Changing from rolling monthly to calendar year membership term

We did this a few years ago.  It was too much of a nightmare keeping up on lapsed, drops, renewals.  We actually went to match our fiscal year.  We gave a one year grace period so people would be treated properly, but gave notice of the change of membership dates.  As they renewed, we renewed them with the new membership date range (start date was when renewed, end date was new last day of our fiscal year).  Our policy is to treat lapsed members the same as current members so it really doesn't matter when they renew, as long as they continue to give the proper amount for the year.  The first year is the toughest.  We are so glad we did this! 

We made a similar change and ended our 'membership' program about five years ago.  Now we have donors who receive benefits and renewal notices based on the calendar year.  It not only saved us money, but now we raise more money and have increased our number of annual donors significantly.  But, we are a larger organization with 42,000 donors and 2 donor services (data base) staff and 1 annual giving manager. 



While I'm not sure a plaque should be the driving reason to make such a fundamental shift in your fundraising strategies and membership program, the benefits of a single renewal period are many. You'll be able to tell your donors more of their gift is able to go towards the mission rather than administrative costs. You'll have more time to acquire new donors and upgrade existing ones.   



You'll also want to keep in mind, that just because you tell your donors they should renew in January, they will still give when they choose to.  So in terms of the plaque, you could choose to recognize everyone who was a member for any length in 2015 without having to tie it to their membership renewal date.  

Debra Holcomb:

We made a similar change and ended our 'membership' program about five years ago.  Now we have donors who receive benefits and renewal notices based on the calendar year.  It not only saved us money, but now we raise more money and have increased our number of annual donors significantly.  But, we are a larger organization with 42,000 donors and 2 donor services (data base) staff and 1 annual giving manager. 



While I'm not sure a plaque should be the driving reason to make such a fundamental shift in your fundraising strategies and membership program, the benefits of a single renewal period are many. You'll be able to tell your donors more of their gift is able to go towards the mission rather than administrative costs. You'll have more time to acquire new donors and upgrade existing ones.   



You'll also want to keep in mind, that just because you tell your donors they should renew in January, they will still give when they choose to.  So in terms of the plaque, you could choose to recognize everyone who was a member for any length in 2015 without having to tie it to their membership renewal date.