When is a Membership Helpful?

When Can a Membership Agreement Be Helpful for Your Organization?

Many membership admins don’t feel like they need to create a membership agreement because their rules are “common sense” and they expect their members to follow the basic principles of participating in a community…

That is, until something happens and a member becomes dissatisfied with their experience, blames the organization, other members, or even threatens to take legal action.

To avoid situations like this, it is best to be prepared and have a membership agreement in place before it’s ever needed.

Here are a just a few examples of when a membership agreement can prove to be beneficial:

A member demands more benefits or special privileges, beyond what you offer to everyone else

A member consistently misses the payment deadline

A member refuses to pay their dues but expects to keep receiving benefits

A member shares confidential information on social media that was meant for members only

A member feels harassed by another member in the community

A member shares their login information with a non-member

A member posts inappropriate content in your membership forum

In all of these and many other similar situations, you’ll be able to point to a specific clause in your membership agreement and follow the documented protocol. Since both parties have agreed to the consequences, you’ll be free to take the necessary action to remedy the situation.

For example, your membership agreement may state that if someone abuses their member privileges and shares login information with a friend, their membership will be terminated and they’ll lose all access. If this ever actually happens, you’ll be able to revoke someone’s access without any protest or hurt feelings on their end. After all, they did read and sign the agreement.

If ever the situation is escalated to a level where legal authorities are involved, the signed agreement will help resolve the situation quickly in your favor.

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