Membership Alert: Changes coming to LWV membership renewal process

Membership Alert: Changes coming to LWV membership renewal process

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Type: 
News

Beginning Feb. 1, all individuals who join the LWV or renew their membership online will do so through a new nationwide membership portal, called ChapterSpot. Through ChapterSpot, you will be able to renew your membership online and update your own information (e.g. phone, email, mailing address) as needed.

PURPOSE

  • Vital work happening at the state and local levels could benefit from increased support – restructuring the way dues are shared between levels of League will financially benefit local and state Leagues.
  • Changing the pay requirement will open Leagues to a more diverse, expansive membership, which will increase and diversify members and strengthen Leagues.
  • This change streamlines the join and renewal process, easing the burden on League volunteers.

NEXT STEPS

In January you will receive an email from the LWVUS asking you to log into this new membership portal to "claim your membership." This email will likely come from membership [at] lwv.org, so consider adding this email to your address book or safe senders list.

RENEWING YOUR MEMBERSHIP

  • Your dues renewal date will remain unchanged. The LWVUS, through this centralized system, will remind you to renew your membership by sending you an email notification 60 days before your renewal date. This email will likely come from membership [at] lwv.org, so consider adding this email to your address book or safe senders list.
  • When you log in to renew your membership, you will
    • be asked to fill out a short survey from LWVUS and your local League, and
    • given the option to sign up to auto-renew. If you choose this option, you will not need to log in to renew in future years, you will automatically be charged membership dues when your membership comes up for renewal

MEMBERSHIP LEVELS

There will no longer be household or student memberships. You can add another person when you renew or join, however, the dues amount options are the same for each member, except Life members, who have been LWV members 50 years or more and are exempt from paying dues. 

EMAIL

  • Each member must have a unique email address. The system does not allow two members to share the same email address. 
  • For members who currently share an email address but are willing to set up a second email to forward to their primary inbox, here are instructions for creating a Gmail account and setting it to forward.

  • For members who do not want to receive unwanted LWV messages, it will be possible to unsubscribe from everything but essential membership information

MEMBERSHIP DUES

  • Dues will no longer be a fixed rate but will be pay-what-you-can, with a minimum dues amount of $20. The recommended dues amount for all members will be $75. However, you may opt to pay a higher or lower amount. 
  • Dues amounts will benefit local, state, and national LWV, with local Leagues receiving 20%, state Leagues 47%, and the LWVUS 33%. Due to these three separate allocations, dues will appear on financial statements as three payments.
  • Because dues are now split on a percentage basis, a higher dues amount is not the same as a donation directly to the local League. In the past, many members made a $50.00 donation in addition to their dues through a “Susan B. Anthony” membership. With the new system, after joining or renewing, a second screen will offer an opportunity to make a donation that will go exclusively to our local League, if specified. Thank you for considering this donation option.

PAYMENT

  • Dues payments can be made online using a credit/debit card or by ACH (an electronic payment using the numbers on the bottom of a check). 
  • Members are encouraged to pay by ACH to lower processing fees. Members will also have the option of covering processing fees when paying.
  • There will be an automatic renewal option, which will automatically charge your credit card or account for your chosen membership amount when it is time to renew your membership.
  • Members can also renew by mail. Dues checks should be made out to LWVUS and mailed to LWVAC, PO Box 15285, Gainesville, FL 32604-5285.
  • Donations can also be made by mail but require a separate check. Checks for any donations made exclusively to the LWV of Alachua County should be made out to LWVAC. 

QUESTIONS?

  • LWVUS has a slideshow presentation to describe this transformation in more detail. You can find it by clicking this link.
  • LWVUS has also created a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) document available by clicking this link.
  • You may also email LWVUS membership [at] lwv.org or contact us at chapterspot [at] lwv-alachua.org with any questions.

Additional Resources

ChapterSpot has created the following how-to videos for LWV members:

League to which this content belongs: 
Alachua County