Chapters, Districts & Regions
ClubExpress provides powerful support for multi-tier clubs with chapters, districts and regions. We support two separate models, described in more detail below:
- One website, members join at the top level.
- Multiple websites, members join at the bottom level.
One Website
In this model, the club can have up to three levels of subgroups below the parent organization: chapters, districts and regions (these names can be changed and you can have fewer levels.) Everyone belongs to the top level organization and there is only one website for members to login to. The database belongs to the top level organization which manages and controls the subgroups directly.
In this model, the top-level organization defines member types and dues. There are many options to control the fees which may or may not be charged at each level, and to control how members and their secondary/tertiary members join one or more chapters. ClubExpress will automatically distribute fees collected for each chapter, district or region into separate bank accounts for that subgroup.
Many of the modules in ClubExpress have been subgroup enabled. You can define events, document libraries, committees and discussion forums at a subgroup level, so that the event, document category, committee or forum is only available to members of that subgroup.
ClubExpress also allows you to define subgroup administrators at any level. These admins have access to the member manager; they can run reports or data exports; and they can send emails, but only to the members at their subgroup level.
Multiple Websites
With ClubExpress version 5.0, we have added a completely new model for managing multi-tier organizations. In this model, the chapters are independent and each has its own website and database. Members join at the chapter level and the chapter is responsible for defining member types and dues. Members login to their chapter website to update their profiles, participate in chapter discussion forums, register for events, make payments, etc.
But these chapters (or individual clubs) may also be part of a larger organization. This organization does not control how the individual clubs are defined but it does serve in a “parent” role, aggregating members, events, programs, discussions, etc. The larger organization will have its own website and members of the individual clubs can also login to this website to participate in activities at the higher level. Members are handled at the lower level but members can register for events and participate in discussion forums and committees at the higher level. The Chapter Finder at the top level shows every linked club as a "chapter".
The larger organization will have a virtual database. Administrators defined at the top level can view (but not update) member contact information for all members in all of the linked individual clubs. ClubExpress also allows you to define “super” administrators who can login to any of the individual club websites to help manage these sites. Generally, the top-level organization will not have its own members, although the system does allow you to define members at this level to manage this website.
The system currently supports committees and discussion forums at the top level that draw their members from the lower level clubs. In the future, we'll be adding support for sharing events between levels, sharing the member directory, viewing special aggregation reports, etc.
This model was added at the request of a Rotary International district which is sponsoring each of 64 clubs within the district to also run on ClubExpress. Each club is independent but the district plays a strong role in managing Rotary's presence in this region and in coordinating events at the district level and between the clubs. Every club is using the same website template to reinforce a common brand within the district, and there is also shared content provided by the district and visible on every club website. The Chapter Finder on the District website lists every club within the district, including the details of its weekly meetings and a link to that club's website.
If you're interested in either or these models, contact ClubExpress to discuss. We can set up this hierarchy and define the linked clubs for you. We can also work with you to define super administrators, website templates, and other shared resources.
Chapter Finder
ClubExpress includes a powerful Chapter Finder module so that members and non-members can locate chapters in their area and view contact information, upcoming events, and, for members-only, view other members in the same chapter.
The Chapter Finder can be configured with a custom map and Image Map to match how your club or association is organized. You can also control what information is shown for each chapter.