Murad Bushnaq on June 9, 2021
The days of using disparate spreadsheets, marketing platforms, and billing software to manage your association are long gone. We live in a technologically advanced society, and all types of organizations (associations like yours included) can benefit from tech solutions that streamline backend processes and free up time to focus on more important things.
Dedicated association management software empowers membership organizations to manage daily priorities and improve every aspect of their work. This solution has everything you need to stay organized, deliver an exceptional member experience, collect dues, and run your association more efficiently.
With so many options available, it can be challenging to narrow down your choices to select the best solution for your team. Not every association management platform is created equal. To help, we'll dive into what this type of software is, what to consider when evaluating your options, and 16 of the most popular solutions to choose from, including:
Investing in the right association management software can save your team copious amounts of time, so you can focus on engaging members, not just managing them. Let's kick things off with some common questions your team might have.
Before diving headfirst into our recommendations, it's worthwhile to review the basics. Whether you're brand new to using association management software or just want to refresh your memory, this will give you a solid understanding of what type of system you need so you can select a platform with the most relevant features.
Association management software, also commonly referred to as AMS, is an all-in-one management tool. Functionality depends on the individual platform, but these solutions typically allow you to store member information in a database, collect and manage members' financial dues, organize events, and communicate with members. Beyond just associations, association management software can also be used by rotary clubs, parent-teacher organizations, or nonprofits, among many other types of organizations.
As an association leader, you can eliminate a lot of administrative work with this software and use your system to:
Overall, the right association management system will be invaluable to your team. This software will end up paying for itself and then some because of the time it saves and engagement opportunities it creates.
Vital association management software tools include a membership website builder, dues management, event registrations and ticketing, online donation pages, and a member database. Additional functionality may allow you to distribute content to members, manage certifications, and provide a self-service portal for new members to sign up and manage their memberships.
Overall, prioritize a system that's affordable and scalable, meaning that it will meet your current needs and scale to address future growth.
Bear in mind that each association software solution caters to a different niche. The best AMS for your organization will end up being the one with features that best fit your organization and members' needs.
Be sure to sit down with your team before starting the AMS research process to make note of the problems you’re facing that you think a software system can handle. Once you’ve listed out your must-have features, jot down the ones you think would be nice-to-have, but aren’t absolutely critical. Keeping your unique specifications in mind, read on for a look at a few of the top association software options available today.
Designed exclusively for leading associations and nonprofits, Morweb empowers member-based organizations to build a digital presence and deepen their connections with members. Our platform's core function is its web design and content management system (CMS). With plenty of modules to choose from, it seamlessly transforms into a robust association management solution that caters to all your needs.
In today's internet-obsessed world, your website is your most important digital tool for marketing your association, connecting with prospective members, and engaging your current audience. With content management as a core function of your association software, establishing and growing your digital presence will be a breeze.
Morweb comes with built-in functionality to drive member registration, membership renewals, event participation, and volunteering without the need for multiple systems or IT support.
Since 2014, Morweb has helped thousands of member-based organizations, and with over 11,800 projects completed, we have a deep understanding of what it takes to run an association and be successful online. When you invest in our tools, we'll provide your organization with a content strategy, mobile-friendly web design, powerful functionality, and ongoing support to expand your member base.
Choose one of our beautifully designed association themes, pick the features you need, use the drag-and-drop builder to organize your site's content, push your association's site live, and start engaging your community.
Morweb's robust website modules help associations engage with a wider member base. Here are the association management modules you'll benefit from:
Morweb is just $99 per month for all the essential tools for smaller associations. Our second pricing tier is $149 per month for growing associations, and our final package is $199 per month with powerful tools to manage sophisticated association sites.
Aptify is association management software built specifically for unions, international organizations, and large member-based organizations. This flexible platform will grow with you as your needs evolve. Upgrade, add modules, and stay ahead of similar organizations without needing to rebuild the core system.
Trusted by more than 150 associations, Aptify takes an enterprise-focused approach, offering 21 out-of-the-box applications. Their robust menu of applications helps to enhance convenience, connectivity, communication, and collaboration for your organization and members.
Aptify's association membership software puts you in control with powerful features like:
Contact Aptify's team for pricing details.
YourMembership's association software is designed to help small-staff associations easily manage membership activities, build powerful engagement opportunities for members, and increase revenue. After more than two decades of experience with membership organizations, YourMembership now connects 5,000 associations with 25 million members. One in four professionals of small staff associations uses the platform daily, because it empowers them to streamline everything from website design to payment processing.
Use this association software to simplify repetitive, day-to-day tasks with automated workflows. Then, you can spend more time fostering member loyalty with new opportunities for them to network, learn, and share.
YourMembership empowers small associations to drive growth, boost member engagement, and save time with intuitive features like:
Contact YourMembership's team to get pricing information and learn how their association software can ease your workload.
Nimble AMS by Community Brands is designed to manage every aspect of your organization while leveraging the power of the world's most-used CRM, Salesforce. Whether you’re looking to automate manual data entry, efficiently manage databases and data sharing, or optimize your members’ user experience, this association software can help your organization move forward.
With a five-star rating on the Salesforce AppExchange, Nimble AMS empowers association leaders to offer an excellent member experience with powerful membership management, process automation, and personalized dashboards. Chatter, Content, Workflow, Process Builder, and thousands of other Salesforce features seamlessly integrate with Nimble AMS' traditional features that your team needs to succeed.
Nimble AMS allows association professionals to manage every aspect of their organizations with features like:
Request pricing from Nimble AMS for a custom quote and to learn how their platform can move your organization forward.
Serving nearly 40,000 associations, Wild Apricot empowers organizations to manage and connect with their members every day. This all-in-one membership management software is designed for any member-based organization, whether you're an association, nonprofit, or club.
The platform makes it easy to manage contacts, create newsletters, build a membership site, process payments, and more. With the user-friendly interface, you'll have the freedom to customize every aspect of your membership management system.
Deliver an exceptional member experience with these helpful features from Wild Apricot:
Wild Apricot offers different pricing tiers based on the number of contacts you have. Get a free plan if you have 50 or fewer contacts. Paid plans start at $40 per month for up to 100 contacts. They also offer discounts when you prepay for a full year or a full two years. They have special multi-chapter pricing with a volume pricing discount so that multichapter organizations can save even more.
With a heavy focus on engagement, Fonteva Membership empowers organizations to effortlessly deepen member relationships. Association professionals benefit from powerful self-service membership software that's accessible on any device.
Like Nimble AMS, Fonteva combines Salesforce with the features member-based organizations need to connect with members and position themselves as leaders in their respective industries. With ongoing upgrades between the Fonteva Marketplace and Salesforce AppExchange, you can grow your toolkit organically and offer an unmatched member experience.
Enhance your member experience and get to know them on a deeper level with helpful features like:
Contact Fonteva’s team for a personalized quote for their association management software.
MemberClicks is association software that includes all the features organizations need to make the most of the web. Go beyond your website, social media profiles, and events to foster a personalized, collaborative online community. MemberClicks offers the next level of interaction, giving your supporters a dedicated online space to connect with their peers and your association.
With online community tools baked into the association membership software, building an online presence is simple. The most dynamic organizations have vibrant online communities that enable members, volunteers, and advocates alike to communicate and collaborate, and MemberClicks makes that possible for associations like yours.
Maximize engagement and establish your community with features like:
Reach out to MemberClicks for a personalized quote.
GrowthZone is a basic association management software that offers an extensive list of modules.You can build out your solution to offer the exact functionality your organization needs while still sticking to your budget. Their basic plan grants access to contact management, integrated payment processing, staff and member mobile apps, and event management. Build out your platform with additional modules like an online store, an enhanced directory, and recruitment tools.
With a heavy focus on communication, GrowthZone empowers all-sized organizations to deepen relationships and connect with their communities across all devices. Stay up to date on all your contacts and present the right engagement opportunities with ease.
Here are some of GrowthZone's essential features that keep associations connected to their members:
GrowthZone offers four pricing plans, starting at $149 per month for the essentials. Their premier plan starts at $299, and their pro plan starts at $449. Contact their team for a custom quote for their enterprise-level package.
Memberplanet is an association management software that allows individual chapters to use a full suite of engagement tools, while headquarters still maintains control over managing the entire association.
Chapter-based associations gain transparency over each chapter's activities through aggregate reporting. Plus, the user-friendly tools minimize the learning curve for staff, making it easy to roll out across the entire organization.
With this association software, gain access to all sorts of powerful features, including:
Memberplanet offers four pricing levels. Their basic plan is free to use but has a 4% platform fee and payment processing fees. Pricing for paid plans starts at $50 per month with a 2% platform fee. All plans have unlimited admins and contacts but come with varying features.
Novi AMS was built by association professionals (end users just like you) who wanted the power and flexibility of customizable software. The result was a system that staff can quickly adopt and use to manage their work.
This platform puts a heavy emphasis on accurate accounting, resulting in precision for your books, insightful reporting, and fewer headaches for your accounting team.
Novi AMS comes equipped with several tools to manage financial data, such as:
Novi AMS scales its pricing based on the size of your organization. Plans start at $650 per month with $2,095 in onboarding fees, and their largest plan is $2,495 per month with $9,995 in onboarding fees.
At its core, Raklet is a flexible and easy way to manage and grow your association. Connect with more than 2,000 other apps online to cover all your bases and manage every aspect of your association from communications to fundraising.
The platform's ultimate goal is to automate daily tasks and engage your audience through memberships, newsletters, and other digital tools. Seamlessly build out your association software's functionality with the extensive collection of apps and integrations. Best of all, they take a user-friendly approach, so you don't need any prior coding experience (like with Morweb's association software).
Raklet offers a wide range of functionality through its apps and integrations, such as:
This association software has a free plan with 4% + $0.60 payment transaction fees. For more robust functionality, Raklet offers 3 paid plans, which start at $49 per month and extend to $224 per month. Plans vary in the number of contacts and admins, storage space, and features.
Built specifically for cultural organizations, Doubleknot offers everything organizational directors and staff need to keep their zoos, aquariums, and museums up and running.
The cloud-based operations management suite allows you to manage sales, line up reservations, create enticing membership offers, collect event registrations, and fundraise from one central system. Plus, the products can be customized to conform to existing processes and integrate third-party applications for fundraising, ticketing, email marketing, and more.
Doubleknot's association management software empowers cultural organizations with powerful features like:
Reach out to Doubleknot or set up a demo to get pricing information.
With association and corporate solutions, Higher logic is an industry-leading, human-focused engagement platform. The Higher Logic team aims to deliver powerful online communities to help organizations engage users at every stage of their journey.
Connect with constituents with built-in best practices, automated workflows, peer-to-peer connections, and more. You'll be able to personalize every member's experience and deliver messages that resonate with them and boost retention.
Higher Logic empowers association leaders to build lasting relationships with robust communication features like:
Higher Logic offers three different pricing plans based on the functionality you need. Request a quote for specific pricing details.
CiviCRM is a cloud-based, open-source constituent management system developed specifically for nonprofits and associations. This solution has a proven track record of success and is trusted by 11,000 nonprofits, has processed more than 116 million transactions, and manages more than 189 million contacts around the world.
Because it's open-source, it's incredibly customizable. Leverage a variety of tools for every aspect of your association, including those for fundraising, grant tracking, event planning, constituent engagement, advocacy campaigns, and communications.
Build out your solution exactly to your specifications using features like:
Get specific pricing details for the exact configuration you need by requesting a demo with CiviCRM's team.
Almabase is an alumni management solution designed for institutions to streamline alumni engagement, community management, and fundraising endeavors. Organizations can build a program that's truly alumni-centric and results in lifelong relationships.
With Almabase, organizations can conduct virtual and in-person events, increase donor acquisition, and inspire new volunteers. Plus, it integrates with some of the leading CRM databases, including Blackbaud, Salesforce, and Ellucian.
Gain access to these helpful tools to enhance your alumni experience:
To receive pricing details, request a demo with Almabase's team.
StarChapter is a cloud-based association management software for local, national, professional, and trade associations. Regardless of your role within your association, this software empowers you with the resources you need to overcome challenges. It works equally well for administrations, staff, board volunteers, and chapter relations professionals.
This all-in-one system will help your chapter save time, increase member participation, and grow membership. Seamlessly run your events, communicate with members, tailor your website content, and fundraise online.
Alleviate stress across your chapter with these helpful association features:
StarChapter offers pricing plans for every budget. Associations with less than 50 members can get started for $44 per month with a $399 setup fee. Associations with more than 1,200 members can get started for $206 per month with a $1,799 setup fee.
When it comes to managing an association, there are too many moving parts to rely on a subpar solution. Luckily, today's extensive list of software platforms means you have plenty of options to choose from.
Whether you want to focus on producing standout content, growing membership, or simply managing daily operations, there's a solution out there that fits every need.
The right association software will allow you to grow every aspect of your organization and make a name for yourself in your industry. Now that you know about several leading options, it's time to make a decision and streamline operations.
In the meantime, if you're looking to learn more about association management, check out these helpful resources:
Categories: Associations
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