Inventor organizations, typically nonprofit, often take root where inventors practice their trade, and there is no more fertile territory than the USA. Seeking to establish relationships among themselves, independent inventors have formed organizations throughout the nation, groups that provide professional and social forums. (For a list of such organizations, see Appendix C. This list was made possible online by the UIA, to which I am grateful. I have not personally contacted and become familiar with each group listed. You’ll need to evaluate them yourself.)

These organizations offer all kinds of product development support, guidance, and resources. A common objective is to stimulate self-fulfillment, creativity, and problem solving. Naturally, some inventor groups are more sophisticated than others; some are more organized. But all the legit ones have something positive to offer.

“Inventor organizations are the biggest bargain around for helping inventors to get their invention going, avoid scams, and meet people who have similar interests and have solved similar problems,” says Ray Watts, former editor of the Inventor-Assistance Program News.

“We’ve been getting a lot of new members lately due to the economic downfall,” Tim Crawley, president of the Inventors Association of Arizona, told 12 News Today. “People are losing jobs and dredging upon the idea they’ve had burning in their head for a long time, and they want to get it out there; this is the place to do it.”

In Memphis, Mid-South Inventors Association vice president Sammie Riar told Commercialappeal.com, “It’s surprising. You can start talking about an invention. By the end of the meetings, you have gotten so many good ideas because other people are thinking like you. The brain thing starts working.” Riar’s day job is real estate financing.

My old friend Chuck Mullen, former chairman of the board of advisors of Houston Inventors Association (www.inventors.org), told me, “At our regular meetings, when a newcomer stands up and asks for help, there will be at least three or four members that will have the information and experience that he or she needs.”

On August 1, 2009, the first meeting of the Inventors and Entrepreneurs Club of Rochester, Minnesota, took place. Club president Gary Smith told KAAL-TV that he hopes the club might someday be a feeder system where successful inventors can connect with businesspeople who know how to move the idea from concept to a successful business.