Overview

The Membership Payments module lets your school or institution charge alumni for membership of your community — either as a one-time joining fee, an annual subscription, or both. Everything from collection to renewal to receipt-issuing happens automatically on the platform, removing the manual handling, chasing, and reconciliation that traditionally come with member dues.

All payments flow directly to your institution's Stripe-connected bank account. Alumnly takes no commission. You set the price, you receive the funds, you keep the relationship.

Why use Membership Payments

Membership Payments removes the friction from running a paid alumni programme. Schools have historically tracked dues in spreadsheets, chased renewals by email, and spent staff hours reconciling who's paid and who hasn't. With Membership Payments, the whole flow becomes a one-time setup that then runs on its own.

⚡Fully automated
      One-time or recurring payments collected, renewed, and recorded without manual admin.

💳Paid directly to your bank
      All membership revenue lands in your Stripe-connected bank account. No middleman.

🧾Receipts & reconciliation, handled
      Members receive automatic payment confirmations; admin sees a clear ledger.

🔁Renewals on autopilot 
      Recurring memberships renew automatically — no chasing, no awkward emails.

🔐No commission 
      Alumnly never takes a cut. You set the price; you receive the full amount.

📊Clear admin reporting 
      See who's paid, who's pending, and what membership revenue you've generated.

What you can charge for

Common ways schools use Membership Payments:

• Annual alumni association dues — renewing each year, often $25 to $100 per member.
• One-time lifetime membership — a single payment for permanent access.
• Joining fee plus annual subscription — a hybrid model used by older associations.
• Tiered memberships — e.g. standard versus benefactor tiers, with different pricing.

Setting it up

The whole setup takes about ten minutes for an administrator who already has a Stripe Connect account. If you don't have Stripe Connect yet, allow another fifteen to twenty minutes for Stripe's account verification.

1. Open Membership Settings
   From your admin dashboard, navigate to Site Settings → Institution Details.
    
2. Switch Membership Settings to Paid
   Toggle Membership Settings to Paid and click Save. Alumnly will prompt you to connect a Stripe account specifically for membership payments.
    
3. Connect your Stripe Connect account
   You can use the same Stripe Connect account that powers Shop and Business Directory, or set up a dedicated one if you want membership revenue to land in a separate bank account. If you don't have a Stripe account, create one at stripe.com first.
    
4. Configure your pricing
   Set the membership price — one-time or annual. 
    
5. Publish & communicate
   Once enabled, new alumni registrations will be prompted to pay membership as part of joining. For existing alumni, send a one-time campaign explaining the change and inviting them to renew.

Note:
If your school already uses Stripe for Shop or Business Directory, you can connect the same Stripe Connect account — or, if your finance team prefers separation, connect a different account for membership specifically. This flexibility is one of our advantages.

How it works for your alumni

When an alumnus joins your community or renews their membership, the experience is identical to any modern checkout. They see the price and the membership terms, enter their card, and receive an automatic confirmation. For recurring memberships, Stripe handles renewal charges and sends a receipt each time. If a card fails, the platform notifies both the alumnus and your administrator so you can follow up.

Members can update their own payment details, view their membership status, and cancel a recurring membership from their own profile — reducing the support load on your team.

Managing memberships as an administrator

From the admin panel, you can:

• See who has paid, when, and which tier they're on.
• View total membership revenue over any time period.
• Manually grant membership (e.g. complimentary memberships for honorary alumni or alumni in financial hardship) without taking payment.
• Cancel or refund a membership through Stripe when needed.
• Export membership data for finance reporting.

Frequently asked questions

• Does Alumnly take a commission from membership payments?
  No. The full amount goes to your bank account. Standard Stripe processing fees apply (set by Stripe, not Alumnly).
   
• Can we offer free membership and paid membership side by side?
  Yes. Alumni added or imported by admin classify for free membership and direct registrations attract paid membership.
   
• What happens when a card expires or a renewal fails?
  Stripe automatically retries failed payments on a smart schedule and emails the member to update their card. Your admin dashboard shows any memberships in the "payment failed" state so you can follow up if needed.
   
• Can we cancel or refund a membership?
  Yes. Refunds can be issued through the Stripe dashboard, and cancellations are processed in Stripe — both the alumnus and the administrator can cancel a recurring membership at any time.
   
• What if we want to switch from free membership to paid (or back)?
  You can change this at any time in Site Settings → Institution Details. Existing free members are not retroactively charged — the change applies to new joiners and to existing members at their next renewal point if you choose.
   
• Which currencies are supported?
  Membership Payments supports any currency your Stripe account is configured for — including AUD, NZD, GBP, USD, EUR and others.

Related help

Setting up your Stripe Payment Gateway — the full overview of Alumnly's payment modules and how Stripe Connect works.

SIS / SMS Integration — automatically invite students to your alumni community when they leave school.

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