You want to run “20% off Family and above” for a spring drive, or give teachers a code that only works on the Educator level. The trouble is that a discount in Altru doesn’t naturally know which level someone picked. Once a code is valid for a membership program, the safe assumption is that it can be used on any level in that program, including the entry-level Individual membership you were trying to leave out.
This guide covers what to confirm in your own database, the workarounds that hold up in practice, and how to catch the sales that slip through anyway.
Confirm what your Altru setup actually does
Discount and promotion behavior in Altru depends on how your discounts, membership programs, and web forms are configured, so don’t rely on memory or on another organization’s experience. Before you build anything, test it:
- Create a test discount and promo code with the restriction you want, as narrowly as the setup screens let you.
- Try the code on a level it should work on and on a level it shouldn’t, both at the desk and on your web form.
- Check the resulting revenue and membership records to see exactly what got discounted.
Do this in a sandbox or on a code nobody outside staff knows about. If what you see doesn’t match what you expected, ask Blackbaud support whether your version can limit a discount to specific levels within a single program. Get the answer for your version in writing before you print the code on a postcard.
If your testing shows the restriction stops at the program rather than the level, the workarounds below are built for that situation.
Workaround 1: Put the eligible levels behind their own front door
The most reliable fix doesn’t involve the discount at all. You control which levels a buyer can see. If the code only goes out with a dedicated campaign web form, and that form only offers the eligible levels, then nobody using that link can apply the code to the wrong level.
- Build a separate membership web form for the campaign that lists only the qualifying levels.
- Send the promo code only with the link to that form, and don’t publish it anywhere else.
- Retire the form and deactivate the code on the end date you announced.
The weak spot is code sharing. If someone posts the code in a community group and a buyer types it into your regular membership form, the level limit doesn’t exist there. That’s why you still need the audit described below.
Workaround 2: Discount the price, not the transaction
For offers that are really about one level, like an Educator or Military rate, a promo code may be the wrong tool. Consider a separate level or a distinct price for the eligible audience. The discount then lives in the price, and reporting is simpler because the level name tells you who got the deal.
This works best for ongoing, audience-based rates. It’s clumsy for a two-week sale, because you’d be creating and retiring levels each time, and extra levels clutter your membership reports and renewal logic. Decide up front how those members renew: at the special rate, or at the standard level.
Workaround 3: Split the program (use sparingly)
If your setup can limit a discount by program but not by level, you could move the levels you discount often into their own program. Think hard before doing this. Programs drive renewal rules, benefits, cards, and a lot of reporting, so splitting one to make a promotion easier can create more work than it saves. It makes sense only when the levels already behave differently in other ways, for example a patron tier with its own benefits and its own renewal schedule.
Catch the ones that get through
Whatever you choose, assume a few sales will use the code on an ineligible level. Build a membership query that shows, for the campaign dates:
- Transactions where the promo code or discount was applied
- The membership level purchased
- The sale channel (web, desk, phone)
- Amount paid compared with the level’s normal price
Filter for any level outside your eligible list and review it weekly while the offer is live. Decide your policy in advance. A common approach is to honor the price, since the member did nothing wrong, and then fix whatever let the code through. If the misuse is coming from the desk, it’s a training issue. Put the eligible levels on the cheat sheet next to the code.
Write the offer so it explains itself
Clear wording prevents a lot of mismatches. Name the eligible levels in the email, on the landing page, and in the code itself (FAMILY20 is harder to misuse than SPRING20). Put the end date in the same sentence as the offer. If staff can’t tell at a glance whether a code applies, a buyer can’t either.
Where Social Good fits
Most of this comes down to Altru configuration and process. If your fix is a dedicated, level-specific purchase page, Checkouts is our branded, mobile-friendly checkout that replaces Altru web forms for memberships and writes the sales back to Altru. Ask us whether it covers your particular promo setup before you plan a campaign around it.
Quick answers
Can one code give different discounts on different levels?
Don’t count on it. If you need tiered offers, separate codes, each tied to its own campaign page, are easier to set up and to report on.
Do promo codes behave the same at the desk and online?
Not necessarily. Test both channels, because the restrictions you see on one may not carry over to the other.
