ChapterSpot Resources

ChapterSpot, the new League membership platform, 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 the member experience by making the joining process consistent across Leagues and will allow new members to join their local League from LWV.org.

FAQ

Learn more about ChapterSpot and the new dues structure at our Frequently Asked Questions.

Office Hours

For further questions, please consider attending office hours on the third Wednesday of each month at 4pm EST. 

See questions and answers from previous office hours. Updated 5/17

See recording of previous office hours. Password: nW.P8#Cr

Transformation Journey

The new membership system is part of our Transformation Journey. Read more about how this piece fits into our larger transformation goals at lwv.org/transformation.

ChapterSpot Implementation Timeline

What to Expect

In the fall of 2024, Leagues will need to set up accounts with Stripe, which is the platform that will process dues payments. Leagues that have the capacity to set up their Stripe accounts in September are encouraged to do so then, but this can wait until after the election, as needed. This will be done through ChapterSpot and cannot be done early.
 
Beginning after the 2024 Election, training will be available to League leaders. This will include role-specific webinars (for roster managers, treasurers, etc.) and written guidance.
 
Launch will happen in January 2025. This is when the change in processes will officially take place.

Other Considerations

Leagues may need to change their bylaws to account for changes in membership structure, such as rolling renewal dates and pay-what-you-can dues. Template bylaws language is available here.
 
Leagues will need to consider the impact of these changes on their budget. This timeline can serve as a general guideline, but more specific guidance is available here.
 
For Leagues that choose to proactively communicate these changes to members, sample language is available below under Communicating with Members.

Tools

To download a presentation that can be used to communicate information about the new system to other League leaders and members, click here.

To view the above presentation as a pdf, click here.

For considerations on how the transition to ChapterSpot may affect your League's budget, please see ChapterSpot Budgeting Guidance for Leagues.

For considerations on how your League's bylaws may need to be amended to align with the upcoming membership changes, please see Bylaws Guidance for Leagues.

Communicating with Members

The following tools can be downloaded to share this information with members:

• Sample text to include in a newsletter or email
• PDF with a comprehensive overview of the coming changes. (This may be particularly helpful to Leagues that need members to vote on bylaws changes and therefore want to provide a fuller picture of the transformation to members. Huge thanks to LWV of South Bend Area for creating this resource!)
• Editable version of the above overview that can be tailored to the specifics of your League

Dues Flow

When a member joins or renews, the funds will go directly into each League's Stripe account - 20% to the local League, 47% to the state League, and 33% to LWVUS. Leagues can set the frequency with which deposits will be made from their Stripe account into their bank account based on their own needs and preferences.

The below chart outlines sample dues payments and the amount of money that each League will receive depending on the dues amount and the payment method.

Make-Whole Process

LWVUS is committed to making up any potential shortfall in dues revenue for the first two years after launching ChapterSpot. Below is an overview of how this process will work.

Leagues will be made whole up to the amount of dues revenue calculated as the “base year.” The base year will be the amount that the Leagues would have collected (and likely did collect) with the members counted in January 2025 paying the base amount of dues (i.e. not higher dues tiers). The data we will need to make this calculation and how that data will be collected is as follows:

• Pre-launch dues rates: LWVUS will need to know the base rate for individual, household, and student members. Leagues will be asked to provide this information as part of the ChapterSpot setup.
• Pre-launch member count: As usual, all members will be counted in January. Roster managers will need to ensure that League rosters are updated prior to launch.
• Actual dues taken in through ChapterSpot: This data will be available through ChapterSpot; Leagues will not be required to provide it.

The first year of using ChapterSpot will be February 2025 through January 2026. Shortly after this period, Leagues will have the opportunity to request funds. This will require minimal input from Leagues and be based on the above data. The same process will occur after the year between February 2026 and January 2027.

If Leagues are experiencing a significant shortfall, they may reach out to request funds before the year is complete. These requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and can be sent to [email protected].

ClubExpress Information

For questions about how ClubExpress relates to ChapterSpot, refer to this information page and this webinar recording (password: JeEy?Y?1). Check out the slides from the webinar and the Q&A from the webinar chat.

League Experience Brain Trust

Would you be willing to share your experience to help us make decisions that serve Leagues during this process? Join the League Experience Brain Trust, a self-selection group of League members who will receive occasional email questions about how their League operates.

Join the League Experience Brain Trust