What is the enrollment process like for new members? : BigTent Customer Support

FAQs/FAQS/Enrollment / Inviting Members

What is the enrollment process like for new members?

Javier Vegas
posted this on April 14, 2010 02:07

Members join a group when they receive an emailed invitation and sign up on BigTent. Group leaders can send invitations or members can send themselves invitations through the BigTent Sign-up Widget on the group's public website (if your group uses this feature). To learn more about the Sign-up Widget and public page, click here.

Each invitation is tied to a single email address; this prevents forwarding of invitations to unauthorized users. If a new member joins BigTent for the first time, and needs to pay dues or fees to a group, then she will go through a total of six steps to join on BigTent. Read on to learn what the enrollment process looks like for members.

Step 1. Open email and click link.

Step 2. Create a BigTent account. Members new to BigTent will need to create a new account. Members already on BigTent will be asked to sign in**.

Step 3. Select membership type, complete membership and request to join a subgroup (optional).

When leaders send invitations to members, they determine membership type(s) members can choose when joining the group. If you're a group leader, see this related article to learn how to define available membership types:

I want to limit the membership types that invited members can select. How do I do this? Members will choose from available membership types and, if the group collects donations, members can donate to the group if desired.

Members fill out a customized form that the group leaders have created for the group. All information will be stored in the admin-only database for future searching and reference. Some information may be shared between all group members. Members see what information is getting shared with whom by consulting the two blue columns on the right side of the form. Checkmarks indicate what information is viewable by members and which fields are viewable by group leaders(all fields are shared with group leaders).

If the group has subgroups connected to it, members will also get to join subgroups or request invitations to join private subgroups.

Step 4: Select email options. Now they have options to decide how much email they'd like to receive from the group.

Step 5. Wait for approval (optional)**. If the group requires an admin to approve all new memberships, members will see a message indicating that they need to wait for approval before they can finish the enrollment process. Once approved, members will receive an email message with a link to continue their enrollment.

Step 6. Pay for membership (optional)**. If the group requires members to pay dues for membership, they will see the payment page. By default, members can pay dues by credit card, PayPal account, personal check, or a special, offline payment agreement between members and the club (e.g., a member has already paid at a recent meeting). However, each group can choose to limit which payment options members have.

Step 7: Welcome email. Members will receive an emailed welcome message. Group administrators can

configure and customize this message in advance by going to my groups > [group name] > manage > invite members > new invitation settings.

** Note: If a member already has a BigTent account, does not need to pay to join your club, or if your group imports a copy of its database, the enrollment process is much shorter. Leaders can learn more about importing your group database and auto-adding your members to your BigTent group in this article: Video & Guide: How do I add members and their information to my group?