Finding the right association management solution that meets your exact needs can be a major challenge.
Striking the perfect balance of price, utility, and scale is tricky, but necessary. Without the proper management and database tools, it’s incredibly difficult for professional or trade associations to grow (let alone properly manage expenses or keep members engaged).
If you’re in the market for a new association management solution, start your search with the top picks available.
We’ve selected 8 of the top association management software solutions that cover a range of price levels and scales. Whether you need a lightweight, heavy-duty, or more flexible cloud-based solution, we’ve got you covered. Navigate between our choices below:
Keep reading to the very end for a bonus tip about how associations like yours can make the most of your pledge campaigning tools! Pledge campaigns represent an extremely useful but underutilized strategy that can dramatically boost your fundraising results.
Ready to get started? Let’s dive in:
Association Management Solution 1: Fonteva
Association Management Software Overview
Fonteva consistently ranks among the top choices for any association looking to take its management and member engagement to the next level.
As a comprehensive AMS platform that’s entirely cloud-based, Fonteva offers the best of both worlds — full functionality and complete flexibility. That means your team can spend more time doing what matters, planning events, refining your strategies, and engaging your members, without wasting time with clunky hardware, upgrades, or mobility issues.
Top Features of This Association Management Solution
As a cloud-based association management solution, Fonteva is built on the powerful Salesforce platform. If your association already uses the world’s leading database software, you’ll get access to the full suite of Fonteva’s management tools, all designed to work seamlessly with your existing CRM system. These tools include:
- Web portal capabilities. Engage your members with self-service options, public and private online communities, directories, and microsites for events and groups.
- Event planning toolkit. Plan every detail of your association’s next event with comprehensive event builder tools, custom registrations, mobile-optimized event sites, and more.
- Full member management. Fonteva member profiles automatically track engagement metrics and provide members with subscription, subgroup, and digital content options.
Most importantly, Fonteva’s underlying CRM foundation means that you’ll have access to all the data you need. Member engagement generates insights that are automatically reported to your database. The system’s customizable reports and data dashboards give you the big picture immediately.
Why This Association Management Solution Made Our List
As a leading association management software built on a leading CRM system, Fonteva is a no-brainer for many associations. Its intuitive and customizable tools work perfectly with the Salesforce platform to boost revenue and effortlessly generate more actionable insights.
[boc_button href=”https://www.fonteva.com/associations/” btn_content=”Learn more about Fonteva” target=”_blank” size=”btn_medium” color=”btn_theme_color” btn_style=”” border_radius=”btn_rounded” icon=”” icon_pos=”” icon_effect=””]
Association Management Solution 2: Salsa
Association Management Software Overview
Some associations might need a more heavy-duty and fully functional management solution. In that case, Salsa is a perfect choice. Itself a powerful CRM and donor management system for all types of nonprofit organizations, Salsa is a great option for medium to large associations that focus heavily on fundraising and advocacy projects.
Unifying all of your association’s management, fundraising, and outreach efforts in a single system can have some major benefits. Salsa’s platform offers a streamlined but comprehensive and more heavy-duty solution than other comparable platforms.
Top Features of This Association Management Solution
All of Salsa’s management tools are built on its underlying nonprofit CRM software. Supported by these powerful database and analytics tools, the system’s additional features really pack a punch:
- Performance dashboards. Customize your dashboards and draw directly from your internal database to measure key metrics and develop new strategies.
- Rich member profiles. Track every key piece of data on your members, including demographics, social media engagement, and more to refine your outreach.
- Powerful communication tools. Built-in word processing integrated with your member database lets you compose effective email and direct mail campaigns in no time.
Plus, Salsa’s management platform includes the option to make use of Salsa Engage, a comprehensive suite of marketing and fundraising tools for donor- and member-based organizations. Automate your messaging to members and conduct new online fundraising campaigns all in one place.
Why This Association Management Solution Made Our List
Few association management solutions offer a more heavy-duty experience while staying focused on all the important tasks an association needs to accomplish. Salsa can help with data management and member engagement, but its fundraising and advocacy tools are what really sets it apart from comparable platforms.
[boc_button href=”https://www.salsalabs.com/donor-management-software” btn_content=”Learn more about Salsa” target=”_blank” size=”btn_medium” color=”btn_theme_color” btn_style=”” border_radius=”btn_rounded” icon=”” icon_pos=”” icon_effect=””]
Association Management Solution 3: Morweb
Association Management Software Overview
On the other end of the spectrum from Salsa and other heavy-duty, database-style platforms, Morweb offers a lightweight association management solution that still checks all of the most important boxes.
Instead of being built on a database foundation, Morweb’s effective management tools are seamlessly integrated with its underlying CMS, or content management system, platform. That means if your smaller association needs a new website, Morweb’s suite of tools can help you create a beautiful, highly functional site and integrate it with powerful but easy-to-use management features.
Top Features of This Association Management Solution
As a lightweight and multipurpose management solution, Morweb offers a number of intuitive features perfect for smaller, younger associations. These include:
- Intranet and private pages. The ability to fully customize the internal structure of your website means creating members-only sections, committee pages, and event microsites is a breeze.
- Member directories. A customized internal structure plus a comprehensive member directory gives you all the core functionality of a heavy-duty management solution without the clunky hardware.
- Payment processing. Built-in donation, fundraising, and eCommerce tools make it easy for your members to pay their dues, make gifts, and renew their subscriptions or memberships.
Plus, Morweb offers all of the essential features of a great nonprofit CMS. Design your association’s perfect site and manage it effectively with custom layout options, blogs, SEO tools, and social media integrations.
Why This Association Management Solution Made Our List
Morweb is a top association management solution because it fills a niche that’s all too often neglected by the dominant players in the software space. Smaller, younger associations need management tools that address their needs without overwhelming them with unnecessary functions.
Plus, these smaller, younger associations often focus on their web strategies for engagement and marketing, making Morweb an even smarter choice.
[boc_button href=”https://www.morweb.org/” btn_content=”Learn more about Morweb” target=”_blank” size=”btn_medium” color=”btn_theme_color” btn_style=”” border_radius=”btn_rounded” icon=”” icon_pos=”” icon_effect=””]
Association Management Solution 4: MIP Fund Accounting
Association Management Software Overview
Associations require a very specific set of software features to handle their accounting needs because funding goes towards the advancement of member services. This is a stark contrast with the purpose of funding for for-profit organizations who want to garner more funding.
MIP Fund Accounting offers an accounting software solution that adheres to the specific needs of associations. Plus, their financial management solutions integrate with the complete ecosystem of association software offered by Community Brands such as a payment processor and learning and event management solutions.
Top Features of This Association Management Solution
Trying to configure a standard accounting solution to fit the needs of your association is like trying to fit a square peg in a circular hole. Choosing a solution specifically designed for this particular vertical will keep you organized and ensure all of your financial needs are met.
In order to meet these needs, MIP Fund Accounting offers features such as:
- A customized ledger. This feature makes it easy for your association to track your nonprofit’s funding, from restricted or nonrestricted to specialized fund groupings.
- Human resource management. While much of your funding goes towards services, your funding also supports payroll and operational costs.
- Comprehensive reports. Accounting reports through MIP Fund Accounting are pre-configured to be compliant with FASB standards. You can also create custom reports to analyze data and reach the most prevalent conclusions your association needs.
On top of all of this, MIP Fund Accounting is a scalable solution. No matter how big or small your organization is, you can purchase a plan with the modules most important to your association.
Why This Association Management Solution Made Our List
MIP Fund Accounting offers a lot of customization and configuration options for associations to choose the best settings for their specific needs. They also provide the freedom of choice when it comes to how you host your data.
Your association can choose to host your software solution either on-premises or on the Cloud. You may choose to host on-site if you have specific IT policies, prefer to pay upfront with annual maintenance and support, or prefer to maintain control of product upgrades. Meanwhile, your association may choose to host on the Cloud if you prefer a more modern UI, have reliable internet connectivity, or desire access from anywhere at any time.
[boc_button href=”https://www.mip.com/solutions/associations/” btn_content=”Learn more about MIP Fund Accounting” target=”_blank” size=”btn_medium” color=”btn_theme_color” btn_style=”” border_radius=”btn_rounded” icon=”” icon_pos=”” icon_effect=””]
Association Management Solution 5: eTapestry
Association Management Software Overview
eTapestry is the more lightweight donor and member management system offered by industry leader, Blackbaud.
Access to the Blackbaud suite of products makes eTapestry an effective and incredibly popular association management solution for groups of all sizes. Unlike other Blackbaud management software solutions, eTapestry can be a smart choice even for smaller associations.
Top Features of This Association Management Solution
eTapestry is an extremely popular legacy management system for all kinds of associations and organizations, and for good reason! Its most popular features include:
- Social media finder. Automatically identify the social media handles of constituents in your database to better engage and target them with your messaging.
- Data Health Scorecard. This unique Blackbaud feature gauges the health of your database to determine its usefulness, correctness, and room for improvement.
- Membership management. eTapestry offers a full range of tools for directly managing the membership aspects of your association, including renewals, tracking engagement, and data analytics.
One of the biggest upsides to using a popular system like eTapestry is that there’s a wealth of resources out there for customization advice and diverse integrations. Snowball integrates with Blackbaud to offer top of the line fundraising tools like text-to-give capabilities, pledge collection platforms, and more!
Why This Association Management Solution Made Our List
As the most accessible offering from a leader in the association and nonprofit management software space, eTapestry is a top association management solution. Its features are comprehensive, customizable, and allow easy access to a wide range of fundraising and management integrations.
As a more scalable and slightly less expensive option, eTapestry can be a great move for your association is you’ve considered using different Blackbaud products in the past but were turned off by their large scale or price tag.
[boc_button href=”https://www.blackbaud.com/fundraising-crm/etapestry-donor-management” btn_content=”Learn more about eTapestry” target=”_blank” size=”btn_medium” color=”btn_theme_color” btn_style=”” border_radius=”btn_rounded” icon=”” icon_pos=”” icon_effect=””]
Association Management Solution 6: CiviCRM
Association Management Software Overview
As one of the few fully-functional and completely open source CRM platforms available, CiviCRM might be a very smart choice for some associations.
Used as an association management solution, CiviCRM offers practically every feature and function you might need. Its worldwide community of nonprofits, other organizations, and developers have created a comprehensive set of features that your association can completely customize on your own or with the help of a tech consultant. Either way, CiviCRM is the perfect management foundation on which to build a stable system perfectly tailored to your exact needs.
]Top Features of This Association Management Solution
CiviCRM offers a wide range of standard nonprofit CRM and membership management features. Some of its standout tools include:
- CMS integrations. Integrate CiviCRM with your website builder software like WordPress or Drupal to maximize your website’s usefulness and offer new tools to members.
- Peer-to-peer fundraising. Easily create decentralized promotional and fundraising campaigns to mobilize your members around a specific project and expand your reach.
- Advocacy campaign functions. Build a campaign to raise awareness around a particular issue related to your association with events, marketing blasts, and fundraising campaigns.
Most importantly, CiviCRM is a fully open source platform. That means tech-savvy associations or tech consultants can completely customize its features to meet your needs. That level of customization is rare among management systems that aren’t cloud-based.
Why This Association Management Solution Made Our List
CiviCRM is a mainstay in the world of management software, for both nonprofits and associations. Using open source software can have major benefits for certain users. If your association is more tech savvy and needs a niche-specific solution, CiviCRM is a smart move.
[boc_button href=”https://civicrm.org/” btn_content=”Learn more about CiviCRM” target=”_blank” size=”btn_medium” color=”btn_theme_color” btn_style=”” border_radius=”btn_rounded” icon=”” icon_pos=”” icon_effect=””]
Association Management Solution 7: Findjoo
Association Management Software Overview
Findjoo is a relative newcomer to association management solution rankings like this one.
The system offers lean management tools for associations and other membership-based groups that focus on web engagement. Findjoo’s tools are adaptable, working well for nonprofits, associations, and for-profit businesses alike. From member management to eCommerce, email marketing to event planning, Findjoo addresses all the core needs shared by associations of any size.
Top Features of This Association Management Solution
Findjoo offers all the essentials for associations. While it does include member database functions, its top features include:
- Member portal access. Give your members access to their profiles and enable custom self-service and engagement options.
- Email tracking. Automate your custom email marketing campaigns, then track their open rates and other key analytics right in Findjoo.
- Automated reminders. Custom email and SMS notifications are perfect for your association’s events or renewal deadlines.
All of Findjoo’s key features work together to provide a comprehensive management platform for your association. Engage your members better than ever without being overwhelmed by more heavy-duty database features.
Why This Association Management Solution Made Our List
As a lean association management software, Findjoo is a great choice for smaller to mid-size associations with more generalized needs. Its automatic reminder tools are particularly useful, especially for smaller associations with highly engaged members.
[boc_button href=”https://www.findjoo.com/” btn_content=”Learn more about Findjoo” target=”_blank” size=”btn_medium” color=”btn_theme_color” btn_style=”” border_radius=”btn_rounded” icon=”” icon_pos=”” icon_effect=””]
Association Management Solution 8: Engagifii
Association Management Software Overview
Engagifii is another relative newcomer in the association management software space.
As an adaptive and flexible platform, Engagifii offers a number of innovative features for professional, trade, and government associations. By focusing on communication and engagement tools, the system offers a level of functionality unavailable in other platforms of comparable scale and price range. Engagifii understands that fostering stronger connections between your association and its members is the key to increasing revenue and growing sustainably.
Top Features of This Association Management Solution
Some of Engagifii’s features are fairly rare among the toolkits of their competitors! These include:
- Custom mobile apps. A custom branded app is the ultimate way to ensure your members can engage with your association anywhere they might need or want to.
- Member surveys. Full integrated survey creation tools make it easy to field feedback and translate results into actionable reports immediately.
- Legislation modules. Keep all your members up to date on legislative developments with tracking, analysis, and sharing tools.
Engagifii also offers a number of additional modules like advocacy and training packages that help your association truly make the most of all the platform’s communication and engagement tools.
Why This Association Management Solution Made Our List
Engagifii is a smart choice for any associations that need to boost their levels of member engagement.
The platform prioritizes communication and offers the tools your association needs to do the same. It’s a great association management solution for smaller to mid-size groups, although some of its tools could be extremely useful across the board.
[boc_button href=”https://www.engagifii.com/” btn_content=”Learn more about Engagifii” target=”_blank” size=”btn_medium” color=”btn_theme_color” btn_style=”” border_radius=”btn_rounded” icon=”” icon_pos=”” icon_effect=””]
Bonus Association Management Software Tip
Whatever brings all your members together, whether it’s a profession, trade, community, or other passion, they share a sense of belonging. That’s part of the draw of associations, after all; they bring both personal and professional value to your members’ lives.
This makes pledge fundraising an extremely smart choice for associations that need to raise increased support for upcoming projects or software purchases!
Truly successful pledge campaigns share a few key characteristics:
- They trigger emotional connections or responses from donors.
- They’re structured with a deadline or sense of urgency.
- They appeal to our sense of community and shared responsibility.
Your association’s members already share a sense of community and an emotional connection to your work. With an urgent or important goal, pledge campaigns can be an effective way for associations of all sizes to rally support fast.
This is particularly relevant for associations that deal with political, economic, and social issues. Your members (and even non-members!) will be eager to show their support in the face of external challenges your association or your broader field might be facing.
To get started with pledge campaigns, make sure to study up on the process from start to finish. Collecting pledges, for instance, can seem tricky at first but simply requires thoughtful planning to run smoothly
Wrapping Up
Your association deserves the best management tools available! Of course, every association’s needs are different. Depending on your budget, scale of operations, and membership size, any one of the management solutions we’ve reviewed above might be the best choice.
When in doubt, carefully weigh your options and lean towards the most flexible solutions you can find; they typically offer the greatest value in terms of functionality. Be sure to continue your research with a few additional resources, too:
- The Fundamental Grant Proposal Template: 8 Crucial Components. Secure some institutional support by focusing on grant writing! Our template can help you get started today.
- Find the Perfect Association Management Solution in 8 Steps from Fonteva. This article lays out the essential steps for carefully researching your options and making the smartest software decision you can.
- What is SSO Authentication and How Does it Work? Associations and businesses of all sizes want single sign-on solutions for their members and customers, but how can you incorporate them into your website without giving up their data to web giants?
