How lifecycle email automations work
Lifecycle emails are the ones MapleGather sends automatically when a member reaches a milestone — like applying, paying, renewing, or lapsing. This page explains what decides whether each one sends and what it says, and how your email templates fit in.
The short version
Section titled “The short version”Each automatic email is driven by its own setting, not by a switch on Lifecycle automations (at /admin/email/automation). Renewal reminders follow each membership level’s reminder settings and use built-in wording — no screen chooses a reminder template yet. Payment receipts use your receipt template, the other automatic emails use built-in wording, and no failed-payment (dunning) email is sent yet. Editing a template on the automation page changes its wording — it doesn’t turn anything on.
How it works
Section titled “How it works”What sends each automatic email
Section titled “What sends each automatic email”- Application received and welcome emails — sent when someone applies and when you accept the application, in built-in wording. No email is sent when you decline an application.
- Auto-renewal notices — built-in wording.
- Lapse and cancellation notices — sent when a membership lapses or is cancelled, in built-in wording.
- Failed-payment (dunning) emails — not sent yet. A member whose renewal payment failed sees a notice in their billing portal.
- Renewal reminders — sent before each renewal date on the level’s reminder schedule. A level uses your organization’s default reminder cadence until its own reminders are saved. Reminders use built-in wording: no screen chooses a reminder template yet. (A level can name a template only through the API; a reminder then uses any active transactional template it names, whatever its category.)
- Catch-up reminders — sent only when an admin sends them, using the template chosen for that send (it must be active).
- Payment and donation receipts — use your receipt template, not an email template.
- Event emails — follow each event’s own email rules, in built-in wording.
- Email-address confirmations and policy update notices — built-in wording.
Where templates fit in
Section titled “Where templates fit in”The Lifecycle automations (at /admin/email/automation) page lists every email template your organization has, grouped by phase, with a note under each name saying where it’s used. A broadcast starter is a starting point for broadcasts you compose. An active transactional template isn’t used by any automatic email yet — a renewal reminder could use it, but no screen chooses a reminder template yet. Any other template isn’t used by an automatic email yet.
When you copy a template with Fork this template, the copy keeps the original’s type and category and starts as a draft. A draft never sends — a renewal reminder uses a template only while it’s active.
No org-wide pause yet
Section titled “No org-wide pause yet”There’s no org-wide pause for automatic emails yet: nothing on Lifecycle automations (at /admin/email/automation) stops all email at once.
Transactional vs. marketing class
Section titled “Transactional vs. marketing class”Each email belongs to one of two classes, which determines whether members can opt out:
- Transactional — always sends to all eligible members, regardless of their marketing preferences. Members can’t opt out of transactional emails through their preferences page. These cover operational events: application outcomes, payment receipts, renewal reminders and lapse notices.
- Marketing — only sends to members who haven’t opted out of marketing emails.
Renewal reminders are transactional by class too. There is no member control to turn renewal reminders off in the portal (Story 2.5.4). An unsubscribe recorded through the API or the catch-up email is honoured only while the level respects member preferences (the default).
Why it works this way
Section titled “Why it works this way”Each automatic email is controlled where its rules live. Renewal reminders depend on each level’s renewal terms, so their schedule is set on the level. Receipts belong with billing. Templates on the automation page are wording you can edit and reuse; at this release they don’t decide whether or when an automatic email sends, so the page doesn’t offer switches that would change nothing.
Transactional emails are always-on by design. Members signed up expecting to receive receipts and membership notices — these are part of operating their membership, not marketing. The consent model is intentionally narrow: only genuinely optional communications are opt-outable.
Edge cases and boundaries
Section titled “Edge cases and boundaries”- A template you edited isn’t showing up in emails: most automatic emails use built-in wording at this release, including renewal reminders — no screen chooses a reminder template yet. The note under the template’s name on Lifecycle automations (at
/admin/email/automation) tells you which applies. - A draft copy: a forked template starts as a draft, and a draft never sends — a renewal reminder uses a template only while it’s active.