Invite and Manage Group Members

How do I create a group?

Creating a group on Prosper is easy and free (and you could even make some money doing it). Learn more about becoming a group leader.

How do I invite new members to join my group?

Go to "My Account > Group", click on "View members", and then "Invite new members." You can invite as many individuals as you would like, just be sure to separate multiple email addresses with a comma or semicolon on the invite.

Prosper provides a pre-written subject and message that you can easily forward to your invitees, or feel free to personalize it as much as you like to meet your needs. A link will be automatically included at the end of the pre-written message, which will start the sign-up process for invitees interested in joining your group.

When you click "Send Invitation," an email will go out to each invitee separately, inviting him or her to join your group. This means that each invitee will receive their own message, and will not be able to see the email addresses of the other invitees.

When you invite members to your group using Prosper's invitation system, they will be automatically approved to join your group.

What if I don't want to use Prosper's system to invite new members?

No problem. Just copy your group's home page address (URL) and paste it into an email. In your email, make sure to ask invitees to click the "Join this group" link once they visit your group's home page. However, you can't do this if your group is "Invitation Only," because there won't be a link to join your group on the home page—you'll have to go through the Prosper system.

When can I invite new members to my group?

You will be able to invite new members to your group when the group has been approved by Group Services. (Remember, it can take a day or two for your group to be approved.) Once your group is approved, you can invite new members to your heart's content.

What are "group membership requests?"

These are membership requests from borrowers who want to join your group. You'll get an email in your inbox and a message in your Prosper "Messages" box each time someone makes a request to join your group.

As a group leader, you have seven days to respond to any group membership request. You may accept or reject the membership request, or you may extend the timeframe to make a decision by another seven days.

Are there any limits on the criteria I can use to accept or exclude people from my group?

Prosper is an inclusive credit marketplace that fully supports and promotes equal credit opportunity for all people, regardless of their race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, sexual orientation, military status or source of income. Because people access Prosper through your group, group membership criteria cannot exclude anyone in these protected classifications. You can use criteria to include people in these protected areas, but not to exclude them. Your criteria must also adhere to the Prosper policies that apply to Prosper members as well as group leaders.

Group leaders may not obtain or use a credit report, require prospective members to provide a credit report, or to provide authorization to obtain a credit report, as a condition to group membership. Group leaders who want to use creditworthiness as criteria for membership should use the individual's self-evaluation of their credit grade, in order to avoid running afoul of state and federal credit reporting statutes or restrictions on loan solicitation. When a borrower creates a listing, Prosper obtains their credit report and determines their credit grade, which is displayed in the listing. That is the only credit grade relevant to lenders placing bids on Prosper.

As long as your criteria meets these standards, you can use any lawful criteria you desire.

How do I manage my membership requests?

Go to "My Account > Group", click on "View members", and then "View membership requests".

On this page, click "View request" on each person's request. When you look at each request, you can see the screen name of the person requesting membership, as well as their personal message to you.

When you view a membership request, you will notice that you also have the ability to extend a membership decision by seven days. This may be useful if you need extra time to make a decision. Keep in mind that borrowers can withdraw their membership request at any time and apply for membership with another group.

What if I let a membership request expire?

If a membership request has expired, you can no longer accept that person's membership request.

If I reject a membership request, do I have to explain why?

It's entirely up to you. If you want to be polite, a nice response would be: "Thank you for your interest in joining our group, but we are not accepting new members at this time. We wish you luck in finding another group."

How do I see all of the members in my group?

Go to "My Account > Group", and click on "View members". You will see a list of the screen names of all your group members.

To view each member's profile information, click the "Details" link next to their name.

To contact one group member, click the "Contact" link next to their name.

To remove a group member, click the "Remove" link next to their name. Only group members who do not have active listings can be removed from a group.

How do I contact all of the members in my group at once?

Go to "My Account > Group", click on "View members", then "Contact all members."

You will then be able to compose an email to all of the members of your group. When you click "Send Message," an individual message to each group member will be sent.

How do I remove members from my group?

You may remove a member from your group if that member does not have an active listing on Prosper.

To remove a member from your group, go to "My Account > Group", and click on "View members". Then click the "Remove" link next to the member's name.

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