Dawn,
From all acounts, they do have to join something. They must apply for the card and then document their trips with passport stamps and/or BVI receipts. We also understand that this was an undertaking of a German based public relations firm that is contracted by the BVI to promote the islands in that country.
Much like the Drinking Man's Guide, it does require some level of participation and is available only to those who have the card.. or the DMG. Once they finish the solicitation of participating businesses and give them time to develop their offers, they'll be taking applications for a new VIP card available in the US and other countries and, as Uschi pointed out, that might take a bit of time. Who wants a card without a full list of participating businesses. Kelly has advised me that once they have this set up they'll put up a seb site that will reflect updated lists of participants, offers and changes. There may also be an online application. Contacting everyone in the BVI who might want to be included is a huge undertaking and it's going to take some time.