TABLE OF CONTENTS


Welcome to your new Member Essentials Basic member management platform! Follow this guide to configure and activate the features now available in your member portal. 

 

Managing Member Profiles

Members on your roster are managed through the Admin profile, where you can update contact information, statuses, placements and more. Member Profile is the member's record in the Association. 

  1. Use ADMIN -> Member Search to find member.
  2. Search for member using search boxes and filters at top.
  3. Note – option to find inactive members (resigned, etc.)
  4. Click the name to edit the member’s profile.

See tutorials -> https://support.jl.org/support/solutions/folders/61000197953


Your League Members are able to update their own contact information through their Member Profile when they sign into the Member Portal. Also, they can search for other members through the Member Directory. 


Adding New Members

To add a member to your current roster, for example, a new provisional member, you create an account for the new members.  By default, the new account will be sent an email to create their login to the Member Portal. 

See tutorial -> https://support.jl.org/support/solutions/articles/61000286418-creating-new-account


Removing Members (Resign or Drop)

To remove a member from the current roster, assign a new status indicating a resignation or drop.  Use Resign if the member has resigned from your League, or use Dropped if the member is being dropped from your roster for non-payment of dues, or other reasons.  To assign a new status see tutorial -> http://support.jl.org/support/solutions/articles/61000275652-video-assign-statuses
  

Managing Member Statuses

Status can be used to track a member's progress with the League such as Provisional, Active, Sustainer, Emeritus and Resigned or Dropped. Update a member's status as needed to keep your roster up to date. 

See tutorial -> http://support.jl.org/support/solutions/articles/61000275652-video-assign-statuses


If you need to assign multiple statuses to a batch of Members, Status Mass Assign is available.

See tutorial -> https://support.jl.org/support/solutions/articles/61000253789-assigning-statuses-using-status-mass-assign


To reinstate Members, you can update their record to an active status through the Inactive Members filter.

See tutorial -> https://support.jl.org/support/solutions/articles/61000295184-find-inactive-members-and-change-their-status


Managing Member Placements (Positions and Committees)

Use the Position Manager to assign your Members based on your League's Organization Chart. Position Manager will let you structure your League positions into Groups/Committees by creating positions, position groups and correlations. Placements can be assigned individually through the Admin Profile or as a batch through Position Mass Assign.
See tutorials -> Position Manager - Step by Step
https://support.jl.org/support/solutions/61000133541


Review Admin Access Permissions
Administrative access (Administrator, Security Administrator or other permissions) can be assigned to a member using the Access Manager tool, which gives access to specific tools on your portal. When your President and PE are assigned to their placement, they are automatically assigned Administrator and Security Administrator access. 

  • ADMIN -> Member Management -> Access Manager

See tutorial -> https://support.jl.org/support/solutions/articles/61000275581-video-assigning-permissions

There are many access levels available, allowing you to delegate specific admin tasks to members without giving them full Administrator access. For now, focus on:

  • Security Administrator – can assign access permissions to other members- generally assigned to President, EVP 
  • Administrator – has access to the member profiles and other data tools - generally assign to Secretary or office manager.
  • My League Content – can create News and Alerts, and MY LEAGUE member content pages - Generally assigned Communications VP

Running Member Reports

The information that is posted on the Member Portal can be exported via the Query Tool. There are pre-built queries available such as Member Roster - Current that are helpful. These reports can be filtered or exported to Excel.

See tutorials -> https://support.jl.org/support/solutions/folders/61000199591


Add Member Portal Content

To provide the best experience for your members, we recommend you add portal content before launch and regularly to refresh your content. Ideally, the Member Portal is where members can find information about your League.  As members see new and interesting content, they will get into the habit of logging into the portal on a regular basis. A bare or stagnant portal will result in lack of use by members.
  

Front Page News Stories
See tutorial -> http://support.jl.org/support/solutions/articles/61000275815-video-news-and-alerts

These are relatively short stories for the front page of the portal.  These should be routinely updated. Stories can be set on an automatic schedule to appear/remove on certain date/time. They can also be set to appear for certain groups e.g. a story can appear only for members on the Board of Directors, or on a specific committee.

 Examples of News Stories

  • Upcoming deadlines
  • League announcements
  • Letter from President or Board
  • Promote registration for GMMs or Volunteer Opportunities or Social Events
  • Promote new Shift opportunities available in the Calendar

MY LEAGUE Content Pages
See tutorial -> http://support.jl.org/support/solutions/folders/61000196560

Add content pages for members only, containing information not necessarily appropriate for the public website

  • Member resources
  • Event information for members e.g. logistical information
  • Bylaws
  • Financials
  • League structure
  • Legal documents

Photo Feed
See tutorial -> http://support.jl.org/support/solutions/folders/61000196593

The Photo Feed appears at the bottom on the home page. Encourage your Members to submit images to share with other members. Admins can manage and remove images.


Quick Links
See tutorial -> http://support.jl.org/support/solutions/articles/61000275812-video-quick-links

Quick Links provide an area on the portal to provide links to frequently used portal pages, or pages anywhere else on the web. Ideas for Quick Links: PayPal/Venmo Dues page, Public Website, Bylaws content page or other useful links for members. 

 

Configure Banner Image

The banner image is the large graphic at the top of the portal home page. Use Banner Management to replace with an image of your choice. The recommended dimensions for the image are 1110px x 320px.

  • ADMIN -> Member Management -> Banner Management

See tutorial -> http://support.jl.org/support/solutions/articles/61000275742-video-banner-management

 

Customizing the Member Directory

See tutorial -> http://support.jl.org/support/solutions/articles/61000278892-video-directory-configuration-tool

In Member Essentials, there are two directories; one directory is used by Admins to search the member database for both current members and past members, the other directory is used by members to search for other members. Each directory has its own set of filters and search tools at the top (or on the side), and the Member’s Directory is fully customizable, allowing Admins to configure which personal information fields for members are displayed.

For Members, the Directory menu will show the customizable Member Directory, where members can search for other members in your league. Members will also have the ability to choose Privacy Options in their Profile, to prevent specific personal information fields from showing in the Directory. 

Customizing the Member Directory

Security Administrators can customize which personal information fields for members are visible on the Member Directory, and the privacy options available for each member in her profile.  These can be set up using the new Directory Configuration tool. 

  • Directory Field Options Allows League Admins to choose which fields of personal member data is visible between members.  These include: 
    • Phone numbers; Month/Day of birth; Job title; Placement;Postal address;Education;Employer; Email address
       
  • Directory Filter/Search Options Choose which filter and search options are visible on the Member Directory.
  • Directory Privacy Options Allow your members to prevent specific fields from showing in the Member Directory. 
    • The Directory Privacy Options you enable for members should correspond to the Directory Field Options above. For example, if you turn on Email Addresses in Directory Field Options, you should turn on the corresponding option in Directory Privacy Options to allow members to individually hide their own email. If you turn off Phone Numbers in Directory Field Options, you can turn off the Directory Privacy Option for hiding phone numbers, as a member cannot show an information field that the Admin has turned off in the directory. 

Communicating Directory Changes to Your Members 

IMPORTANT - if you turn on a personal information field that was not previously visible, e.g. email address, we recommend you notify your members of the change, and instruct them to go to their PROFILE, and review the Directory Privacy Options. Please see the sample messaging below:

We have implemented a change in the online Member Directory allowing members to view other members’ email addresses. We feel this will better facilitate member to member communication. However, if you do not wish to show your email address in the directory, please log into the portal, edit your Profile, and review the settings under Directory Options. Note, directory options are shown only for information that is visible in the directory. 

 

Registration Management - Review Calendars

Having a League Calendar is a useful way to engage and coordinate members. When a member registers for an event and then are marked as Attended, this is one way to generate metrics for your League engagement. 

Use the Registration Tool Manager to review the calendar items (meetings/events/shifts) configured on your calendar. Calendar items refer to any posting on a calendar. Event Items can be provide a button for the member to register. Calendar items for meetings, events, and shifts are all managed from the same tool. There is no distinction among those three different types of calendar items, other than the options you select when setting up the calendar item. 

  • ADMIN -> Member Management -> Registration Tool Manager


Meetings, including GMMs, Board, Exec Team, New Member, should be put on the Meetings calendar.
Shift opportunities should be put on a Shifts calendar, or you can create a calendar for shifts associated with a particular event e.g. Shifts: Touch-A-Truck.

Events should be put on the Events calendar.


Start with the Registration Tool - Step by Step

All tutorials for Registration Management are here-> http://support.jl.org/support/solutions/61000124450


Getting Started with MailChimp

Mailchimp is a great way to keep in touch with your members.  It has a simple user-interface and analytics that are easy to use as well advance formatting options.

Here is how to get started connecting your Member Essentials platform to Mailchimp:

  1. Setup your free Mailchimp account and set the integration between Member Essentials and Mailchimp.
     See tutorial ->     http://support.jl.org/support/solutions/articles/61000278635-video-free-mailchimp-setup
  2. Install our Junior League branded email newsletter template by using this link ->  https://us2.admin.mailchimp.com/templates/share?id=4410270_f20facaec8d46ebcdd19_us2.  You are prompted to log in to your Mailchimp account if you're not already. 
  3. When you're logged into your account, you are taken to the Templates page and should see a message confirming the template was added to your account.

Now it's time to setup your first campaign.  See this link for a guide -> https://mailchimp.com/help/create-a-regular-email-campaign/.


Member Essentials Email Tool

As an alternative to MailChimp, Member Essentials includes a built-in email tool, allowing you to send emails to all, or part of, your membership.  The built-in email tool does not offer all the features of a product like Mailchimp, but may be sufficient for quick email announcements, not requiring highly stylized formatting or tracking.

See tutorials -> http://support.jl.org/support/solutions/folders/61000197140


Launching the Portal

Please notify the AJLI Member Essentials support team before launching your portal.  There are other steps that need to happen behind the scenes. Contact MemberEssentials@ajli.org. 

 

When you are ready to launch the portal to your members, we will use the Invitation Codes tool to send email invites to your members.  The email will prompt members to create their username and password for the portal.

 ADMIN -> Member Management -> Invitation Codes

 

When a member creates her username and password, she is removed from the Invitation Codes screen, so you can use the tool to continue to send invites to members that have not yet responded.  It usually takes a number of rounds of invites to get everyone to respond. 

 

Once members create their accounts, the Access Manager tool can be used to assign Admin permission to members.  

ADMIN -> Member Management -> Access Manager

After launch, the temporary Admin account will no longer be needed. 

 

See all the Member Essentials tutorials and articles here -> http://support.jl.org/support/home

Sample Email Invite

 

 JL Logo

Dear AJLI,

Welcome to JL.org!

We are excited to let you know that the Junior League of Wilmington, NC has launched a new member's web portal.

The portal is your go-to spot for:

  • League news and reminders
  • A member directory
  • Calendar of events and meetings
  • Shift opportunities
  • League photo gallery
  • Updating your member profile
  • Committee collaboration
  • League documents
  • much more!

This new portal will also give you seamless access to the Association of Junior League's member-only site, along with its vast array of resources for Junior League volunteers, including best practices, online learning, member benefits, and networking tools.

As a member of the Junior League, an account for the new member-only portal has been created for you.  Please click the link below and follow the prompts to create your username and password.   Once you create your username and password, you can access the portal by using the web address https://JL.org

Please note, this username and password will also grant you access to the AJLI member-only site.  If you already have an account on AJLI's site, this new username and password will replace it. 

Click on this link to get started with this exciting new resource!

https://vms.ajli.org/?nd=vms_authorize&c=sample
 

Important - the above link is configured specifically for you.  Please don't pass this email to other members.  

For assistance or questions, please contact the League office.
 

Individual Member Login Problems

 

Edit the Member’s login info or resend the link to allow members to set up their account. Go to Admin -> Member Search, find the member and open their profile to find the Login Section below:

 

Change their login info or resend the email for them to sign up again.


 

Tracking Member Engagement

 

Viewing Member Login and Profile Update Dates

You can view the last time a member logged into the portal, and the last time her profile was updated.  

The last login date shows in the member’s profile.

Information is also available in the Member Roster by accessing the Query Tool. Run the report Member Roster – Current. Sort by the columns Last Login or Profile Last Updated by clicking on the column heading.
See tutorial -> https://www.screencast.com/t/lqPifO99AtH


Other Resources

Email: MemberEssentials@ajli.org

Knowledge Base: Support Portal

Book a Training: How to Get Help and Training for Member Essentials


Take advantage of the Communications Package created for Member Essentials with a suggested communications schedule, template emails and template social media posts.