What each badge means.
Each badge below is written out in words. Elsewhere on the site, a badge that is not already part of a link links to its paragraph here.
The badges
The word tells you which kind it is.
About an email address
Confirmed email
Confirmed email
The member opened a link we sent to an address on the email domain of the school on their profile. That domain is the .edu domain of the school’s own website, or, where that website blocks automated checks, of the website listed in the school’s federal record with the Department of Education. It says they could read mail there. It does not say they studied or work there, because alumni, staff and forwarded addresses are on those domains too. It shows only while their profile is public and names the same school the address was confirmed at.
About a payment
Supporter
Supporter
A member with a Supporter membership that is paid up, or whose renewal payment is still being retried. Other people see the badge only if the member chose to show it on a public profile, and the same choice names them on the supporters page. A member who pays and says no looks like everybody else to others, and still sees the badge on their own account page. A member never has to pay to use anything here.
The supporters page lists the members who chose to be named.
About a listing
Paid placement
Paid placement
An employer paid to feature this job, which pins it above the jobs that are not featured for as long as the feature runs. The label sits above the job’s title on the jobs board and on the job’s own page, so it is read before the job is.
A business can pay for it too. A featured listing is pinned above unpaid listings when the directory is filtered to its category and placed ahead of unpaid listings among the business cards on the homepage, and the label sits above its name every time it appears.
About a school
Closed
Closed 2013
The school no longer holds classes. The year is the one the published list of closed HBCUs gives, and where that list gives no year the word stands alone rather than carrying a guessed one.
The list is the table of closed institutions in Wikipedia’s list of HBCUs (opens another site). The example above is Saint Paul's College.
About an email address
Owner confirmed email
Owner confirmed Morgan State University email
The person who submitted the listing opened a link we sent to an address on the email domain of the school the listing claims, the .edu domain of that school’s own website. It says they could read mail there. It does not prove they own the business, and it does not say they graduated, because alumni, staff and forwarded addresses are on those domains too. It does not check the listing’s claim either: a person does that, and the badge shows only on a listing whose claim the person who reviewed it accepted. It shows only while the submitter’s profile page is on, and it never names them or links to their page. It goes when they turn their profile page off, remove the confirmation, confirm a different school or delete their account.
It appears on a listing in the business directory, and a member confirms a school email in their profile settings. The example above names Morgan State University; on a listing it names the school that listing claims.
About a payment
Owner checked
Owner checked
The business pays a yearly fee for this check, and a person at HBCU CLLCTV read evidence that the account paying for it owns or runs the business and accepted it. Paying buys the check and not the result: a check that is declined is refunded in full and shows nothing. It does not say anything about the owner’s school, degree or identity beyond running the business, and it goes when the payment stops, when the year it paid for ends, or when the listing passes to someone else.
It appears beside a listing’s name in the business directory, and its price is on the pricing page.
About a payment
Founding Member
Founding Member
A member who paid for the Founding Member tier during the founding window. It stays after they stop paying, because it records when they joined, so it does not say they are paying today. Other people see it only if the member chose to show it on a public profile. It is not a check of anything the member has said, gives no standing in any directory, index or search result, and carries no right to any return, share, vote or say in how the Collective is run. It goes if they hide it or delete their account, and it may be removed if a payment for the tier is refunded or disputed.
The founders wall lists the members who chose to be named.
About a payment
Founders’ Circle
Founders’ Circle
A member who paid for the Founders’ Circle tier during the founding window. It stays after they stop paying, because it records when they joined, so it does not say they are paying today. Other people see it only if the member chose to show it on a public profile. It is not a check of anything the member has said, gives no standing in any directory, index or search result, and carries no right to any return, share, vote or say in how the Collective is run. It goes if they hide it or delete their account, and it may be removed if a payment for the tier is refunded or disputed.
The founders wall lists the members who chose to be named.