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Personify ThreeSixty AMS Review for Associations

  • Oct 14
  • 12 min read

Personify ThreeSixty AMS Review

Personify ThreeSixty AMS Software Review for Association Executives: Enterprise Flexibility Meets Purpose-Built Power


Choosing enterprise association management software is like dating—you're not just after good looks (features), but someone who really gets you. For association executives juggling budgets bigger than a hippo, workflows more tangled than a bowl of spaghetti, and stakeholders as varied as a box of chocolates, this decision is crucial. Enter Personify ThreeSixty, the AMS solution that could be the perfect partner for large associations and nonprofits. Let’s dive into this review and see if it’s love at first byte!


Summary of the Personify ThreeSixty Software


Personify Corp, founded in 1996 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, stands as one of the association technology industry's most established players. With approximately 282 employees [1] serving the association and nonprofit sector across North America, Personify has built a comprehensive portfolio of solutions for organizations of all sizes.

The company's flagship enterprise offering, ThreeSixty (formerly known as Personify360), represents the original DNA of the company—a purpose-built association management system designed from the ground up to support the largest and most complex membership organizations.


As stated on their website, "ThreeSixty is a modern and flexible Association Management System that is run on a world-class infrastructure and powers the largest associations and nonprofits in North America" [2]. The platform differentiates itself through what Personify calls "signature flexibility"—the ability to accommodate everything from simple to highly complex membership structures while providing codeless configuration options alongside deep customization capabilities.


Personify Corp's broader portfolio includes MemberClicks for mid-sized professional and trade associations, WildApricot for small associations and clubs, and A2Z Events for comprehensive event management [3]. This multi-product approach allows the company to serve associations across the full spectrum of organizational sizes, though ThreeSixty specifically targets enterprise-level organizations with sophisticated needs.


The Purpose Statement of the Personify ThreeSixty Software


According to Personify's public communications, ThreeSixty exists to provide enterprise associations and nonprofits with "a technology infrastructure that supports their unique processes and complex workflows" [4]. The vendor's core mission centers on delivering a power foundation that can be customized to meet organizational needs both today and in the future, paired with extensive platform knowledge and industry expertise from an in-house professional services team.


As stated by Erin Sullivan, Vice President of Marketing at Personify: "By launching personifythreesixty.com, our hope is to showcase the unique and unmatched value of a system built from the ground up to support member-based organizations, while finding ways to connect more organizations to a purpose-built AMS built on a world-class infrastructure" [5].


The fundamental value proposition revolves around being "purpose-built"—meaning ThreeSixty's infrastructure was created specifically for associations rather than adapted from a general CRM or business platform. This focus allows Personify to invest resources exclusively in continuous innovation for the association sector.


What Makes Personify ThreeSixty a Fit for the Association Market and Unique?


Several distinguishing characteristics position ThreeSixty as particularly relevant for large, complex associations:


Comprehensive Customization Without Compromise: ThreeSixty pairs highly flexible customization options with intuitive, codeless configuration managers, allowing organizations to tailor the system to specific business processes without necessarily requiring extensive technical expertise. As one client from the American Mathematical Society noted, "The flexibility and customization ability that the product offered" was the primary reason for selection, adding that "we have a lot of users that have really specific requirements, and we needed a product that would work with us and a team that would work with us" [6].


Enterprise-Grade Accounting Functionality: A frequently praised feature in peer reviews is ThreeSixty's accounting capabilities. One finance professional stated, "Being in the finance department, I'd be remised if I didn't note that the underlying accounting functionality is superb. Full, accrual-based accounting is tracked in the system, and many revenue recognition options are offered at the individual product level" [7]. This depth of financial management distinguishes ThreeSixty from many AMS solutions that treat accounting as an afterthought.


In-House Implementation and Professional Services: Unlike many enterprise AMS providers who rely on third-party implementation partners, Personify maintains an in-house team of implementation specialists and consultants with extensive association industry knowledge. This direct relationship eliminates the need for intermediaries and provides clients with consistent access to the vendor's expertise throughout the relationship lifecycle.


Modern Infrastructure on AWS: ThreeSixty runs on Amazon Web Services cloud infrastructure, providing scalability, security (PCI compliance), and reliability without requiring client organizations to manage the technical infrastructure themselves [8].


Extensive Integration Ecosystem: The platform supports a large community of integrated third-party applications and solution providers, with the ability to connect via native features or through a powerful iPaaS (Integration Platform as a Service) solution for pulling, pushing, and synchronizing data [9].


What are the Functional Goals of the ThreeSixty Software?


Based on vendor documentation, support sites, and user reviews, ThreeSixty provides functionality across these core areas:


  • Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Comprehensive constituent management for individuals, companies, sponsors, donors, prospects, and other stakeholder types, with the ability to capture, store, and report on virtually unlimited constituent information.

  • Membership Management: Flexible membership structures accommodating everything from simple individual memberships to complex corporate/organizational hierarchies with parent-child relationships and multiple membership types.

  • Financial Management and Accounting: Full accrual-based accounting with detailed revenue recognition options, accounts receivable tracking, integration capabilities with general ledger systems, and comprehensive financial reporting.

  • Event Management: Meeting and event planning tools including registration, flexible pricing structures, attendee management, and automated communications.

  • E-Commerce and eBusiness: Online store functionality, member join and renewal forms, portal access for members, payment processing, and integration of web functionality with existing websites.

  • Fundraising and Development: Campaign management, appeals tracking, fund allocation, donor recognition structures, and pledge management with automated reminders.

  • Committee and Volunteer Management: Tools for creating and managing committees, subgroups, volunteer activities, and related communications.

  • Certification and Learning Management: Transcript tracking, continuing education credits, and management of certification requirements against defined standards.

  • Awards and Recognition Programs: Complete the awards module for managing nominations, applications, review processes, and recognition programs.

  • Analytics and Reporting: Multiple reporting methods, including executive dashboards, custom reports, data mining capabilities, and business intelligence integrations with tools like SAP BusinessObjects [10].

  • Marketing Automation: Campaign management tools for evaluating marketing effectiveness and calculating return on investment for various marketing initiatives.

  • Community Engagement: Integration with online community platforms to connect members, volunteers, donors, and advocates in dedicated spaces for collaboration.


Where Does Personify ThreeSixty Fit in the Market?


Based on the SmartThoughts Tier Classification Framework [11], Personify ThreeSixty clearly fits within Tier I: Enterprise Membership Software. The system is designed for large national membership-based organizations, typically with minimum operating budgets of $5 million and above.


ThreeSixty's value proposition aligns perfectly with the Tier I definition: a comprehensive and sophisticated system with a flexible and powerful core database, open API, extensive options to tailor functionality, advanced analytics and reporting capabilities, and professional services for setup, training, customization, and business process consulting.


Competitive Landscape:


Within the Tier I enterprise AMS market, ThreeSixty's primary competitors include:


iMIS (Advanced Solutions International): One of the most established enterprise AMS solutions with a long history in the association space. Like ThreeSixty, iMIS offers comprehensive functionality and extensive customization options. However, iMIS is often noted for requiring significant technical expertise (particularly SQL knowledge) for advanced customization and reporting [12]. Multiple reviewers have indicated that organizations switching from iMIS to ThreeSixty found Personify's interface more intuitive and easier to use.


Nimble AMS (Momentive Software): Built on the Salesforce platform, Nimble AMS leverages the power of the world's leading CRM infrastructure. This Salesforce foundation provides advantages in terms of ecosystem, third-party integrations, and familiarity for organizations already using Salesforce products. However, the Salesforce-native approach also means organizations must work within Salesforce's data model and pricing structure, which can become complex and expensive as needs scale [13].


Fonteva (TogetherWork): Also built on Salesforce, Fonteva specifically targets professional and trade associations. The platform emphasizes out-of-the-box functionality designed for association use cases. However, some users have noted concerns about the complexity of Fonteva's data model for certain functions like invoicing [14].


Ideal Client Profile:


ThreeSixty is best suited for:

  • Large associations and nonprofits with operating budgets exceeding $5 million

  • Organizations with complex membership structures (corporate memberships, chapters, affiliates)

  • Associations requiring sophisticated accounting and financial management beyond basic cash-based systems

  • Organizations seeking a single integrated platform rather than managing multiple best-of-breed systems

  • Associations with diverse revenue streams (dues, events, publications, certifications, fundraising)

  • Organizations are prepared to invest in proper implementation and staff training to maximize the platform's capabilities

  • YMCAs and JCCs require comprehensive facility and program management alongside member relationship tools


For associations considering ThreeSixty alternatives, SmartThoughts has previously published analyses of iMIS and other Tier I enterprise systems that may provide valuable comparison points.


What is the Price of Personify ThreeSixty? The Investment Costs


Personify ThreeSixty does not publish pricing information publicly. The investment required varies significantly based on organizational size, complexity, number of users, selected modules, customization requirements, and implementation scope. Prospective clients must request a customized quote directly from Personify Corp.


Based on the SmartThoughts framework for enterprise AMS investments, organizations in this tier should generally prepare to invest a minimum of 4% to 6% of their current operating budget in the first year of software usage. For a Tier I solution.


ThreeSixty serves organizations with budgets exceeding $5 million. This translates to first-year investments typically starting at $300,000 or more when accounting for:

  • Software licensing/subscription fees

  • Implementation services

  • Data migration and conversion

  • Initial configuration and customization

  • Staff training

  • Integration with existing systems

  • Ongoing annual support and maintenance


In the end, it is recommended to contact the software vendor directly for the latest pricing information. Given the complexity of enterprise AMS implementations, pricing discussions should include detailed conversations about your specific requirements, timeline, and total cost of ownership over a multi-year period.


Personify ThreeSixty Peer Reviews and Unique Feature Insights


Analysis of peer review sites reveals a mixed but generally positive picture of ThreeSixty user experiences:


Positive Themes:


Accounting and Financial Functionality: Consistently praised across reviews, with users highlighting the depth of financial management capabilities. "Full, accrual-based accounting is tracked in the system, and many revenue recognition options are offered at the individual product level. After being on the software for just over two years, we still find ourselves occasionally amazed that the software handles unique transactions correctly" [16].


Flexibility and Customization: Users appreciate the system's ability to adapt to complex organizational needs. "ThreeSixty met a lot of our needs out of the box. But, we also had a lot that we needed to do ourselves. We have a lot of users that have really specific requirements" [17].


Comprehensive Functionality: Multiple reviewers note that ThreeSixty serves as their "software of truth" with the ability to capture extensive data across all organizational activities [18].


Customer Support Quality: Users report positive experiences with support staff, noting, "I've never had a bad experience with their customer service team" [19].

Integration Capabilities: The platform's ability to connect with numerous third-party systems receives positive mentions.


Negative Themes:


User Interface Complexity: A recurring criticism concerns the interface being overwhelming, particularly for occasional users or front-desk staff. "There are too many things that you can click on that are not necessary for our association to use. The subsystem names for membership types and programs/classes were more confusing" [20].


Learning Curve and Training Requirements: Multiple reviewers noted that while they personally became comfortable with the system, staff members who used it less frequently struggled. "My staff who worked once or twice a week (almost all of my staff) had trouble remembering the correct processes and where to click" [21].


Reporting Complexity: Several organizations reported that creating custom reports required more technical expertise than anticipated, sometimes necessitating hiring SQL developers or report writers [22].


Response Time for Support Tickets: While support quality is praised, some users note that "cases/tickets sometimes stay open for a while before getting a final answer," though this is attributed to staffing levels rather than support quality [23].


Cost of Customizations: Some users mentioned concerns about additional costs for customizations beyond standard configuration.


Employee Satisfaction and Company Culture:


Analysis of Glassdoor reviews provides insight into the vendor's internal culture, which can correlate with client support quality. Personify Corp receives a 3.5 out of 5 star rating based on 205 employee reviews [24]. Key findings include:


Positive Indicators:


  • 58% of employees would recommend working at Personify to a friend

  • Employees praise the collaborative environment and focus on the nonprofit/association's mission

  • Benefits package receives positive mentions, including unlimited PTO

  • Remote-first culture is appreciated


Concerning Patterns:


  • The company has undergone multiple transitions and acquisitions by venture capital firms

  • Some reviews indicate turnover concerns and organizational changes

  • Compensation ratings are moderate (3.1 out of 5)

  • Reviews suggest the company experienced challenges during office relocations and restructuring


Important Note: When reviewing employee feedback, it's essential to check the dates of reviews to ensure current relevance and recognize that perspectives can vary significantly. These insights should inform questions during the selection process rather than serving as definitive judgments.


What Does SmartThoughts Expert Analysis State?


After comprehensive research across vendor materials, peer reviews, competitive analysis, and organizational history, several key observations emerge about Personify ThreeSixty as an enterprise AMS option:


The Good:


ThreeSixty represents a genuinely purpose-built enterprise solution with nearly three decades of continuous development focused exclusively on the association sector. Organizations seeking deep functionality—particularly in financial management, complex membership structures, and multi-revenue stream management—will find


ThreeSixty offers capabilities that justify its enterprise positioning. The in-house professional services team provides continuity and expertise that can be invaluable during implementation and ongoing optimization.


The platform's architecture allows for significant customization without necessarily requiring custom code for every modification, and the codeless configuration options provide flexibility for organizations with varying technical resources. For associations operating at scale with complex workflows, ThreeSixty can serve as a true enterprise backbone that consolidates many functions into a single system of record.


The Considerations:


Enterprise-level solutions inevitably come with enterprise-level complexity. ThreeSixty is not a system that casual users will find immediately intuitive, and organizations must commit to thorough training and change management to achieve successful adoption. The interface, while powerful, reveals its legacy roots and can feel overwhelming compared to more modern, consumer-grade user experiences that staff may expect based on their personal technology use.


The reporting and analytics capabilities, while comprehensive, often require technical expertise beyond what typical association staff possess. Organizations should plan for either developing internal SQL/reporting skills or budgeting for ongoing consulting support to fully leverage ThreeSixty's data insights potential.


Cost transparency remains a challenge. Without published pricing, associations must invest time in the sales process before understanding total investment requirements. Given the significance of this decision, prospective clients should request detailed pricing breakdowns, including all implementation costs, annual fees, and potential costs for future enhancements or additional users.


The Critical Question:


The most important consideration for association executives evaluating ThreeSixty concerns organizational readiness. Do you have (or can you develop) the internal expertise to maximize this platform? Do you have executive commitment to the change management required for successful enterprise software implementation? Are you prepared for the investment of both financial resources and staff time?


For associations answering "yes" to these questions and operating at true enterprise scale (minimum $5M+ budgets, complex workflows, multiple revenue streams), ThreeSixty offers a credible enterprise option backed by a vendor with deep association industry roots.


Leadership and Strategic Direction:


Personify Corp's position within a broader portfolio of association solutions (ThreeSixty for enterprise, MemberClicks for mid-market, WildApricot for small organizations) provides both advantages and potential concerns. On the positive side, this demonstrates Personify's commitment to the association sector across all market segments. The company continues to invest in product development and has recently launched dedicated websites for each product line, suggesting ongoing strategic focus.


However, organizations should inquire about product roadmap prioritization and resource allocation across the portfolio. With multiple products serving different markets, associations should seek clarity on ThreeSixty's specific development roadmap and how the vendor balances innovation across its various offerings.


The company's history of acquisitions and private equity ownership warrants due diligence. During your selection process, inquire about:

  • Long-term product strategy and development roadmap for ThreeSixty

  • Customer retention rates and average client tenure

  • Investment plans for modernizing the user interface

  • Approach to emerging technologies (AI, advanced analytics, mobile-first experiences)

  • Succession planning for key client-facing personnel


Final Assessment:


Personify ThreeSixty merits serious consideration by enterprise associations seeking a comprehensive, customizable AMS platform backed by a vendor with extensive association industry expertise. However, this is not a "set it and forget it" solution—success requires commitment, expertise, and ongoing investment in optimization.


Organizations should approach ThreeSixty evaluation with clear requirements, realistic timelines (18-24 months for full implementation is not uncommon for enterprise solutions), and an honest assessment of internal capabilities. Request detailed client references from organizations similar to yours in size, complexity, and industry sector.


Ask specifically about implementation experiences, ongoing costs, and lessons learned during their journey with ThreeSixty.


Remember: selecting enterprise AMS is choosing a long-term partner, not just purchasing software. Evaluate Personify Corp as a potential multi-year strategic partner, not simply as a technology vendor.


Conclusion: Your Next Step in This Critical Decision


Selecting your association's enterprise AMS represents one of the most significant strategic decisions you'll make—impacting operations, member experience, staff productivity, and your ability to advance your mission for years to come. Failure is not an option when technology becomes the backbone of your organization.


If you're a verified Association Executive (not currently working with a consultant) seeking objective guidance on whether Personify ThreeSixty or alternative enterprise AMS solutions best align with your organization's unique needs, SmartThoughts offers a complimentary initial evaluation to help you frame your decision criteria and understand your options.


You have nothing to lose and everything to gain from an informed decision-making process. With over 130 purported membership systems in the marketplace, finding the right fit requires expertise, objectivity, and a structured approach.


Schedule a free consultation to discuss your specific situation and receive guidance on whether ThreeSixty, or perhaps an alternative solution, represents the best strategic investment for your association. SmartThoughts has helped hundreds of associations navigate enterprise AMS selection, reduce risk, and avoid costly missteps.


Visit https://www.smartthoughts.net/software-selection-services-nonprofits to learn more about our services, or contact us directly to begin your journey toward a more confident, informed AMS decision.

Your mission is too important to compromise. Let's ensure your technology foundation supports rather than hinders your success.


Sources Cited:


[1] LinkedIn Company Profile - Personify Corp - https://www.linkedin.com/company/personify-corp

[2] Personify ThreeSixty Website - https://personifythreesixty.com/

[4] Personify ThreeSixty Solutions Page - https://personifythreesixty.com/solutions/threesixty/

[6] ThreeSixty Website - American Mathematical Society Testimonial - https://personifythreesixty.com/

[9] ThreeSixty Product Description - GetApp - https://www.getapp.com/customer-management-software/a/personify360/

[12] Fonteva Blog - iMIS Software Overview - https://associations.fonteva.com/imis-software-overview/

[13] G2 Comparison - Fonteva vs Nimble AMS - https://www.g2.com/compare/fonteva-for-associations-vs-nimble-ams

[14] G2 Comparison - Fonteva vs Nimble AMS - https://www.g2.com/compare/fonteva-for-associations-vs-nimble-ams

[15] SmartThoughts Buyer's Guide - Smart Guide to Selecting Nonprofit Membership Software

[16] Capterra User Review - ThreeSixty - https://www.capterra.com/p/212188/Personify360/reviews/

[17] Personify ThreeSixty Website - Client Testimonial - https://personifythreesixty.com/

[18] Capterra User Review - ThreeSixty - https://www.capterra.com/p/212188/Personify360/reviews/

[19] Capterra User Review - ThreeSixty - https://www.capterra.com/p/212188/Personify360/reviews/

[21] Capterra User Review - ThreeSixty - https://www.capterra.com/p/212188/Personify360/reviews/

[22] Capterra User Review - ThreeSixty - https://www.capterra.com/p/212188/Personify360/reviews/

[23] Capterra User Review - ThreeSixty - https://www.capterra.com/p/212188/Personify360/reviews/

[24] Glassdoor Company Reviews - Personify - https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Personify-Reviews-E15653.htm

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