Are you seeking an integrated member and event software? If so, the team at Engage Software believes that they have the best membership AMS for your small and mid-size association.
Engage AMS Software Review
We are excited to share this quick look at Engage AMS®, an Association Management Software, AMS, for associations & nonprofits. Despite looking at hundreds of AMS options over the years in a similar manner, it's always fun to find companies who want to offer a better way to address a challenge.
For those interested in learning more about Engage AMS beyond this summary, we are available to share with you our thoughts about this membership software and how it fits into the larger membership software market today.
Suffice it to say, we have curated, interviewed, and prepared more detailed information for executives employed in the not for profit association industry to set up a time to discuss at length. Our agnostic insights and software reviews are designed for those who would like fair and objective insights into the capabilities of this AMS software for nonprofit associations.
Our sources: We have interviewed the Engage team, reviewed the solution, curated insights from the vendor, read through various website pages and read multiple reviews. This summary is a culmination of those insights. That said, this should not be your only source of the truth!
Introduction to Engage AMS Software:
Per Engage website, they provide cloud-based software platform for associations and member-based non-profits.
Engage has celebrated over 20 years in business. They have 115 active customers whose projects run from very small budget all the way to very large scale web projects. Engage AMS's primary HQ is located in the Midwest, Missouri, the show me state. And, another presence in Florida.
As of 2022, Engage Software has an estimated 16 employees according to LinkedIn. The employee distribution and headcount growth by function is weighted heavily toward customer service & software development. All good signs for a healthy software company in the nonprofit association sector.
The current CEO is Henry Kenuam who is also the co-founder along with Rich Campbell. The primary point of contact, Jason Stone, Senior Vice President of Sales and Digital Strategy at Engage Software, is an active member of the American Society of Association Executives and serves on the board of directors for the St. Louis Society of Association Executives.
Why mention leadership in a product summary? It's absolutely important!
In our opinion, the leadership of a software provider is one of the key factors in initial and long term success with a vendor. And, often overlooked criteria in the software evaluation process. Big mistake!
For a quick introduction and overview, click the picture below to review a short video introduction from them.
Purpose Statement from Engage AMS:
From review, Engage AMS offers a very sound association management software option.
A key differentiation is that the system is both an AMS and an open source CMS, Content Management Software. This is unique because the CMS is very capable, extendible, secure & has a huge ecosystem unlike some proprietary options.
Since 2003, DNN is used by 750K production websites and provides the world’s largest .NET CMS ecosystem, with 1+ million community members and thousands of developers, agencies and ISV’s. In addition, you can find hundreds of free and commercial third-party extensions in the DNN Store.
Further, Engage Software is designed to be easy use by administrators, membership and marketing leaders alike.
Engage AMS is an all-in-one website and AMS that will enable your team to be more efficient and more effective in managing your members and your events. Through strong software and personal, Midwest-based support staff, the platform is designed with a spirit to help you by automating typically manual processes, improving your communications, and giving you access to robust reporting.
The core product offers a wealth of features and capabilities but as each association is unique in its tactics and executions, the system can be configured and customized to meet specific needs.
Per Engage Software, they aspire to provide a member & event software that is made easy because Association Executives have better things to do than struggle with their AMS. In fact, that is one of the main impetus for developing the platform. After working with so many association clients struggling with their legacy AMS, they embarked on solving the problem by building a solution clients would love!
The Key Features of Engage AMS:
Built for associations, Engage AMS is a fundamentally different approach because it was built by web designers. The system includes the following attributes:
Architectured for member-based or trade-centric associations.
A fully integrated AMS and CMS (DNN website) platform.
CMS is robust and open-source, not proprietary.
Microsoft-friendly, SQL db for ease of maintenance.
Mobile-Friendly, Responsive Design User Interface (UI).
Robust form building options.
Fully configurable application process and/or membership sign up.
Cloud hosted SaaS - upgrades included.
Stripe payment processing.
Discounts, coupons, pro-rating, member-type-driven and administrative price adjustments.
Accounting functions which includes refunds.
Robust online event management, session management, granular sessions pricing within events.
Donations, purchases (e.g. materials), and upsells during registration.
Email and text communications.
Member Directory (can be role restricted or public).
Content access tied to member type/level (by area of a page, by page or by area of the site).
Clients own their own data.
Member data migration via provided templates is included (assistance with migration is available for an additional fee).
Web ticketing and phone call support.
OPTIONAL UPGRADE: Marketing Automation with member engagement scoring and online behavior triggered emails.
OPTIONAL UPGRADE: Private cloud hosted server for higher security needs.
The Key Functions of Engage AMS:
Member Management
Event Management
Content Management Functions. Open source and robust - not proprietary and restrictive
Discussion & Forums
Chapter Management with built in Multi-site management that actually scales
E-Commerce
Broadcast Email including transactional email and text communication
Reporting Management
High-level of data security (passed global Morgan Stanley security audit)
Marketing Automation (upgrade)
Where Does Engage AMS Fit?
This AMS is best fitted in a small to mid-size (low end) trade associations. As a result of it's cloud-based association management software (AMS) technology architecture, it could scale higher, however, that doesn't mean it's best suited there.
Those organizations who will likely find value in exploring this AMS comprise of some of the following traits and qualities:
Ideal platform for small- to mid-sized (where small or mid can be used to mean revenues or staff size) member or trade-based associations and organizations with member bases from 100 to 20,000+. It is a value-priced, easy-to-use, well supported, and modern software-as-a-service that allows our clients to be more efficient and more effective.
Engage AMS’s software architecture and user interface (UI) is designed for ease of use and positive user experience (UX) - logical placement and access to core functionalities needed from a modern AMS. The included CMS is open source and can meet the design and functional needs of any organization.
Perhaps because of its breadth of included features and/or because of its ability to be configured and customized to meet the unique needs of varying associations, the system has a broad range of organizations it serves: Healthcare, financial, trade, HOAs, and more.
How Much Does Engage AMS Membership Software Cost?
If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me this question over the years...Certainly, this seems to be one of the top questions for all nonprofits to desire to know. But, it's not always so simple to answer.
As of 2nd quarter 2019, we know this much right now. Drumroll please!
Engage Software is “cloud-based" and it has a SaaS, Software As A Service, license model too, in which the software is licensed on a subscription basis and is centrally hosted.
There is one price which allows all essential staff members access to the database to promote continuity and visibility without a punitive price tag.
SaaS starts at $5,999/year plus $2,999 set-up fee. SaaS (and upgrades), training and ongoing support included.
Monthly payment options available. No long-term contracts.
In our opinion, it is a Tier III offering. It has many of the traits of your standard all in one solution.
Implementation costs vary from organization to organization with customizations, deep database migration, etc. that may factor into additional setup costs.
Buyer Disclaimer!
It is very important to note and underscore here that pricing may change and it's at the discretion of the manufacturer to do so. So, this brief summary is not intended to be the final authority on pricing rather just a rule of thumb.
Every client is unique.
Make no mistake here. We do not sell this software or any other AMS option for that matter.
So, we ask that you please consult directly with the vendor for the most up to date pricing. Their Missouri-based team can be reached at 314-966-4000.
What is the 911 Peer Review on this Engage AMS?
Like software options today, software peer review sites are all over the internet. Below you will find several options to choose from on this AMS from it's users (where applicable). As Engage matures, you will find more and more insights on these and other sites too.
Buyer Note:
Before you check out the feedback found on these sites, my recommendation is that you please review our article on how to utilize these site and comments on various resources here.
Engage AMS Membership Software Case Studies:
Rather than peer review sites, I am a big advocate for reviewing case studies and learning more context about the experience an organization derives from software.
The specific context matters so much in your peer to peer discovery work when purchasing software.
Please note that the showcase clients provided above are existing Engage website clients.
Want More AMS Nonprofit Software Reviews?
Please stay tuned to our ongoing "Searching for A Smart AMS Software" where we will continue to provide further insights into membership database software options designed for our 501(c) 6 organizations.
For the most recent published reviews, please click below:
And, to obtain a sample list of the database software reviews we have, you may follow the link here.
If you work for an AMS database software system and you would like us to include your firm in our software review process, please contact us.
Until next time, keep SmartThoughts in mind. Happy Software Buying!
To Learn more about the Engage AMS All in One Database:
Is Engage the best software fit for you?
To answer that question, we have curated, interviewed, and prepared more detailed information for executives, like you dedicated to the not for profit association industry beyond this summary review.
And, this analysis and expertise is available upon request. To be sure, our software analysis is not a "pretty brochure", "marketing noise." or a "sales pitch."
And, to obtain a sample list of the database software reviews we have, you may follow the link here.
If you work for an AMS database software system and you would like us to include your firm in our software review process, please contact us.
Until next time, keep SmartThoughts in mind. Happy Software Buying!
