Membership management can be quite hard for organizations but it is also very important. Especially for nonprofit organizations, since increasing membership is crucial to them. There are a lot of things that can be done to increase membership. For example an organization can host an event or partner with other organizations. But these require a lot of work. Luckily, there are tools like certain software to do the work for you while you sit back and watch your organization grow. So in short, this article is written for you to learn more about nonprofit membership management.
Common Features of Most Membership Management Software
- Phone support, chat, forum: Features such as phone support, chat and forum provide members and potential members help when they need it.
- Event ticketing: For the events of the organization, this feature provides online ticket selling. This way it is easier for members to buy tickets to the event. Also using event management tools such as this one, organizations can keep track of attending members better.
- Membership applications: Membership applications feature makes it easier to manage new members. Thanks to this feature membership process is more smooth for both the organization and new members.
- Fundraising solutions: Fundraising solutions is one of the most important features for nonprofit membership management. The feature helps the organization grow by helping them to get more funds which are necessary to keep the organization working and growing.
Why Use Software for Nonprofit Membership Management?
Not all organizations necessarily need to use software for membership management. But as mentioned above, using membership management software is important especially for nonprofit organizations. And after doing a little pros and cons list of using software it makes much more sense to use software than doing membership management manually.
Some Pros of Using Software for Membership Management:
- They provide easy access to organization data.(which is good for both the members and the owners)
- They handle the executive process in a shorter time
- They create your events for you, make sure the members are aware of the date and time of the event and show you the ones who are participating in it.
The list can go on like this. So it can easily be seen that software is a great tool for membership management.
Membership Management Software Tools
Each organization has its unique needs. That’s why doing your research on different membership management software and their tools are important.
The two important points to consider here are integrations and reports. The membership management software you choose for your organization should integrate with the other applications you use. This helps the organization with their workload.
Also, the software you choose should have good reporting tools. It should analyze and show your member activities. That way it will be way easier for your nonprofit organization to manage their memberships.
Top 5 Membership Management Software for Your Nonprofit
Now we know the importance of membership management software, but which one can a nonprofit organization use that will serve it well?
All membership management software has its own benefits and they are all good in their own way. But every year some of them stand out because of their quality of services or their costs.
Features that make these membership management software stand out are things like being able to import the organization’s entire database, creating multi-level memberships which offer multi-pricing options, creating unlimited and customizable membership tiers etc.
Top 6 Software for Nonprofit Membership Management
Glue up:
Glue Up software has a member portal and it also has membership management and event management tools. They do social media promotions and provide fundraising management solutions. Users of Glue Up love the software and are loyal to it. Their clients have an average member retention rate of 82%. Pricing of the software starts from $125 per month.The clients are also content with the event pages that Glue Up offers and says the feature is a life saver for organizations that don’t have a website of their own.
Star chapter:
Star Chapter is considered best for nonprofit organizations when it comes to membership management. They categorize member types, allow members to organize an event and sell tickets. When the day of the event comes Star Chapter reminds the participants of the event and counts the attendance of it. It wouldn’t be a surprise to say that Star Chapter also keeps track of the data using reports and charts. Pricing of Star Chapter starts from $44 per month. Users of Star Chapter strongly believe that it is the most comprehensive and cost effective software for membership management.
neon crm:
NeonCRM is famous for its fundraising solutions.Their platforms have helped organizations raise more than $16 billion.It also has a member portal where members can check their status. They provide event management and marketing tools along with their tools of tracking member activity. But unlike some of the other software like Glue Up, they don’t provide live support. Pricing of Neon CRM starts from $99 per month. The package of $99 includes the essential features such as fundraising and event management. In general, Neon CRM keeps their clients happy. The only issue that sometimes concerns their clients is the lack of customer support.
raklet:
In terms of membership management, Raklet has a lot to offer. The software has a contact database and a discussion board. They provide the organization its own mobile app so no one from the organization needs to know anything about coding. Using Raklet, an organization can have customized application forms, create events and have a private social network for its members. Raklet is also integrated with other commonly used applications such as Gmail, Google Drive and Discord. Pricing of Raklet starts from $49 per month for the essentials package. Raklet offers a free trial as well. Clients of Raklet firmly believe that the software is easy to use in every aspect. Importing members, assigning dues, collecting payments or any kind work regarding membership management is easy for Raklet clients.
wıld aprıcot:
Wild Apricot is a well known membership management software that is used all around the world. It also has a portal for the members along with two mobile apps (one for members and one for admins). Its popularity comes from being easy to use in every way including the member application process and updating the data of members. They also provide event management tools and detailed financial reports. Their software is integrated with applications like Google Apps and Facebook. Pricing of Wild Apricot starts from $48 per month. They also offer a free trial. Clients of Wild Apricot believe that the software is constantly improving, affordable and easy to use.
sumac:
Sumac is made specifically for nonprofit organizations so it is a perfect candidate for our list. Knowing this, it is no surprise to any of us that they have fundraising and membership management solutions. Another great quality of Sumac is that it has online donation pages which work directly with the organization database. The software integrates with applications like QuickBooks Online and Constant Contact. Pricing of Sumac starts from $35 per month. Clients of Sumac are fond of their orientation videos and customer service. They also find the software very user friendly and think that it is priced reasonably.
Now that you know the importance of membership management software for nonprofit organizations and some of the best software out there for 2023, you can easily pick the right software for your nonprofit organization!
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