Hi all,
A few things to consider:
Your budget as it's related to your membership revenues. With rolling expiration dates (meaning one year from when the member joins, no matter what time of year), your membership revenues from renewals are generally spread out through the year--or there may be spikes throughout the year. However, you can generally count on a percentage of this renewal revenue throughout the year. When moving to a calendar year, most of your renewal revenues will be in the few months surrounding the new calendar renewal date (for instance, December, January and February if you make all memberships Jan 1 - Dec 31).
You may also deal with some grumpy potential members for those that join at different parts of the year--such as in October--that may want a reduced rate for the months left in the calendar year. Some potential members may decide to wait and join in January - some may remember to, some may not.
Additionally, if you do calendar year Jan-Dec, then you'll be asking for a renewal at the same time as all the year-end giving asks, too, which can be confusing or mean that some members either give or renew, but not both.
Finally, as Jennifer mentioned, some members may not prefer to have to pay dues at the beginning of the year--they might like paying in July or October based on their personal budgets.
I'd recommend doing a survey of your current members to see how they feel about the change. Ask some multiple choice questions and a couple of open-ended questions.
Good luck!
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Tabetha Pund MPA
Account Manager
Membership Consultants, A Gabriel Group Company
St. Louis, MO
Tabetha.Pund@GabrielGroup.com------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 12-16-2021 08:52 AM
From: Jennifer Cantu
Subject: Changing Membership Expiration Date
Just a few thoughts from a patron perspective.
I'm a volunteer at a university museum and on the the Friends of the Museum board. Our membership is a calendar year that starts July 1st and ends June 30th. I think this is because it aligns better with the university calendar and also allows us to send out a year end giving request that isn't confused with membership renewal. We also offer NARM benefits at a higher membership level.
As a person who is a member of several local museums/non-profits I prefer various different start dates for memberships, as it makes it easier on my budget, allowing me to support more organizations at higher levels. If all my memberships were January-December, I wouldn't be able to support as many institutions.
Jen Cantu
Secretary, Friends of the Kennedy Museum of Art
Original Message:
Sent: 12/15/2021 9:47:00 AM
From: Michelle Keib
Subject: RE: Changing Membership Expiration Date
Lori,
I am interested in learning how people answer your question. We have considered the same thing at the George and Rebecca Barnes Foundation in Syracuse.
Best,
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Michelle Keib
Business Development Manager
Gaylord Archival
Syracuse NY
Original Message:
Sent: 12-14-2021 09:48 AM
From: Lori Quarles
Subject: Changing Membership Expiration Date
We are looking into changing our membership expiration to a calendar year vs. one year from the month the membership is purchased. I am interested in hearing feedback if anyone has made the switch and/or if you currently are using a calendar year as the membership timeframe. Also, do you have a certain month a membership is purchased which you roll over to expire the following year? For example, if I purchased in October or November of 2021, is the expiration date December 2021 or 2022?
Thank you,
Lori Quarles
Membership | Outreach Coordinator
Mississippi Department of Archives and History
601.576.6809