A Family member should be able to add a parking pass. A Patron member already gets parking, so offering it to them is confusing at best and a refund request at worst. A basic Individual member might be eligible for an extra guest card that higher levels already include. Add-ons rarely apply equally to every level, and the online join or renew form is where that mismatch shows up.
This guide covers what to test in Altru before you promise anything, the realistic ways to sell add-ons that depend on level, and how to keep the back-office data clean whichever route you pick.
Start by testing what your Altru setup actually does
Altru supports membership add-ons as part of a membership program, and staff can generally sell them at the desk. The harder questions are whether an add-on can be limited to certain levels, and whether that restriction carries through to your online membership form. Behavior can depend on how the program, its levels, and the web form are configured, and it has changed over time.
Rather than guess, run a short test in a sandbox or a staging copy of your web form:
- Set up one add-on that should only apply to one level.
- Open the online membership form and select a level that should see it, then one that should not.
- Complete a test transaction for each and check the resulting membership and revenue records.
- Write down exactly what a member sees and what lands in Altru.
If the add-on appears for every level online, or doesn’t appear online at all, you have your answer. If you can’t tell whether a behavior is a setting or a limitation, ask Blackbaud support with your test results in hand. That gets a much faster, more specific answer than a general question.
Four ways to handle level-specific add-ons
Each option below trades simplicity for flexibility. Pick based on how many add-ons you sell and how many levels you have.
1. Bake the add-on into its own level
Create levels such as “Family” and “Family with Parking,” each with its own price. The online form only offers what you configured, so there is nothing to restrict.
- Works well when you have one or two add-ons and a short level list.
- Watch out for level sprawl. Three add-ons across five levels can mean dozens of combinations, and every report that groups by level gets harder to read. Benefit fulfillment also gets muddier when the add-on is hidden inside a level name.
2. Use a separate web form per level or group of levels
Build one online form for levels that qualify for an add-on and another for levels that don’t. Link to each from the matching section of your membership page.
- Works well when your levels split cleanly into two or three tiers.
- Watch out for maintenance. Every price change, design tweak, or copy update now happens in several places, and a member who lands on the wrong form may still buy the wrong thing.
3. Sell the add-on as a separate item after the membership
Keep the membership form simple and sell the add-on afterward, either at the desk or through a follow-up message to members of the eligible levels. A membership query filtered by level gives you the list.
- Works well when the add-on is optional and not time sensitive.
- Watch out for lower uptake. Asking someone to buy again a week later converts worse than offering it while their card is out. You also need a clear way to tie the add-on revenue back to the member record.
4. Offer the add-on in the checkout cart based on the level chosen
This is the approach that matches how members think: pick a level, then see only the extras that make sense for it. Altru’s own web forms may or may not support this depending on your configuration, which is why some organizations put a checkout layer in front of Altru that handles the presentation while Altru still records the sale.
Keep the data usable whichever route you choose
The online experience is only half the job. The other half is making sure staff can answer “who bought parking this year?” without a spreadsheet hunt.
- Name add-ons consistently. Use the same naming in Altru, on the website, and in confirmation emails so reports and member questions line up.
- Decide where add-on revenue posts. Agree with finance whether it belongs with membership revenue or in its own designation or category before you launch, not after the first month-end close.
- Build a fulfillment query. If an add-on comes with something physical, like a parking hangtag or guest cards, a saved query of who purchased it and when keeps fulfillment from depending on someone’s inbox.
- Check renewals. Confirm whether an add-on renews with the membership or has to be bought again, and make sure your renewal notices say so plainly.
A note on wording
However you build it, tell members why they’re seeing an option. “Add parking for $40 (included with Patron and above)” heads off the question from a Patron member who wonders why they aren’t seeing it, and it gives lower-level members a reason to consider upgrading.
Where Social Good fits
If you want the fourth option without maintaining duplicate levels or forms, Social Good’s Upsells feature, part of our Altru checkout, lets you offer memberships and add-ons in the checkout cart, with the transaction data written back to Altru. It’s worth testing against your own levels and add-ons to see whether it fits your program.
Quick answers
Should we just make every add-on available to every level?
Only if the add-on is genuinely useful to every level. Offering parking to members who already get it creates refunds and front-desk explanations.
Is creating extra levels a bad idea?
Not for one add-on. It becomes a problem when combinations multiply and level-based reports stop meaning much.
