The short answer: as far as we know, Altru doesn’t have a single setting that forces every member onto auto-renew. Auto-renew is generally something a member opts into when they pay by card, not a condition of the membership program itself. You can still get close to “you stay a member until you cancel” through how you structure levels, pricing, forms, and follow-up. Before you do, check the legal side, because required auto-renew is more regulated than most membership teams realize.
Behavior differs by version and configuration, so test anything below in your Altru sandbox before you build on it. If you’re not sure whether your environment supports a particular option, ask Blackbaud support.
Why “mandatory” is harder than it sounds
Auto-renew depends on a stored payment method. In Altru that usually means a credit card saved with the membership and charged when the term ends. That raises a few practical problems:
- Not every sale involves a card. Cash, check, gift memberships, and memberships sold in group sales or on invoice have nothing to charge next year. A rule that requires auto-renew has to deal with every one of those.
- Cards expire and get replaced. Even if every member is enrolled, some of next year’s renewals will decline. You still need a lapse and recovery process, so “mandatory” never removes renewal work completely.
- Gift purchasers aren’t the member. A grandparent who buys a family membership as a gift probably doesn’t expect to be billed again, and the recipient has no card on file.
Because of this, organizations that say they want mandatory auto-renew usually mean something narrower: any member who joins online with a card is enrolled by default, and leaving takes a deliberate step. That’s a goal you can actually design around.
Check the law before you design anything
Many U.S. states have automatic renewal laws, and some of them apply to memberships sold to consumers. The specifics vary, but they commonly require clear disclosure of the renewal terms before purchase, the customer’s affirmative consent, a confirmation that explains how to cancel, and a cancellation method that’s reasonably easy (often online if the person signed up online). Some states also require reminder notices before a renewal charge.
In practice, a hidden or pre-checked auto-renew box, or a membership that only allows cancellation by phone, can create real risk. If you sell memberships to people in other states, their rules may apply too. Run your plan past your organization’s counsel. This is general information, not legal advice.
Ways to get close in Altru
1. Make auto-renew its own membership option
Rather than trying to force every level, create an auto-renewing option that members choose on purpose. Some organizations offer it as a separate level or price (for example, a monthly or annual “sustaining” version of a level) and make it the most attractive choice, with a small discount, a bonus benefit, or simply the top spot on the page. Members opt in clearly, which keeps you on the right side of consent rules, and you still get most new joins onto auto-renew. Check in your sandbox how Altru handles recurring payment for the levels you set up, and how those memberships appear in your membership reports.
2. Make opting in the obvious path on your web form
Look at how your online membership form shows the auto-renew choice. If it’s an unlabeled checkbox below the payment fields, few people will tick it. Put it near the price, explain what happens in one plain sentence (“We’ll renew your membership each year using this card. You can cancel anytime.”), and list the benefits. Whether you can pre-select the option depends on your form setup, and pre-selection is the part most likely to raise legal questions, so get counsel’s view before you rely on it.
3. Train the front desk to ask every time
Walk-up joins are where enrollment drops off. Give staff one short line to say at the register and make sure they know how to save the card for auto-renew on the transaction. A weekly query of new memberships paid by card without auto-renew, broken out by the staff member who sold them, shows where coaching is needed.
4. Convert existing members at renewal time
Your renewal mailings and emails are the best time to ask. Build a query of members coming up for renewal who aren’t on auto-renew and make enrolling the main call to action. Members who renew by phone or at the desk can be asked to enroll on the spot.
5. Plan for failed charges
Set up a routine for auto-renewals that decline: a query of memberships whose renewal payment failed, a short window to update the card, and a clear point when the membership lapses. Without this, auto-renew members can lapse without anyone noticing, which defeats the purpose.
What to tell your leadership
If the request came from a board member or director who wants “everyone on auto-renew,” it helps to reframe the goal as a target rate rather than a rule. Track the share of active members on auto-renew each month, the share of new card-paying joins who enroll, and how many auto-renewals fail and recover. Those numbers come from Altru queries you can build today, and they show progress without a policy that may not be workable or legal for your audience.
Quick answers
Can Altru require a card on file for a membership level?
We aren’t aware of a native setting that blocks a sale without auto-renew. Test your membership program and web form options in a sandbox, or confirm with Blackbaud support for your version.
Is a pre-checked auto-renew box allowed?
It depends on where your members live and how the terms are disclosed. Several state laws focus on affirmative consent, so ask counsel before defaulting the box to on.
Do members have to be able to cancel online?
Some state laws require an online cancellation option when the customer signed up online. Even where it isn’t required, a clear cancellation path cuts down on chargebacks and complaints.
