Kavi Members considers any non-dependent membership issued to an existing member to be a membership renewal. It may seem reasonable to assume that a membership renewal means that a member is acquiring a new membership of the same type as an old membership; for instance, when a Board membership is renewed, the member will renew with a new Board membership. But Kavi Members is not so strict, and allows members to renew their expiring memberships with any available membership type. Although this may seem counterintuitive at first, think of "renewing" to mean acquiring a new membership to replace an old, expiring membership. A member who starts out with a standard membership for a year, and in the second year wishes to renew the expiring standard membership with an upgraded membership in the sponsor category will still have been a member for two years at the end of the second membership term.

Applicants are considered to be renewing their membership even if a considerable amount of time has elapsed since their previous membership expired. As long as they are in the Kavi Members database, they are considered to be existing members and will be sent through the membership application process for renewing members.

Kavi Members provides forms for existing members to renew their own memberships online. An active member can log into the web site and access forms to manage their memberships. Emailed renewal reminders can point members to these forms well in advance of their expiration date, giving them time to renew the membership before it expires. The replacement membership will then be set to start immediately after the close of the current membership, allowing the member to remain continuously in good standing.

Figure 14.1. Renewal Forms for Active Members

Some company members may let memberships lapse and possibly have their accounts deactivated before they get around to renewing. These members will not have access to the members-only renewal forms above, and may simply try to apply for an entirely new account. This won't work, however, because they will already have a record in the Kavi Members database and Kavi Members requires each company's name to be unique.

To help these returning members renew memberships when they can't login, Kavi Members comes with a publicly accessible form that sends a special renewal link to members by email. This email will only be sent to email addresses that the system recognizes as authorized to renew membership, and include a link with a unique key identifying the member to the system. Once the member clicks the link, they'll be directed to a form where they can select their desired membership level and complete the membership renewal process. If their application is accepted and their new membership becomes current, their web site access privileges will be restored.

Figure 14.2. Public Request for Renewal Link Form

Not all memberships can be renewed. When an administrator manages a member's memberships, a link to renew the membership will be printed next to only some (or perhaps even none) of the listed memberships. There are several factors that determine whether a membership is renewable, including the membership's state, the rules governing the number of membership available, whether the membership is dependent or not and whether the membership has already been renewed.