Make It Easier for Members to Log In and Get Access

Someone may log in to renew their membership, register for the annual conference, take a course or download a member resource and then not return for several months.

By the next visit, they may not remember their password.

They may have changed employers or email addresses.

They may know they are a member but still cannot reach the member-only page they need.

Or they may be unsure whether the login they used for one service also works somewhere else.

Those access questions quickly become staff questions.

“I can't log in.”

“It says I'm not a member.”

“Why can't I get the member price?”

“Which account am I supposed to use?”

Members Village keeps the login and the member's access connected to the same member record.

When your association uses multiple Members Village apps, the member does not need a separate account for each one.

The same credentials can be used across the Members Village environment.

Single sign-on (SSO) is built into the Members Village database & CRM environment and is the source of the member's login.

The member does not have to authenticate separately each time they move from one Members Village app to another.

That can include experiences such as:

• Accessing the Member Portal
• Membership renewal
• Events and registrations
• Online learning & micro-credentialing courses
• Member-only website content
• Forms and applications
• Other enabled Members Village apps

Signing in is only one part of the problem.

The system also needs to know what that person is entitled to once they are signed in.

Members Village uses groups to manage those access rights.

When someone purchases or receives a membership, your association can assign the groups connected to that membership.

Those groups can determine access to:

• Members-only website content & resources
• Discounted & member-only event registation & pricing
• Discussions, learning courses & other areas
  

Your association can also assign groups independently of membership.

For example, someone could be given access because they are a board member, committee member or part of another defined group.

The member signs in with one account and Members Village uses the information attached to that account to determine what they can access.

For associations that offer organization memberships, member access follow the organization's active membership.

When an organization manager adds a contact to the organization's roster, that person receives the member rights connected to the valid organization membership.

They can then sign in using their own credentials and access the services available to them as a member.

If the person is removed from the organization roster, the privileges they received through that organization are removed.

If the organization's membership expires, the contacts whose member rights come from that organization lose those privileges.

Batch membership works differently.

When an organization pays for several individual memberships together, each person still holds their own membership.

Their member access is tied to that individual membership rather than their continued presence on the organization's roster.

If someone leaves the organization after their membership has been paid, they keep their membership rights until that individual membership expires.

This distinction lets your association support organization-paid memberships without treating every organization relationship the same way.

A member's email address often changes long before their relationship with your association does.

Someone may leave an employer and replace a work address with a personal one. Another person may start using a new institutional address.

When the email address on an existing Members Village profile is updated, the member continues using the same underlying profile and membership history.

If someone instead registers separately using a completely different email address, Members Village treats that registration as a different person.

When duplicate profiles are confirmed, an administrator can merge them.

Forgotten credentials are common when someone only visits an association portal a few times each year.

Members Village provides email-based account recovery.

The member requests access and receives a secure magic link by email so they can recover their account without needing your staff to manually assign a new password.

Members Village also supports multi-factor authentication using email where additional authentication is required.

The goal is straightforward:

Give the member a clear recovery path using something they already have access to, their email account.

Some member interactions take more than a few minutes.

A continuing education application, award nomination, committee submission or detailed association form may take much longer than a routine registration.

Members Village uses a one-hour session by default, and that session length can be configured.

While a member is completing a long form, Members Village keeps the active session alive.

Members can save a draft and return to the form later as well.

That gives someone working through a longer application a practical way to continue without having to finish everything in one sitting.

Associations commonly use the same interface across their Members Village apps so the member moves through a consistent environment.

The website, portal and enabled apps can share the same visual experience and navigation.

A unique template can also be assigned where a particular area needs a different presentation.

The important part for the member is that they are not being asked to create another account simply because they have moved into another app.

Some associations still need software outside Members Village.

Where a third-party platform provides an appropriate API, Members Village can integrate with external systems. Available on the City Builder and Nation Builder tiers.

The single-login experience described on this page specifically applies to the Members Village environment.

Using more of the association's services inside Members Village reduces the number of separate authentication systems the member has to encounter.

Members Village provides Canadian data residency for Canadian associations.

Member account, membership and access information remain within a single Canadian association data infrastructure.

Members Village can also be configured to support associations working within their PIPEDA compliance requirements.

Give members one secure place to manage their profile, membership, payments and other self-service activities.

Connect login access to the membership, organization, groups and other information your association maintains about the member.