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There are Life Member luncheons or what have you at conventions, but other than that the only benefits I can think of off the top of my head are not having to pay National dues(you still have to pay Regional and State dues). From what I have seen being a Life Member doesn't really put you in a different position than the rest of the organization. I do not know any LMs personally that are under 30 and the LMs that I have met are older. In most cases, they are older and have been in their careers for many years. Therefore, shelling out $1,000+ is no big deal to them. My mother has a friend that is a Life Member of Delta Sigma Theta who did it back in the day when it was much cheaper. Overall, I do not see any real "benefits" outside of the title and bragging rights. However, I would still want to do it someday. It is not something that all members of NPHC organizations aspire to, especially with the costs involved. In that aspect, I guess a lot of us have the same mentality that some APOs have towards it(I would expect more than a pin, shingle, and newsletter also if one is talking about Life Membership). I believe in AKA you have to be a member for 25 years before you can even consider being a Life Member. It kind of varies from group to group, but the "benefits" are pretty much the same from all-around from what I've seen.
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