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Converting a membership program's renewal date

Barrett Shaver
$organization

This question isn't Tessitura specific, but Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 I’m wondering if anybody here has experience taking a membership program where members renew at any point in the calendar year, most commonly ~12 months from the date of the individual’s previous donation, and converting it into a program where the entire membership would renew at the same time each year. I'm talking about the whole membership ecosystem here.

Specifically, I'm looking for concerns and suggestions on the transition period, and what impact that shift had on the program’s performance (short-term and long-term).

If you have anything that you would be willing to share, I would be most appreciative!

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  • $organization
    Hi Barrett,

    I've never done this, but I can think of some questions I'd want to ask before going this route.  I'd want to watch out for workload, cash flow and customer service issues.

    - Presumably you'd have a ton of renewals and membership cards/ack letters to send out at one time, as opposed to having them staggered over the year.  How do you staff for that?
    - When would this renewal date fit within your fiscal year?  If renewals flow in more slowly than normal during a particular year, will it cross the fiscal and cause problems?
    - How do you handle people who have a "partial" year of membership already, eg they renewed for a November thru November cycle, and you are changing everyone to a January through January cycle?  Are you going to have to give partial refunds, extend memberships somehow, or ask people to consider the extra to be a donation?
    - Will having all that revenue come in at once cause any cash flow problems for the organization, rather than having it come in over the course of the year?
    - What will customers be told if they want to purchase a membership mid-year? Will they have to wait until next year, give now and not get benefits until next year, give a partial gift (which means you have to set the membership org up such that it creates a membership at  partial prices), or give a full gift but only get membership for the remainder of the current year?
    - If you currently drive membership sales based on big-ticket or popular events, will you still be able to do that under the new model?

    I'm happy to chat if that would be helpful; you can email me, or call me at 651-265-9829.

    Beth

    * * * * *

    The Dead Sea Scrolls: Words That Changed the World exhibition is at the museum through October 24, 2010. Witness authentic 2,000-year-old manuscripts, including the earliest biblical writings. Spiritually significant. Scientifically stunning. Visit www.smm.org/scrolls.

    Elizabeth A Varro
    Membership Manager
    Science Museum of Minnesota
    (651) 265-9829


    From: "Barrett Shaver" <bounce-barrettshaver9004@tessituranetwork.com>
    To: bvarro@smm.org
    Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2010 3:37:11 PM
    Subject: [Tessitura Development Forum] Converting a membership program's renewal date

    This question isn't Tessitura specific, but Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 I’m wondering if anybody here has experience taking a membership program where members renew at any point in the calendar year, most commonly ~12 months from the date of the individual’s previous donation, and converting it into a program where the entire membership would renew at the same time each year. I'm talking about the whole membership ecosystem here.

    Specifically, I'm looking for concerns and suggestions on the transition period, and what impact that shift had on the program’s performance (short-term and long-term).

    If you have anything that you would be willing to share, I would be most appreciative!



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    View this message online at http://www.tessituranetwork.com/COMMUNITY/forums/p/2719/9261.aspx#9261 or reply to this message
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Reply
  • $organization
    Hi Barrett,

    I've never done this, but I can think of some questions I'd want to ask before going this route.  I'd want to watch out for workload, cash flow and customer service issues.

    - Presumably you'd have a ton of renewals and membership cards/ack letters to send out at one time, as opposed to having them staggered over the year.  How do you staff for that?
    - When would this renewal date fit within your fiscal year?  If renewals flow in more slowly than normal during a particular year, will it cross the fiscal and cause problems?
    - How do you handle people who have a "partial" year of membership already, eg they renewed for a November thru November cycle, and you are changing everyone to a January through January cycle?  Are you going to have to give partial refunds, extend memberships somehow, or ask people to consider the extra to be a donation?
    - Will having all that revenue come in at once cause any cash flow problems for the organization, rather than having it come in over the course of the year?
    - What will customers be told if they want to purchase a membership mid-year? Will they have to wait until next year, give now and not get benefits until next year, give a partial gift (which means you have to set the membership org up such that it creates a membership at  partial prices), or give a full gift but only get membership for the remainder of the current year?
    - If you currently drive membership sales based on big-ticket or popular events, will you still be able to do that under the new model?

    I'm happy to chat if that would be helpful; you can email me, or call me at 651-265-9829.

    Beth

    * * * * *

    The Dead Sea Scrolls: Words That Changed the World exhibition is at the museum through October 24, 2010. Witness authentic 2,000-year-old manuscripts, including the earliest biblical writings. Spiritually significant. Scientifically stunning. Visit www.smm.org/scrolls.

    Elizabeth A Varro
    Membership Manager
    Science Museum of Minnesota
    (651) 265-9829


    From: "Barrett Shaver" <bounce-barrettshaver9004@tessituranetwork.com>
    To: bvarro@smm.org
    Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2010 3:37:11 PM
    Subject: [Tessitura Development Forum] Converting a membership program's renewal date

    This question isn't Tessitura specific, but Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 I’m wondering if anybody here has experience taking a membership program where members renew at any point in the calendar year, most commonly ~12 months from the date of the individual’s previous donation, and converting it into a program where the entire membership would renew at the same time each year. I'm talking about the whole membership ecosystem here.

    Specifically, I'm looking for concerns and suggestions on the transition period, and what impact that shift had on the program’s performance (short-term and long-term).

    If you have anything that you would be willing to share, I would be most appreciative!



    --
    View this message online at http://www.tessituranetwork.com/COMMUNITY/forums/p/2719/9261.aspx#9261 or reply to this message
    --
    This message was sent automatically to you by www.tessituranetwork.com because you subscribed to the Tessitura Development Forum. You may reply to this message to post to the Development forum or visit the site to search, read and post to the forums. In the interest of keeping the forum posts from becoming cluttered, we encourage you to delete previous message text from your reply before sending. Thank you!

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