Page 34 - Simply Vegetables Winter 2020/21

Membership system
As previously reported, we have been working on generating a new Membership Engagement System and website. I
can report that we have successfully completed the transfer and merging of data from our five Branch membership Secretary’s individual spreadsheets, the Directory database and the Direct Debit system. This was certainly a herculean task, but well worth the effort.
I would say at the outset of this report, we still continue to have the ability to manage your memberships manually i.e. for those members who do not have internet access or are not computer literate and/or who pay their membership manually i.e. by cheque or cash, so please don’t worry.
The Branch Membership Secretaries have been getting trained in the use of the new system, which should start to make their roles a lot easier to manage.
Access to your data online
For those members who wish to, access their individual data, this can be achieved via the new website. From here you will have the ability to update things like your address (e.g. if you move house) or phone number(s), email address etc. as well as being able
to manage your preferences regarding Gift Aid and GDPR e.g. allowing your info to be included in the Directory and/or agreeing
to being sent email updates. For your information, any preferences that we had received already, have been set up based on your current GDPR information that we have on record.
If you would like to access your own personal data, firstly you will need to log in and create your own unique password. This is a very simple thing to do, just look for the Account / log in detail at the top right of the screen. Once you are in and have created your own password, you can have access to your details as shown below.
For anyone wishing to renew their membership on line, you will find easy
to use “how to” instructions within the “RESOURCES” section of the new website.
Events are far clearer for you to see.
They run in date order, with easy to use search engines and filters to enable you to either view every item , or filter the various categories for example, by Branch or DA
or just filter on shows or talks if you want. The first two examples listed below are for a couple of meetings being held via zoom.
A couple of small changes that you may notice is that Joint members are now set up in the new system as two individuals who are subsequently linked. One will be the “Primary” member (e.g. the person that pays for the membership and supports Gift Aid where applicable). One will be the “Secondary” member who is linked to the Primary member within the system.
So, when you receive your SV magazine, it will now be addressed to the “Primary Member”.
Similarly, if you are a key person for an Affiliated Society, you are linked to your Society within the system and you Society’s
SV Magazine will be addressed to you as their Key Person.
We hope that you enjoy using the new website and system.
We will, of course, be building the website as we go, but the initial key objective was to provide an easy to use portal into the NVS, provide a centralised system , where you,
as a member can access your own details and for the NVS to provide clear, easy to
find information, regarding events, news, resources, merchandise, contact details for judges, lecturers and officers plus ease of joining, renewing and setting up Direct Debit. From this baseline, we shall continue to look at what our members and volunteer officers need and to build upon this as an integral part of the NVS Development plan. This will include a review of the previous NVS forum system which was used, but not widely
or frequently, however we do understand
the value of something like this. We would appreciate your input as a member as to what you would like too, so please let any of the Trustees know.
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