Each organization has one or more membership types that define member benefits and responsibilities. Kavi Members tools for defining membership types include ways to advertise the benefits and criteria for membership as well as automating many of the business rules about how memberships are acquired. To set up an organization's membership types, you will need to know (at a minimum) the name of the membership types, their duration, and a description for each. To take full advantage of the Kavi Members system for managing membership, you will also want to know who can become a member of each type, the membership signup process, and the desired consequences for members who don't renew their membership at the end of their term.

Once the membership types themselves have been set up, they can be placed in membership type groups to limit the number of memberships each member may have at a time and automatic email notifications can be scheduled.

All the basic information about a membership type is printed on forms for prospective members to review. This information includes the membership type description, eligibility rules, and benefits. If the membership costs money, its price will be displayed along with the membership type name and duration.

The duration of a membership type, or term of an actual membership, can be defined in three ways: fixed duration, fixed dates, or lifetime.

There are many options available to organizations to craft how membership types are presented and the process through which membership applicants are sent. Not all membership types must be available to the public. Some types of membership applications may be accepted only from existing members and some may be granted only by administrators. Other membership types may be offered only for a brief window of time each year.

Each membership may be sent to an administrator for review and moderation before it is granted to a member. This moderation may only be necessary for new members, while renewing members may be automatically approved, having already proved their eligibility in the past. Membership applicants may also be presented with a membership bill that must be paid before the membership can become current.

The decision to moderate a membership and how to bill a membership can be made individually for each membership type offered by an organization. When setting up new membership types, it's helpful to know the answers to these questions.

For more information about the membership signup and renewal process and how these choices are used in the system, see the chapters on Membership Signup and Membership Workflow.

When a membership expires, the member is expected to renew their membership in order to keep receiving membership benefits. If, after a certain amount of time it is clear that they are in no hurry to do so, Kavi Members can automatically deactivate the member's account.

Figure 11.1. Possible Consequences for Expired Members

For each membership type, the organization can choose between one of three possible consequences, or delinquent actions, for members who do not renew.

There is a grace period between when the membership expires and when it is archived. This grace period can be as long as needed to give the member a chance to complete the renewal process. After the grace period, all types assigned to the member through the membership will be removed. For example, if a 'Board' membership type grants the 'Board Company' company type to companies with this type of membership, the 'Board Company' type will be removed when a company's board membership is archived. Active users who do not have types will not be able to login to the web site, but will still receive members email.

In most cases, it is easiest to completely deactivate all members who have not renewed after a suitable grace period. This provides clear incentive for those members who wish to continue to participate to renew their memberships, reduces the amount of manual manipulation required by the administrator, and keeps membership rosters across the Web site current. Inactive members do not receive members-only email.