Member database household reference
This reference explains how households work in MapleGather, what data they contain, and the rules that govern them.
What a household is
Section titled “What a household is”A household groups individual member records together to represent a family or other shared-billing unit. Households let you:
- Track which members are related to each other
- Assign a single billing contact for the household’s memberships
- Show household members their family membership in their portal
A household is separate from the individual records inside it. Archiving or deleting a household member doesn’t delete the household.
Household components
Section titled “Household components”Household name
Section titled “Household name”A free-form label for the household, typically a family name (for example, “The Rivera Family”). Editable by admins.
Members and relationship types
Section titled “Members and relationship types”Each member linked to a household has a relationship type — a label that describes their role in the household. Relationship type is set per member link, not for the household as a whole.
The baseline relationship types are:
| Type | Typical meaning |
|---|---|
| Parent | A parent or legal guardian in the household |
| Child | A child or dependent in the household |
| Adult | An adult household member who isn’t in a parent role |
Your organization may have additional relationship types configured.
Every member link must have a relationship type. You can’t save a household without one selected for each member.
Billing member
Section titled “Billing member”One member in the household is designated as the billing member — the contact whose payment method is used for household memberships and who receives invoices. Admins can change the billing member at any time from the household detail page.
If the billing member is archived, an alert appears on the household page prompting you to reassign billing.
- A household must have at least one member. If you remove the last member, the household is deleted.
- A member can belong to only one household at a time. If you add a member who is already in another household, MapleGather asks whether to move them or create a joint household.
- Removing a member from a household doesn’t change their individual membership status or tags.
- The billing assignment can’t be changed while a payment is processing. The change takes effect after the payment completes.
What members see
Section titled “What members see”In the member portal, a member who belongs to a household sees a Household section on their profile page listing the household name and the first names of the other members (no links to other members’ profiles for privacy). Members can’t create or manage households from the portal.