If you use custom fields or another custom method to track memberships in Bloomerang CRM, consider upgrading to the membership management add-on. This time-saving solution is built right into Bloomerang CRM, which means it’s easier to grow and manage your membership program.
To learn more about this paid add-on, view About Membership Management.
After Bloomerang CRM adds membership management to your subscription, follow the steps in this article. We’ll help you move from custom membership tracking to the membership management add-on. Keep in mind that some steps depend on the unique way your organization tracks memberships.
Note: This article is only for organizations who use a custom method to track memberships in Bloomerang CRM. If you don’t currently track memberships in Bloomerang CRM, read About Memberships to get started.
In this article:
Before You Begin
Before you set up membership management, upgrade to the membership management add-on. To purchase this add-on, email [email protected].
You can keep your current membership tracking method in place while you follow the steps in this article.
Step 1: Review Your Current Membership Tracking Method
Use this checklist to review how you currently track memberships in Bloomerang CRM. Make a note of:
Membership-related custom fields
Membership-related appeals
Membership-related groups that you manually created
Name, amount, and member benefits of each membership level
Filters and report columns that use custom membership fields, appeals, or groups
Merge fields in emails and letters that use custom membership fields or groups
Step 2: Create Membership Programs and Levels
Next, set up your membership management structure:
Bloomerang CRM automatically creates and manages a group for each membership level.
Step 3: Create Online Membership Forms
Create a Bloomerang-hosted membership form so supporters can join online. This is a special type of online form available with the membership management add-on.
In the form settings, you select which membership program appears on the form. If you have multiple programs, create a membership form for each program.
Step 4: Add Membership Forms to Your Website or Share a Link
To publicize your Bloomerang-hosted membership form, you can:
Share a link to the form
If you insert the membership form on your website, remove the code snippet for the old membership form, if you had one. In Bloomerang CRM, deactivate the old form.
Step 5: Create a List of Your Current Members
Create a membership report to generate a list of your current members. Reference this list later when you create new membership schedules for constituents.
In the report:
Add filters. Which filters you add depends on how you currently track memberships in Bloomerang CRM. For example, your organization might have a custom field named Membership Type and an appeal named Membership Dues.
Add dates. Add a date range to find membership payments made during a certain time.
To create a report of current members:
Include filters that reflect how your organization set up membership tracking. For example, if you have a custom field named Membership Type and an appeal named Membership Dues:
Include the filter Membership Type > Is > Any
Include the filter Has Transactions > Has Any Transactions > Has Specific Transactions > Appeal > Membership Dues.
To see only membership payments from a certain time period, include the filter And > Date.
Step 6: Convert Yearly Recurring Schedules to Membership Schedules
You can use the Convert to Membership tool to convert some types of recurring donation schedules to membership schedules.
To convert a schedule, it must have a yearly frequency and meet a few other requirements. For information, read Convert Recurring Donation Schedules to Membership Schedules.
Tip: You can use the report you created in the previous section to determine which recurring donation schedules to convert. To see only recurring donations with a yearly frequency, include this filter in the report: Has Transactions > Has Any > Specific Transactions > Recurring Donation Schedule Filters > Frequency > Is >Yearly.
Step 7: Manually Move Other Recurring Schedules to Membership Schedules
For recurring donation schedules that aren’t yearly or that don’t match other conversion requirements, complete these two steps:
Create Membership Schedules
Create a new membership schedule for each member. Use the report you created in the previous section to determine which membership schedules to create.
To create a membership schedule:
On the Timeline or Profile page, find the entry that indicates when the membership began. Your organization might use transactions, a custom field, or another method to track the membership start date.
Example timeline entry (transaction with a Membership Dues appeal)
Example profile entry (custom fields)
At the upper right, click the down arrow and select New Membership.
Start Date — When this membership should renew each year.
Method — The payment method this constituent agreed to use for membership payments. Select None for a non-renewing membership. If this member has an existing recurring donation to pay for a membership, you can select Saved Payment.
Note: If you have automatic email receipts turned on, Bloomerang CRM automatically emails a receipt to the member after the next membership payment processes. Bloomerang CRM doesn’t email a confirmation to the member when you create a new schedule for a member.
End Existing Recurring Donation Schedules
For members who have an existing recurring donation for membership dues, make sure to end that recurring donation after you save the new membership schedule.
Step 8: Replace Custom Fields and Groups in Reports, Emails, and Letters
In reports, emails, and letters, you can:
Replace any custom membership fields with built-in membership fields.
Replace any membership groups you manually created with Bloomerang-managed membership groups.
For example, you might have a custom field named Membership Expiration Date. If you have a report for upcoming expirations, remove your custom Membership Expiration Date filter and include the built-in Membership Renewal Date filter.
For a list of built-in membership filters, see Run Reports for Membership Programs.
For examples of membership emails and letters, see Membership Emails and Letters.
For information about Bloomerang-managed membership groups, see View Membership Groups.