Beacon is the membership system designed specifically for u3as by the main u3a. It complies with Data Protection (GDPR) and is used by over 675 u3as covering over 300,000 individual u3a members. Wendover u3a switched to using Beacon in December 2025 and we opened for online joining in July 2026. In September 2026 we also added the ability to renew membership online for those members who've registered for a Members Portal account and currently over 270 members have accounts.

There are two distinct parts to Beacon:-

Administration

This part of Beacon allows registered members to perform Wendover u3a membership administration tasks including creating new Groups, adding/removing members from Groups and sending emails to selected individuals. Access is 'role based', so for example Group Convenors have the permissions to enable them to manage their group(s), but no permissions to see, or update, individual membership records.

Login User Names are typically first intial + surname + membership no e.g. jsmith1234, or specific to a particular role e.g. membership or chairman. Passwords are chosen by each individual, subject to certain rules enforced by Beacon to ensure sufficient password 'strength'. Individuals can intitiate a password change/reset themselves, or ask the database manager to reset for them.

The Administration part of Beacon can be accessed by clicking on the button below:-

Members Portal

This part of Beacon is totally dedicated to members and allows individual members to see what data Wendover u3a holds for them, as well as the permissions to change the data if it is incorrect, or has changed. In addition members can browse, and join (if allowed by the Convenor) Groups and also view when meetings are scheduled.

Login User Names are always the members email addresses and, where 2 members share the same email address, Beacon will ask to confirm which member is logging in. Passwords are chosen be each individual, subject to certain rules enforced by Beacon to ensure sufficient password 'strength'. Only an individual can initiate a password change/reset, there is no administrative access to this part of Beacon.

The Members Portal part of Beacon can be accesses by clicking on the button below:-