*UPDATE: New Membership Platform - ChapterSpot
Beginning in February 2025, the LWV-US will be moving to a new member database called ChapterSpot. It will provide a centralized portal where any person can join the League or renew their membership, regardless of which League they are joining. This will improve member experience by making the joining process consistent across Leagues and will allow new members to join their local League, Unit or as a state member from any platform. This change is also intended to make membership accessible to those who currently find dues to be a barrier to joining. There will still be the option to renew and/or donate by check for members and donors who do not use the internet.
As a member, you will receive an email from them. * Please respond to this email to set up your membership account in this new portal. All members will receive a renewal reminder email 60 days before their expiration date. Members who do not renew in response to the first email will receive a second renewal reminder email 30 days before their expiration date. You will get two more reminders before you are considered inactive.
Membership Fees Structure: In the new ChapterSpot system, dues are set as
follows:
- ‘Pay what you can’: Any individual may join the League for one year by
paying any amount equal to or greater than $20.
- The suggested amount will be $75.
- Member Types are only Individual or Life:
- There is no longer a Household membership type - though multiple league
members at the same address are welcome to join and renew pay-what-you-can
- There is no longer a Student membership type - though some Leagues may
choose to subsidize members to pay below the $20 minimum to further remove
barriers to joining
- Persons who have been league members for 50 years are Life Members and
will continue to have their member dues waived
- Payment information is stored by Stripe, a trusted payment processor. Payment
information is not visible to anyone at any level of LWV.
- Auto-Renew: League Members will have the option to sign up for automatic
renewal
- Don’t use online credit card or ACH payments? No problem! Checks for dues
and donations will always be welcome, though they will have to be written on
two separate checks. Starting in February 2025, donations by check intended
for your local or state league must be made out to your local or state league.
However, renewal/joining dues checks must be made out to LWVUS and
given/sent to your local League treasurer.
New Membership Model - How Will It Affect Our League?
Individual Membership
Most of our league members will not need to renew their annual memberships around the February 1, 2025 cutover date. Every current member of Oregon leagues/units who have an email address in our system will receive an email in early 2025 directing you to log in to the ChapterSpot portal for the first time to “claim your membership.” This just means that you will log in and be given the opportunity to fill out any membership information asked by your League and to verify and update your data if needed in the LWVUS National League member database (ChapterSpot), even though your membership may not yet be up for renewal. Watch for this email. The LWV contract with ChapterSpot affirms that all data is owned and exclusively safeguarded for LWV purposes only. ChapterSpot is not authorized to use it for anything other than fulfilling its service to our organization.
For those league members who cannot access the internet to claim their ChapterSpot account, all League Membership Coordinators can maintain/update their membership information in ChaptersSpot and continue to track years of league membership as they do now.
Change to Household and Student Membership
Although renewals will not happen all at once, the change of member status will happen in early 2025 to all Household and Student membership levels. With the new ChapterSpot system, Household and Student membership types will be discontinued and everyone not a Life Member will be changed to Individual.
Then, when your annual membership expiration approaches, you will receive an email renewal notice. This is a change from current practice of household renewal emails sent to the individual (primary) member, which includes the household member.
When the Individual (Primary) member in your household receives their renewal notice, the individual member will have the option to renew on behalf of another member in your household as well, though a unique email will be requested for your household member. They should be aware that the notices are coming and that they have the option to renew on their own. Your email address is your username for ChapterSpot, so it’s important that you include one, even if you’re only an occasional internet user. This is the way you will receive renewal reminders and forgotten password emails. Because your email is your username, you won’t be able to have the same one as someone else. Any member can unsubscribe from some types of
messages, such as fundraising emails or optional newsletters. As a member of our organization, some messages, such as those about your membership, are not optional.
Tax Deductible Donations
Any portion of dues or donations going to a 501(c)(3) are tax-deductible. Members can still donate directly as desired via their local or state league website “Donate” button, or by check. If your local and/or state League dues are going to a 501(c)(3), that will be identified in your confirmation email, which can be used as a tax receipt.
Thanks for being a part of our League!