Add a Membership Program

From Memberships, you can add and manage your membership programs. There are three types of membership programs:

  • Annual programs — for memberships of a specific length with an expiration date.

  • Recurring (or sustaining) programs — for memberships with no expiration date as long as a set amount is paid on a recurring basis.

  • Lifetime programs — for memberships with no expiration date as long as a set amount is paid in full within a specific timeframe.

Tip: Before you begin, consider whether your membership program includes any benefits, add-ons, or promotions, as you can configure these during program setup.

From Memberships, under Membership programs, select Add, then complete the following sections.

General

Under General, enter the program's name, description, and general settings.

  1. Under What kind of membership program is this?, select Annual and choose whether to allow auto-renewal for memberships.

    Note: Only dues-based membership programs support auto-renewal.

  2. Under How do people obtain this membership?, choose whether the program is dues-based, contributions-based, or both. For more information, see Membership Program Rules Tab.

  3. Under How many membership terms do your program have?, choose whether the program has just one term or multiple terms. For example, some annual programs are valid for one year, while other programs use multiple terms to keep members engaged for longer periods of time.

Levels

Under Levels, add membership program levels, configure settings for each level, and specify available add-ons.

Tip: As you add levels, begin with the lowest or most basic level first.

  1. Enter levels of membership.

    • For dues-based programs, define a price for each level, then specify the number of members, membership cards, and children allowed for each level.

    • For contributions-based programs, set minimum and maximum contribution amounts for each level. For example, the lowest level might be any gift under $50, while other levels may be between $50 and $99, $100 and $249.

    • For programs that are both dues and contributions based, specify how members obtain each level — whether it is purchased with dues or awarded with contributions. You then specify the amounts for each level accordingly.

    For more information, see Membership Program Levels and Terms.

  2. Choose whether to use membership types to further classify levels.

  3. For dues-based programs, choose whether the program uses add-ons. For more information, see Membership Add-ons.

Benefits

Under Benefits, configure settings for membership cards and benefits. For dues-based programs, specify whether a portion of dues is considered tax deductible.

  1. Under Membership cards will be created for level in this program, select which card format and name format to use.

  2. Under Is a portion of the membership dues considered tax deductible?, specify whether a portion of the membership amount is tax deductible.

  3. Under What benefits are being awarded at each level?, specify which benefits are awarded at various levels, if applicable. For more information, see Membership Benefits.

Dues or Contributions

For a dues-based program, the Dues tab appears. For a contributions-based program, the Contributions tab appears. If the program has both, both tabs appear.

  • Under Dues, set rules for any membership dues received, such as tax deductibility. You also specify which promotions, if any, can be used when memberships are purchased. For more information, see Rules for Dues-Based Programs and Levels.

  • Under Contributions, set rules for any membership contributions received, including the types of giving activity that count toward a membership and what happens if someone gives more than the amount specified for a level. You also specify when the contributions-based membership expires. For more information, see Rules for Contributions-Based Programs and Levels.

Renewals

  1. For a dues-based program, specify whether the membership term varies based on the start date of the membership or based on a fixed date such as a calendar year. You also specify when dues-based levels expire.

  2. To expire the memberships for the program on the same day and month every year, select Is fixed and enter the month and day in the Expiration date column. In the Push to next period after column, enter the membership join date that extends the membership until the next expiration date. For example, you enter 12/31 in the Expiration date column. If you enter 09/01 in the Push to next period after column, the expiration date for a constituent who joins on or after September 1 is December 31 of the following year, not the current year. You can enter multiple rows of dates in this grid if you want to expire and push multiple dates throughout the year.

  3. Under Renewal window, set the renewal window and determine how members' statuses change based on where they are in the window. For more information, see Manage Renewal Information for Membership Programs.

Review

After you complete all required info, review the membership program settings. To view information about a level, select it from the list. To make changes, you can click back through the tabs. Otherwise, click Save.

From Memberships, under Membership programs, select Add, then complete the following sections.

General

Under General, enter the program's name, description, and general settings.

  1. Under What kind of membership program is this?, select Recurring/Sustaining.

  2. Under How do people obtain this membership?, the program defaults to dues-based. For more information, see Membership Program Rules Tab.

    Note: Currently, recurring and lifetime membership programs can be dues-based only.

Payment Options/Levels

Under Payment Options/Levels, enter payment options, add membership program levels, and configure settings for each level.

Tip: As you add levels, begin with the lowest or most basic level first.

  1. Choose which payment options to offer your members. Recurring programs support annual, semi-annual, quarterly, and monthly payments.

  2. Under Enter your levels of this membership, define a price for each level, then specify the number of members, membership cards, and children allowed for each level. For more information, see Membership Program Levels and Terms.

  3. Choose whether to use membership types to further classify levels.

Prices

Under Prices, configure each level's prices and any available add ons.

  1. Enter the price for each level for each available payment option. For example, for a recurring program with two levels and payment options of annually and quarterly, set annual and quarterly-based prices for each level. You may offer a discounted price for the annual option.

  2. Choose whether the program uses add-ons. For more information, see Membership Add-ons.

Benefits

Under Benefits, configure settings for membership cards and benefits, and specify whether a portion of dues is considered tax deductible.

  1. Under Membership cards will be created for level in this program, select which card format and name format to use.

  2. Under Is a portion of the membership dues considered tax deductible?, specify whether a portion of the membership amount is tax deductible.

  3. Under What benefits are being awarded at each level?, specify which benefits are awarded at various levels, if applicable. For more information, see Membership Benefits.

Dues

Under Dues, set rules for any membership dues received, such as tax deductibility. You also specify which promotions, if any, can be used when memberships are purchased. For more information, see Rules for Dues-Based Programs and Levels.

Review

After you complete all required info, review the membership program settings. To view information about a level, select it from the list. To make changes, you can click back through the tabs. Otherwise, click Save.

From Memberships, under Membership programs, select Add, then complete the following sections.

General

Under General, enter the program's name, description, and general settings.

  1. Under What kind of membership program is this?, select Lifetime.

  2. Under How do people obtain this membership?, the program defaults to dues-based. For more information, see Membership Program Rules Tab.

    Note: Currently, recurring and lifetime membership programs can be dues-based only.

Payment Options/Levels

Under Payment Options/Levels, enter payment options, add membership program levels, and configure settings for each level.

Tip: As you add levels, begin with the lowest or most basic level first.

  1. Define a price for each level, then specify the number of members, membership cards, and children allowed for each level. For more information, see Membership Program Levels and Terms.

  2. Choose whether to use membership types to further classify levels.

Prices

Under Prices, configure each level's prices and any available add ons.

  1. Enter the price for each level. For lifetime programs, the membership must be paid in full.

  2. Choose whether the program uses add-ons. For more information, see Membership Add-ons.

Benefits

Under Benefits, configure settings for membership cards and benefits, and specify whether a portion of dues is considered tax deductible.

  1. Under Membership cards will be created for level in this program, select which card format and name format to use.

  2. Under Is a portion of the membership dues considered tax deductible?, specify whether a portion of the membership amount is tax deductible.

  3. Under What benefits are being awarded at each level?, specify which benefits are awarded at various levels, if applicable. For more information, see Membership Benefits.

Dues

Under Dues, set rules for any membership dues received, such as tax deductibility. You also specify which promotions, if any, can be used when memberships are purchased. For more information, see Rules for Dues-Based Programs and Levels.

Review

After you complete all required info, review the membership program settings. To view information about a level, select it from the list. To make changes, you can click back through the tabs. Otherwise, click Save.