Students in the top 15% of their program are mailed invitations from USask to join this society every year—but what is it?

Every year, high-achieving university students around the world receive a letter from the Golden Key International Honour Society, congratulating them on the success of their studies—and asking them for a hefty fee of $95 for membership in the organization’s exclusive club. 

In one of these letters obtained by The Sheaf, the Golden Key briefly explains the organization’s history and mandate. “Founded in 1977,” the letter reads, “the Golden Key International Honour Society is the world’s largest honour society and is devoted to helping members achieve excellence through the advancement of academics, leadership and service.” The Golden Key is based out of Atlanta, Georgia. The first chapter in Canada opened in 1997, and the organization says it has chapters in over 180 countries worldwide.

According to its website, The Golden Key promises to “stop at nothing to showcase your achievements” and “connect you with high performers and influencers throughout the world.” The one-page letter also lists a few advantages of joining the Golden Key, from “a range of scholarships, awards and grants” to “discounts on home and car insurance” because of the Golden Key’s partner organizations.

However, a quick search online reveals that many people think the letter is merely a scam. Some users from a three-year-old Reddit post on the USask subreddit commented that “it’s basically $95 to get put on an email list” and a “waste of money and time.” Few independent articles or mentions of the organization online are positive.

Thousands of letters are sent to students from USask administration every year, so The Sheaf sought to find out how this organization came to be and if it really benefits students––or if it really is just a money grab like some say it is.

Where does the membership fee go once it’s paid?

Golden Key is designated as a nonprofit under 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code, meaning that it’s exempt from federal income tax. Any donations made to the organization are also tax-deductible. 

The Sheaf obtained Golden Key’s Internal Revenue Service (IRS) filings for the 2024 fiscal year, in which the organization reported over $2.6 million in revenue. The bulk of this revenue (over $1.9 million) was listed under “Program Service Revenue”, which is made up of membership dues and services. Note that all values from the IRS filings are in USD.

So, if most of their revenue comes from collecting those $95 membership fees, where does the money go after that?

According to the filing, the total “Grants and similar amounts paid”—i.e. scholarships to students—for the 2024 year was $65,817. On the other hand, the amount under “Salaries, other compensation, employee benefits” was $1,389,208 in 2024. 

Of this list, only two paid salaried employees are named: the CEO, who earned $179,904 before bonuses, and the CFO, who earned $100,350 before bonuses. The rest of the money is listed under “Other Salaries and Wages.” Since the CEO and CFO are the only salaried employees listed, it is unclear where exactly the remaining amount goes.

That means that in total, roughly 52% of the organization’s total revenue in 2024 went to Golden Key salaries, while about 0.02% went to actual student grants. 

Another large portion of the organization’s revenue was funnelled into “Other expenses,” which saw $1,459,196 spent in 2024. This includes various operating and administrative costs, including over $319k in “Office expenses,” $196k in “Merchandise” and $102k in “Accounting.” It is important to note that “Chapter Funding” is a separate category from the rest of the other expenses listed, receiving roughly 108k in total, which suggests that the rather high cost of “Office expenses” is not going to local chapters.

According to the Golden Key’s website, they boast over 2 million members worldwide. However, as of the writing of this article, there are a total of seven central scholarships available to all of these members. Of these seven, five are available worldwide, ranging from $500 to $1,500 USD, one is available for the Australia and Asia Pacific region only and valued at $100 AUD and one is reserved for Canada, valued at $1,500 CAD. While the Golden Key does give money to local chapters for scholarships, the USask local chapter scholarship for Jan. 2026 is only valued at $500 for local chapter members.

The reality is that the majority of revenue from membership fees does not go into students, but to staff salaries and organizational expenses. The number of scholarships is disappointing for the number of members the organization claims to have. The fact that all donations made to the organization are tax-deductible adds another level of skepticism to its claims of being solely in the interest of students. But what does the local chapter have to do with any of this?

Golden Key’s Local USask Chapter

The Sheaf reached out to USask’s local Chapter President Noémie N’Diaye and Secretary Dylan Taggart to get a better look at how the organization operates on the ground and their experiences with the Golden Key. 

Taggart explains that the local chapter is meant to be a space for “like-minded people to connect and be able to interact with one another,” and that it is heavily academic-focused with emphasis on developing networking and leadership skills.

When asked why someone should become a Golden Key member, Taggart gave the list of discounts that members receive on select products and services, which can also be found on the Golden Key’s website. Both Taggart and N’Diaye explained that while they haven’t yet used many of these discounts, they plan to do so in the future.

The local chapter has no control over setting the $95 membership fee, which is set by the broader organization. N’Diaye explained that “If someone came to us but they were unable to pay for the membership, we could try to think of ways to help with that. Even though there is a membership price, we aren’t trying to make an exclusive club for people with [a certain level of] income … The main reason for paying the price would be to get benefits like the scholarships, the events and summits that they do.”

The events held by the local chapter are mostly planned by the executives, although there is a mandated New Member Recognition event that must be held every year. Taggart explains that they are given the script to read during that event and that “there’s a point system [where the more] events we do, the higher status we earn as a chapter.” 

While the Golden Key does provide the group funding for events, Taggart explains that “funding is based on how many new members we get.” 

When asked if they were informed of where the membership fees go once they’re collected, Taggart and N’Diaye pointed to the explanation on the Golden Key website. As Taggart read from the website, “the membership fee is shared between the local chapter and international headquarters, and it funds membership benefits and support in a variety of ways, including local chapter scholarships where applicable, the new member recognition event and society scholarships.” None of this is untrue. However, as we’ve seen, it is misleading. 

N’Diaye and Taggart had not seen the IRS filings of the organization, nor had they received any specific information about how funds are allocated. 

When asked what they would say to a student who wanted to join an honours society but did not want to pay a fee to the Golden Key, Taggart responded that “if they were more interested in just a local Honour Society, then maybe they would be more happy to create their own. If they did want the career and professional development opportunities and networking that [comes] with Golden Key, then I would suggest going with Golden Key.”

N’Diaye continues: “I would also mention that it is just a one-time fee, but it’s a lifetime membership. For some clubs, you pay a yearly fee [and] once you’re out of university, you’re no longer a member. One of the perks about Golden Key is that even after you leave university and you’re in the working world, you are still considered a member.”

In response to the criticisms of the Golden Key online, N’Diaye said that “I think people are critical because it might be difficult to see the benefits of being part of Golden Key… It is what you make of it. If we’re hosting events and you do show up, you will get that sense of ‘Hey, I’m a part of this club that’s so much bigger than Saskatoon, it’s a worldwide thing,’ and it’s something to be proud of. [It] helps you feel like you’re part of the community rather than just paying the fee and then not participating.”

Taggart adds that “If students do pay the $95 and then they don’t partake in any networking or leadership opportunities, then it does feel that it is just $95 gone for a certificate or a pin.”

Golden Key’s Response

USask declined to comment on Golden Key activities and instead referred The Sheaf’s questions to Ian Sankey, the Golden Key Director for Canada. Sankey’s response contained the same messaging that the letters, website and materials that local chapter executives read from, which spoke about all of the benefits of a Golden Key membership. 

When asked what kinds of information USask gives to Golden Key, Sankey responded that “the university will run their program to pull the top 15% and then help facilitate the invitation letter mailing without Golden Key ever seeing any student information.” He explains that invitation codes are sent out with the letter and that “the university does not give any student information to Golden Key.”

Sankey also responded that “Golden Key does not have a financial agreement with the university” and that “Golden Key covers the cost of the invitation letters that are sent out.”

Sankey claims that students may opt out of receiving Golden Key invitations, but does not elaborate on how to do so. He explains that “the invitation is an opportunity presented to the students, should they wish to look into it more, but they can of course simply disregard the invitation letter.”

In sum

There are several conclusions that can be reached about the Golden Key. Does the organization mislead students? Certainly. Its messaging is vague, and its financial statements prove that the organization puts a substantial amount of money into administrative costs while allocating a very small amount to student scholarships and local chapter funding. The total of seven scholarships available worldwide is frankly disappointing. The sum of money it gives to local scholarships is also not exceptional, shelling out only $500 for a USask-only scholarship, even though that only amounts to about the cost of roughly five memberships.

It is important to note that there exists a dichotomy between the larger organization and the local chapter. The local organization is student and volunteer-run. It’s facilitated by dedicated professors who want to support their students. The chapter puts on charity drives and social events for its members. The executives aren’t paid, and receive very little information from the broader organization about where their fees are going.

Chapter President N’Diaye and Chapter Secretary Taggart’s view that ‘Golden Key is what students make of it’ makes a good point. The local chapter offers valuable opportunities to network through their events, and students must weigh their decision to pay the fee to join and receive the benefits of being a member against the fact that this fee largely goes to the interests of a wealthy American-owned organization. If students want the community and experience without paying the fee, then they will have to create their own local honours society or simply join a different organization. There isn’t a right or wrong choice to Golden Key memberships–it should ultimately be up to the student to decide what they make of the organization.