Every association has a different structure. Some associations have a relatively simple structure comprised of individual members with equal status. Other associations have a complex, tiered structure with some members ranked below or dependent on others. With Members360°, you can use the Relationships feature to accommodate nearly any membership structure and maintain it with ease.
The key to creating a membership structure is creating relationships between and among members. There are two basic kinds of relationships you can create:
Parent-child: A hierarchical relationship where a member is "under," or "part of," another member. The parent- child relationship also has the option of using inheritance.
Example: You can define several individuals as the "children" of a "parent" company to indicate that all those individuals work for that company, or you can define several state organizations as "children" of a "parent" national organization.
Peer: A relationship between equals.
Example: You can define spouses as having a "peer" relationship.
You can create as many different parent-child and peer relationships as you need to create your membership structure. You will give each relationship a specific name that describes the relationship.
A member's relationships to other members are displayed on the Relationships Tab of the member details page. A link to the related members profile is available, which makes it easy to see their profile.
Example: Your association has chapters as members, each chapter includes local affiliates, and each local affiliate is composed of individual members. You have two parent-child relationships: Local Affiliate and Member. The Local Affiliate relationship links the Chapter (as the parent), and the local affiliate (as the child). The Member relationship then links the local affiliate (as the parent), and the individual member (as the child).
Members can have multiple relationships, but only one can be designated as its primary relationship called the primary contact or primary organization. Primary relationships are identified with a yellow star on the Relationships tab.
The primary contact is the individual designated as the primary relationship for an organization. The primary contact can edit the organization’s profile online, and can register other members related to that organization for conferences.
The primary organization is the organization designated as the primary relationship for an individual.
The authorized user is an individual member who can register other related members for conferences.
In order to use relationships, you must have at least one relationship type already created. See Creating and editing relationship types for more information.
To learn how to create relationships between your members, see Linking members using relationships.