New Membership System - FAQs

• By adopting a new dues structure, the League hopes to increase and diversify overall membership, which will increase our ability to realize our mission of empowering voters and defending democracy.
• Restructuring the dues model will increase the funding at the state and local levels where it is needed.
• A centralized membership platform will make the joining and renewal processes consistent across Leagues and allow new members to find and join their local League through the LWVUS website.

Early February 2025.

Soon you’ll receive an email from the new membership system asking you to log in to the portal for the first time. You won’t be asked to renew or pay dues at that time unless it is time for you to renew. You’ll log in, confirm your member contact information, and answer a few demographic questions designed to help the League broadly understand who we are as an organization.

• Currently, an Individual membership in LWV-WA is $50 and household is $80.
• Beginning in February 2025, all Leagues will adopt a pay-what-you-want/can model and there will no longer be household or student memberships. All memberships are individual.
• The recommended dues rate will be $75 per member, but you can pay any amount over the minimum dues rate of $20.
• We encourage you to pay at least the current dues rate of $50 to help LWV-WA maintain its current budget.

• Your LWV-WA membership automatically makes you a member of the League of Women Voters of Virginia (LWVVA) and the League of Women Voters of the United States (LWVUS).
• Under the new membership structure:

LWV-WA will receive 20% of the dues amount

LWVVA will receive 47%

LWVUS will receive 33%.

Yes. When you join or renew, you will have the opportunity to add a separate donation. LWV-WA will receive 100% of the amount that you designate as a donation.

There are two choices:

1. Credit card
2. ACH transaction (paperless check) This is an electronic money transfer made between financial institutions across a network called the Automated Clearing House. This method of payment has the lowest user fees, thus maximizing the amount of money going toward League work.

Yes. If you are unable to pay using the portal with a credit card or by ACH. Then you can:

• Make out a check to LWVUS and mail to:
• LWV-WA
• PO Box 1086
• Williamsburg, VA 23187-1086
• When using a check, the renewal process will take a bit longer. This is due to using U.S. mail and the extra paperwork involved.
• LWV-WA will send your check to LWVUS for deposit and your membership will be renewed.
• Donation by check. Beginning in February, if you want to use a check to make a donation to LWV-WA, we encourage you to write a separate donation check that does not include any dues. The donation check must be made out to LWV-WA and also mailed to LWV-WA at PO Box 1086, Williamsburg, VA 23187-1086

• No. You’ll be able to sign up a second person when you join or renew, but each of you will be designated as Individual members. The recommended dues rate for two people will be $150 (the individual recommended rate times two) and the minimum rate will be $40. However, you can choose any amount over $40.

No. The “pay-what-you-want” model is intended to make League membership affordable for more people, including students.

Yes. Those who have been members for 50 years or more will still be exempt from dues.

You renew a year after your last renewal.

For example, if you joined or renewed on May 17, 2024, your next renewal date is May 17, 2025.

Yes. You will receive an email reminder from the portal 60 days before your expiration date and a second reminder 30 days before your expiration date.

Yes, you can do this in the new portal.

If you check the box for auto-renew, each year your membership will automatically renew at the same rate. You will still receive a reminder email notifying you that the renewal is coming up, but you won’t need to do anything.

Of course, you can always cancel or turn-off auto-renewal.

Your email address is your username for the new portal, so it’s important that you have one, even if you’re only an occasional internet user. This is the way you’ll receive renewal reminders and your login code for the site.

Because your email is your username in the portal, you won’t be able to share an email with another LWV-WA member.

If you currently share an email, we recommend setting up a second email address that can forward messages to the one you primarily use. LWVUS has a step-by-step guide for at Set up and forward Gmail

Yes. In the membership portal you can unsubscribe from some types of messages, such as fundraising emails. You will not be able to unsubscribe from some types of messages, such as those about your membership.

Yes, you’ll be able to do that in the new portal.