Registration

Register and pay online with active.com!
by Sarah Lowell

You know the part of reunion planning when you’ve sent invites but you suffer quick disappointment when a flood of RSVPs and checks doesn’t appear immediately. Some invites get thrown into ‘to do’ piles, others may be misplaced or forgotten. Writing a check, filling out and mailing forms is too time-consuming for some members. While these will always be road blocks to early response, add the convenience of online registration and see if your members aren’t quicker to respond.

This is like a dream, if you’ve ever had the hassle of collecting registration fees from your members. It’s no longer a dream, but here now for you to take advantage of, if you’re ready for high tech help to manage essential administrative duties to make your reunion happen.

The most convenient way to manage your invitation and confirmation process is taking registrations, confirmations and payment online. With online registration, your members can view reunion details, submit their information, register in minutes and pay with a credit card. Immediate email confirmation with reunion details serves as a reminder and ticket to your reunion. 

If you’re like most reunion planners, you have neither the time nor the resources to set up a secure online credit card payment service or hire someone to create an online registration system. The Active Network (www.eventregister.com) provides easy-to-use web tools to manage your entire reunion registration. You set up a customized registration web page for your reunion, showing event details – day, time, place, agenda for the day(s) – with an easy button for attendees to click for signing up and submitting their payment. 

All the “heavy lifting” is done for you. You don’t need to purchase additional equipment to process registration or pay merchant account fees. You can easily access the system, view registrations or make changes to your registration page. The system is safe and secure.

Whether you’re planning a family barbecue reunion for 100, an all-school reunion for 5,000 or a military get-together requiring a detailed registration form, you can personalize your entire registration process. Your members pay online while you easily manage all the registration data, at no cost to your reunion.

It’s easy to get started
To put your reunion online, contact The Active Network (toll free) 877-996-2267 x527 or
206-661-9553; reunions@active.com and get started right away. He will help you set up a registration page.  Similar to other credit card transactions on the Internet, members will pay a small convenience fee. The Active Network’s secure system manages all the payments and they send you one check every two weeks with all payments collected, minus the convenience fees.

Reunion planners see great result
Beth Mazza, Fairfax, Virginia, recently planned her Summit High School 20-year reunion using Active’s online tools. As class president and committee member for four of her high school reunions, Beth struggled getting classmates to send checks. She wanted an easier registration solution. Putting the service to the test for the first time, nearly forty percent (40%!) of Beth’s classmates registered online.

 “I was amazed at how much time and energy online registration saved my committee and classmates,” says Beth. “Getting classmates to pay in advance was a breeze once they learned about online registration and how quick and easy it was. We were able to take credit card payments for the first time which definitely increased attendance. Everyone at the reunion complimented me about being so high-tech.”

Beth was able to view her attendee list all through the registration process, tracking head count and streamlining event day preparations. “For our previous reunions, we didn’t have a good idea about the number of attendees because everyone just paid at the door rather than mailing a check. With online registration, I had a good idea about the number of people who planned to attend and was able to have tickets and name badges ready at the check-in desk,” adds Beth.

Online donation adds to success
The days of putting a piggy bank on the registration table or writing solicitation letters to classmates to help front reunion costs are over. Your members can donate online to general reunion funds, a special scholarship or raise money for some common cause. By adding an online donation option to your registration page, your members can submit donations online when they register for your reunion. Donation confirmation is immediately acknowledged by email. 

Top reunion planners use online registration
Professional reunion planners working with hundreds of reunions year after year, also streamline their process and ensure results.  “We handled credit card charges in-house and then learned another planner was using Active’s services. We contacted Active to relieve some administrative duties,” explains Kandy Davidson, co-owner and operator, 1st Class Reunions in Loganville, Georgia. “We’ve never regretted the decision to change. They manage credit card information for all our reunions and their members through the Internet, process all the registrations and payments and then send us the check.”

Kandy has used Active’s services for over 60 reunions. “I really like how the link to the registration page is set up also. Reunion details are all there for alumni to see.  You can make any changes to your web registration page, like adding a picnic or golf outing, making the registration page unique for each reunion.”

Get started today
To get started or find out more information about Active’s online registration service,
Toll Free: (877) 996-2267, x 527
reunions@active.com or visit www.eventregister.com.

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