How do you run a members-only organization without handing over the member list?
A regional cybersecurity guild of about 60 members needed to manage membership, dues, and events without giving its member list to a third-party service. We built Coterie, which the guild now runs itself.
Membership platform for a cybersecurity guild
The situation
A regional guild of about 60 cybersecurity professionals needed what any membership organization needs: a member list, a way to collect dues, and a way to run events.
It had been using a WordPress membership plugin. Most of the alternatives were hosted services, which meant handing the member list to a third party. For a group of security professionals, who belongs is itself sensitive. That was not a trade the guild wanted to make.
What we did
We built Coterie, a membership system the guild runs on infrastructure it controls. It keeps member records, handles dues, and manages events. Members and administrators each have their own portal.
What changed
Coterie is now in use at the guild, replacing the WordPress plugin for about 60 members. The member list stays with the guild.
Coterie is open source under the MIT and Apache 2.0 licenses. Members can read the code that handles their information, and other organizations with the same concern can use it.
