Manager essentials

Dues, Payment Tiers, and Initiatives

Use Dues to establish membership, Payment Tiers to offer alternate Dues rates, and Initiatives for optional non-dues contributions.

Choose between Dues, Payment Tiers, and Initiatives

Dues: A payment that establishes or extends membership standing and schedules a future renewal reminder. The amount a member pays in dues is visible only to group managers.
Payment Tier: An alternate dues rate, such as a senior, household, supporter, or hardship rate. Payments made at any tier count as dues.
Initiative: An optional non-dues contribution for a project, event, general fund, or other special case. Initiative payments do not establish membership standing.

Do not create an Initiative to represent a lower or alternate dues rate. A member who contributes to an Initiative without paying dues will still appear unpaid.

Set the standard rate first

The Fee Schedule defines the group's standard dues amount and future fee changes. Payment Tiers are positive, negative, or zero adjustments from that standard rate.

Common tier patterns

Reduced fixed rate: create a Payment Tier with a negative adjustment.
Premium or supporter rate: create a Payment Tier with a positive adjustment.
Pay what you can: use a low fixed Payment Tier and, if appropriate, offer an Initiative for an optional additional contribution.
Named rates only: define the Payment Tiers, then hide Standard Rate so every payer chooses one.

The tier chosen by a member is visible to group managers and appears in receipts and reporting.

Use Initiatives for non-dues contributions

Initiatives can represent general donations, projects, events, and other special contribution cases. Members may contribute to one or more Initiatives with or without paying Dues. Non-members may also contribute to Initiatives.

Choose clear identifiers

Each Payment Tier and Initiative requires a Public Identifier. Use a short, stable, meaningful label suitable for receipts, Stripe records, and Simpli Dues reporting. Use Payment Tier Descriptions and Initiative Calls to Action to provide more context to your members.

For example:

Payment Tier: Public Identifier SupporterRate; Description Supporter Rate: provide additional support for our programs
Initiative: Public Identifier CommunityGarden; Call to Action Contribute towards our community garden

The identifiers remain useful in financial records, while the Description and Call to Action explain the choices in terms members can readily understand.