Thanks for addressing a frequently occurring issue! And thanks for the opportunity to address it from an "outside the museum" perspective. If folks (usually families with disposable income and a child or two under the age of 11, with reliable transportation) are aware of your site, and are ongoing supporters, there may indeed be a lapse of four to six weeks before renewals. In my past experience, the expiration policies are drafted for the convenience of the museum staff, not the consumer. If they are more causal guests, they may wait until the exhibit/program/summer class/sale occurs before renewing, with the explicit purpose of getting an "annual membership" -- twelve months of visits for twelve months of payment. For whatever reasons -- their lack of interest in the presentation, your lack of changing offerings, travel schedule, other stuff happening in town, etc. -- they may not be continuous consumers. I'd be concerned that unless one advertised that one's benefits continued for a "grace period" after membership expiration, one might get into a difficult position when confronted with a member upset that the "annual membership" was only for nine months' duration. I'd be equally concerned that members could enjoy five years of member benefits with four years of payment! And yes, there are people who watch for that sort of thing. Previous policy in museums I have worked for was that there were three notices for renewal sent [one the month before, one the month of expiration, one the month after expiration], and then the names went to "dormant" for three months before being moved to an "inactive" status. That kept records intact for access, and gave us a prospect list in advance of major shows, renovations, etc. Best of luck! Liz Bleiberg ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).