Membership Instances
A Membership Instance is an active membership for a specific contact. When a member purchases a Membership Item, a Membership Instance is created linking the member to their membership level, with a start date, end date, and status.
Viewing Memberships
Navigate to Membership in the sidebar to see all membership instances. The list can be filtered by status, membership level, date range, and member name.
Each contact’s membership instances also appear on their Memberships tab in the Contact edit page.
Membership Fields
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Member | The contact who holds the membership |
| Membership Item | The level purchased |
| Membership ID | Auto-generated unique alphanumeric identifier |
| Start Date | When the membership period begins |
| End Date | When the membership period expires |
| Status | Current lifecycle status (see below) |
| Type | How the membership was acquired |
| Send Renewal To | Contact who receives renewal notifications (if different from member) |
Status Lifecycle
| Status | Description |
|---|---|
| Active | Current and valid — the member is within their membership term |
| Expired | The end date has passed without renewal |
| In Arrears | Active but a renewal payment has failed or is overdue |
| Inactive | Manually deactivated by staff |
| Canceled | Permanently cancelled |
Acquisition Types
The Type field records how the membership was acquired:
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Paid | Purchased by the member |
| Gift | Received as a gift from another donor |
| Complimentary | Granted at no cost |
| Board | Board member designation |
| Staff | Staff member designation |
| Volunteer | Volunteer designation |
| Lifetime | Lifetime membership (no expiration) |
Additional Members
A membership can include Additional Members — other contacts who share the membership benefits. For example, a Family Membership might list spouse and children as additional members. These contacts are linked on the membership instance’s Additional Members tab.
Transaction Reference
Each membership instance links back to its originating Purchase Order (transaction) and Order Item (line item). This provides a complete audit trail from membership to payment.