a member wishes to terminate their membership, they must do so in
writing to membership@sakeassociation.org 30-days prior to annual automatic renewal.
SBANA will provide all new members with a co-signed copy of this agreement.

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