Think Global, Act Local: Why U.S. Membership Organizations Benefit From Australian-Based Member Jungle

While Member Jungle is an Australian software solution, it provides significant advantages for U.S. membership organizations. All customer data is secured on cutting-edge servers, and all transactions use USD pricing through the Stripe payment gateway. Furthermore, the time zone difference allows for extended support hours and faster response times, while the in-house development model ensures industry-leading data security for all American customers.

There’s no point beating around the bush; Member Jungle is an Australian company. However, we are fully set up to serve our American customers. We use an American payment gateway and comply with American security and privacy regulations. Plus, one of our founders, Jeff Pond, is American; he was born over there and often goes back to visit family in Texas. 

So today, let's look at the Member Jungle system, how it works for American membership organizations and why being an Australian system is actually a strong benefit for American customers.

After all, America and Australia have a long history together. We export a seemingly endless supply of ridiculously attractive actors to work in Hollywood, and in return, you film quite a surprising number of blockbusters in Australia.

 

 

That is barely scratching the surface of either.  

What Member Jungle Is & Does

Member Jungle is an all-in-one membership management system (AMS) designed to streamline the running of membership organisations and combine all the administrative tools your organisation needs into a single platform. We eliminate the need for you to juggle separate systems for your website, member database, and events. Just one system, and just one payment to do everything you need to do

Our platform is purpose-built for volunteer-run and small-staff organisations, focusing on simplicity and automation. The system includes:

• Integrated Website: A secure, mobile-responsive website builder.
• Member Database: Centralised data storage with automated renewals.
• Mobile App: A native iOS/Android app that provides members with digital cards, instant news, and event access.
• Events and Finance: Tools for selling tickets, managing inventory, and processing payments (in USD) through Stripe.

In short, we aim to eliminate the operational headaches that lead to volunteer burnout, freeing your team to focus on growing your mission.

Time Zones & Support: Extended U.S. Business-Hour Coverage

The time zone difference might be one of your concerns, but it's actually not a roadblock; it's an advantage that extends your support coverage.

For example, if you are on Pacific Standard Time (PST), our Australian business day starts at approximately 1:30 PM your time and finishes around 10:00 PM your time. This means two important things for your committee:

1. Extended Daily Coverage: We are online and available during the entire second half of your workday, allowing you to get demos, training, or support well into your evening.
2. Zero-Wait Morning Support: If you start your day at 9 AM (PST) and have a technical question, you can submit a support ticket immediately. Your ticket will be the very first one we see when our team clocks on, as our local customers aren’t going to be putting tickets in that early. This ensures a resolution is often delivered to your inbox before your U.S. workday is over.

We ensure that our dedicated support team is available during your primary working hours to guarantee that the help you need is always available. 

Before we move on to the next topic, let's take a quick detour. There are so many Australian actors successfully working in Hollywood that it's easy to lose track, and many fly completely under the radar.

Here are just a few that you might not realize are Aussie:

• Keiynan Lonsdale from CW’s The Flash.
• Jason Clarke, who's been in everything from Terminator to Planet of the Apes to Oppenheimer.
• Rose Byrne, who’s been in everything from Bridesmaids to Insidious to Troy.
• Dacre Montgomery, who played Billy in Stranger Things.

 

Financial Clarity: No Dollary-Doos, Just Transparent USD Pricing

Another thing you may be concerned about is how the money side of things is going to work. Well, don’t worry, you’re not going to have to pay in dollary-doos. It’s all set up so you can transact entirely in normal U.S. Dollars.

The Member Jungle website is able to tell that you’re in America and will automatically display all pricing in USD. Crucially, your actual membership websites will be set up so all payments will be made in U.S. Dollars via the Stripe payment gateway.

There are no complicated exchange rates, no unexpected foreign transaction fees, and no sneaky hidden fees on our end. This system is just as simple and reliable as using any other American system. We ensure all financial matters are direct, transparent, and settled in the currency you and your members use every day.

You can find out more about the Stripe payment gateway, by reading Why The Member Jungle System Uses Stripe's Payment Gateway. 

I’ve talked a lot about actors and movies so far, but Australia exports a lot more than just actors to the U.S. Several Australian bands and musicians have also made it big in the States, including the Red Hot Chilli Peppers’ bassist Flea, Rick Springfield of “Jesse’s Girl” fame, AC/DC, The Bee Gees, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds and INXS. 

I’ll be real with you, two of those I didn’t even know were Australian before I started writing this. 

Trust and Data Security: Secure Data Hosting & In-House Development

It doesn’t matter where in the world you’re from; data security is a vital consideration. Your members are trusting you with highly sensitive information, including names, addresses, license details, and more. Therefore, it’s absolutely critical that whatever system you use is secure and compliant with the strictest data security practices.

Australia has pretty strong data privacy laws, dictated at the federal level by the Australian Privacy Act. This means that the privacy laws that we at Member Jungle abide by meet or exceed all U.S. data privacy requirements. 

Beyond that, we take security extremely seriously. The entire system, including the app, has been developed in-house. This means we don’t use third-party plugins or systems that could potentially allow bad actors a backdoor into the system. This in-house development model is key to maintaining our robust, industry-leading security standards.

To find out more about how we take your data security seriously: 

• Read: How does Member Jungle protect your data?
• Watch: Data Security & Backups: Inside Member Jungle with Jeff Pond.

The Global Advantage

You've read about the support advantage, the transparent financials, and the in-house security. By choosing a system built with global efficiency and transparency, you get a powerful, all-in-one platform focused solely on solving the operational headaches of membership organizations. Allowing your team to focus on your mission, not on administrative paperwork.

If you still have any questions or concerns about how the Member Jungle system will work for you, please feel free to Contact Us, and we will be more than happy to answer your questions. 

If you want to test out the system for yourself, you can sign up for a completely free, obligation-free 30-day trial of the system here: Start Free 30-Day Trial.

Australian Stereotypes

Okay, so the article is over, you can leave; however, I thought I’d use this opportunity to clear up a few stereotypes about Australia. If that’s not something you’re interested in, no worries, but for everyone else, here are a few things you should know about Australia. 

Okay, first, we don’t drink Foster's beer. I’m actually not sure I have ever even seen a Fosters in real life. We actually drink Tooheys New, Victoria Bitter, XXXX, and Bundaberg rum. Outside of that, Jack Daniel's and Jim Beam are extremely popular here. Thank you for those, by the way. Also, we don’t say “throw another shrimp on the barbie”. We call them prawns, not shrimp. 

Yes, pretty much everything in Australia is trying to kill us. Nine of the twelve most venomous snakes and five of the ten most venomous spiders are found in Australia. Additionally, Australia is home to the world’s deadliest jellyfish, the deadliest octopus, some of the most venomous fish, and one of the world’s most venomous plants, called the Gympie-Gympie. This plant is covered in needles and can cause debilitating pain that lasts for months.

However, none of that is scarier than bears, wolves and mountain lions. The fact that you go camping in places where grizzly bears might just rock up at your tent at any given moment is mind-blowing to me. There’s nothing in Australia as scary as a Grizzly Bear. 

Also, we don’t all have pet kangaroos, but I did see multiple roos and an emu on my drive home from the office yesterday, so I can’t protest too much. Landscape-wise, I can’t lie, Australia is mostly beaches and deserts. 70% of Australia is semi-arid or completely arid (desert), and there are so many beaches that if you visited a new one every week, it would take you 226 years to visit them all. However, we do have some mountains, and even snow. 

And finally, one of our Prime Ministers was in the Guinness Book of World Records for drinking two and a half pints of beer in 11 seconds, and another one got drunk, went for a swim in the beach and disappeared. We never found him, but we did name a swimming pool after him.