This spring, WSPTA will transition away from memberplanet and toward a new statewide membership database powered by Givebacks, formerly MemberHub.
We’re excited that Givebacks specializes in serving PTAs and know this change will make member management, communications, and fundraising easier for our local leaders.
You can learn more about our transition timeline by visiting Givebacks’s WSPTA welcome page.
To learn more about what you can do in Givebacks, check out these video guides. You can also explore articles in Givebacks’ Support Center or get some inspiration from their blog.
Transition Timeline
March 21, 2024 – Partnership Announced
March 22, 2024 – Survey of local leaders
April 9, 2024 – Welcome/Pre-launch webinar 12pm (Register here) View Recording here.
April 18, 2024 – Welcome/Prelaunch webinar 6pm (Register here)
April 29, 2024 – Database launch, local leaders may log in and test things out
May 2024 – One-on-one onboarding/training for each local PTA and council
May 17-19, 2024 – Givebacks will attend WSPTA Convention
June 30, 2024 – Final day to input 2023-24 members into memberplanet
July 1, 2024 – Givebacks takes over as our primary database, begin inputting 2024-25 members
FAQs
Q: Why are you making this switch?
A: Our conversations and correspondence with local leaders pushed us to find a new system more attuned to how PTAs work. Givebacks partners with multiple state PTAs and came highly recommended, notably because it incorporates PTA-specific features like online member join and dues remittance into its design. Our goal was to improve a database experience that had previously felt like forcing a square block into a round hole.
Q: How long will we continue using memberplanet?
A: Memberplanet will remain our primary database through the 2023-24 year, so please continue to input data and pay dues through that system. Please also use memberplanet to report your newly elected 2024-2025 officers. PTAs and councils will be granted access to Givebacks on April 29, so current and future leaders may familiarize themselves before summer break. Givebacks will help spearhead this transition by providing training via webinars, videos, and one-on-one meetings.
Q: Will local PTAs be charged to use Givebacks?
A: There is no regular fee for local PTAs. It will be very similar to memberplanet in that each PTA will be granted free access to the system. Online transaction fees will apply, as they did with memberplanet. One key difference is that most of memberplanet’s fundraising and communication tools were behind a paid subscription but Givebacks’ fundraising tools are available to every PTA.
The per-transaction fee with Givebacks is slightly higher than Memberplanet’s: 3.95% + $0.59 versus 3% + $0.30. There is also a $2 flat fee for dues remittance to WSPTA, which means any time dues are paid to WSPTA – regardless of whether it’s for one member or 100 members – the fee is $2.
Here’s a fee breakdown:
Store: Processing fees in the store are a combination of the platform and Stripe processing fees. These can be passed on to the customer or covered by the PTA. The fee is 3.95% + $0.59/transaction. If covered by the customer, it is added to their total. If paid by the PTA, it is taken from the total.
State PTA Dues Remittance: Local Unit Pays: $2/transaction – added to the total amount. State PTA: 0.17% of the transaction – taken from the dues payment
Fundraising: Platform fee provides 2 different options: Free or Percent Pricing.
Stripe Processing fees: 2.9% + $0.30/transaction (AMEX is 3.5% + $0.50/transaction)
Free Option
Donors are asked to “tip” Givebacks to cover the cost of the platform, so the PTA does not have to pay the platform fee. The PTA is responsible for the Stripe processing fees (see above).
Percent Pricing
7.5% is the percent pricing fee. When this option is selected, the PTA can customize who covers the fees.
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- All fees (platform and processing) can be passed on to the donor (added to the donor’s payment) or covered by the PTA.
- PTA can also give the donor the option to cover the fee during checkout.
- PTA can choose to add a convenience fee of a set amount to the donor’s donation to cover costs.
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Q: Will training be offered?
A: Yes! One of the things we like most about Givebacks is they have folks on staff who are PTA leaders themselves, so they’re adept at “speaking PTA” and will help guide us with training, routine support, and managing admin/leadership transitions. Looking ahead, we will host at least a couple of training webinars in mid-April (which will be recorded for later viewing). Givebacks staff will also attend our convention in May to introduce themselves and answer questions. Finally, each PTA will be offered a one-on-one session with Givebacks staff to assist with account setup.
Q: What will happen to all our memberplanet data?
A: Every year, WSPTA downloads a huge archive of MP data, including member and officer data. We’ll be on hand through June/July to help download any data you need and help you get it into the new system.
Q: Does Givebacks have a website builder? What if our website is currently hosted on memberplanet?
A: Givebacks does indeed have a website builder. You can see some examples linked below. The website builder is a free service and you will be able to have more pages on your site than in memberplanet’s free site builder.
For those who want to keep going with memberplanet, we’re waiting to hear from them on how they will handle their end of the transition, but PTAs that want to continue using some of their services will likely be able to do for a fee.
Q: How does this affect council PTAs?
A: The biggest change is how council dues/fees are handled. In memberplanet, this process was completely automated and handled through an invoicing system that ran parallel to WSPTA billing. Received fees/dues would then be deposited weekly into the council’s bank account. That is no longer an option in Givebacks, so the council treasurer must take on a primary role in administrating council dues/fees.
Each council will have its own storefront in Givebacks and we think the best way to collect council dues/fees would be to make them an item to purchase in that storefront. Here’s an example of a council in another state that has fashioned their dues/fees collection this way. Givebacks’s support staff can help set this up for any council that collects dues/fees. Council treasurers will be responsible for tracking local PTA member totals, dues/fees owed, and dues/fees received.
Q: What other features does Givebacks have?
A: Givebacks has tools for member management, website building, storefront management, communications, fundraising, and more. Here’s a collection of videos that cover most of these features: https://info.givebacks.com/videos
Q: What are some examples of what a Givebacks website looks like?
A: Here are some really terrific examples of storefronts created using Givebacks:
https://swepta.memberhub.com/
https://farnellptsa.memberhub.com/
https://russomrhinos.memberhub.com/
https://crofton-pta.memberhub.com/
https://chalker.memberhub.com/