Membership
Scroll down this page for details of Membership Applications and Renewals
BEACON MEMBERS PORTAL and PUBLIC LINKS
Beacon is a computer system, built by the Third Age Trust, for u3a's to maintain and manage membership records, interest groups and more and to provide an easy way to communicate with members via email. In addition to being a system for use by the Membership Secretary, Treasurer, Groups Co-ordinators and Leaders, the Beacon system provides a Members Portal for use by individual members and links accessible to the general public.
The Beacon Members Portal is a web-based facility to allow an individual member to:
- access and update their membership details (don't forget to click on "Update personal details" if you make any changes),
- renew their membership online,
- download and print their membership card,
- view details of interest groups (and join any which are set up to allow online joining),
- download the events calendar (Ely & District u3a don’t use this Beacon feature at present)
Click here Beacon Members Portal Guide to see instructions for joining and using the portal.
Click here to open the Members Portal.
In addition to the Members Portal, Beacon also provides links accessible to the general public for:
- Membership application (join online)
- Interest Groups list
NEW MEMBERS
New member applications are always welcome and can easily be submitted online. (Please see notes below)
The fees for 2024-25 are £10 for full membership and £8 for affiliate membership (for a full member of another u3a). The new membership year starts on the 1st April and runs until 31st March the following year. For new members joining between the 1st of March and 31st March their membership will extend to 31st March in the following year.
Joining Online
Payment can be made using a debit or credit card or a PayPal account. Our payment page is hosted by PayPal, but there is absolutely no requirement to have a PayPal account.
Please note: We do NOT require you to upload a photograph and this sometimes causes technical problems.
PayPal payments. This is a one-off transaction only. PayPal will not open a PayPal account for you when you choose the credit or debit card option. However, PayPal will retain the information you provide in accordance with their Privacy Policy for monitoring purposes.
Those who do not wish to join online can complete the downloadable Membership Application & Renewal Form and send it, with payment, to the Membership Secretary (instructions included).
If you require further information, please send your query to membership enquiries at memsecelyu3a@gmail.com
MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL
When the renewals period is opened on 1st March it will be possible to renew your membership online via the Members Portal (link above) and this will be the u3a's preferred method of renewal. Renewal will, however, still be possible using the downloadable Membership Application & Renewal Form and at the general meetings during the renewals period.