How to fund an AMS without breaking the budget
If you run an association, you’ve probably had this moment. You look at your systems and think, we really need to upgrade our membership software but we just can’t afford it right now. And honestly, that’s a completely reasonable thought. Budgets are tight, teams are small, and there’s always something else that feels more urgent.
But then the frustrating part kicks in. Because the truth is, it’s often harder to grow membership when your systems aren’t supporting you. Recruitment is harder. Renewals are harder. Onboarding is harder. Everything takes longer than it should. And you end up stuck in that annoying loop where you feel like you need more members to afford the new system, but you need the new system to attract and keep more members. It’s a bit like the cat biting itself in the tail.
I think what helps is shifting the question slightly. Instead of asking “Can we afford new software?” it can be more useful to ask “How can we fund this in a way that doesn’t break us?” Because most associations don’t upgrade their systems by finding a big spare pile of money. They do it by being practical, creative, and a little bit strategic.
One of the simplest (and most overlooked) options is sponsorship. People tend to think sponsorship only belongs at events with logos on banners, a stand in the expo area, maybe a thank you in the newsletter. But a software upgrade can actually be one of the best sponsorship opportunities you can offer, because it’s something that improves the experience for every single member. That’s not just marketing. That’s impact.
The key is how you talk about it. If you approach a sponsor saying, “We need money for software,” it can feel a bit flat. But if you approach them saying, “We’re improving how members join, renew, access resources and engage with the community, and we’d love your support to make that experience better,” it becomes a completely different conversation. It becomes about supporting the profession, or the industry, or the community. It becomes something the sponsor can feel proud of.
Grants can also be worth exploring, even if you assume you won’t qualify. Lots of grants aren’t labelled as “software funding” on the front, but they are about outcomes that software enables. Things like workforce development, education, participation, access to resources, capability building, or even community support. Sometimes the trick is simply writing it in the right language. You’re not asking for money for a database. You’re asking for support to improve access, engagement, delivery, and long-term value for your members.
Another thing that makes this all feel more possible is letting go of the idea that you have to do everything at once. Associations often get stuck because they think the upgrade has to be one huge project with every feature turned on from day one. But it doesn’t. In fact, it usually works better when it’s phased.
You can start with a basic package that gets the essentials right like joining, renewals, payments, communications, a clean database, and reporting that actually makes sense. That alone can lift the experience dramatically. Then once you’ve got that running smoothly, you can look at upgrades like mentoring, directories, integration and more, the things that add extra value over time. It becomes a series of manageable steps instead of one giant leap.
And here’s one small habit that can make a surprisingly big difference: always keep an up-to-date quote in your back pocket. Sponsors and funding opportunities don’t always appear neatly on schedule. Sometimes someone asks, “What do you need right now?” and if you don’t have a number ready, the moment passes. If you do have a quote ready, even a basic one, you can respond quickly and confidently. You can show what Phase 1 costs, what upgrades could look like later, and what the impact would be for members.
It also helps to remember that you don’t have to do this alone. Your software provider should be part of the solution. They’ve seen this situation many times. They can help you scope it in stages, shape the benefits into something you can explain clearly, and even help you show your board or sponsors what the upgrade unlocks. A good provider won’t just talk features, they’ll help you tell the story.
Your question probably is can you afford the cost of a software upgrade. But potentially bigger than that question is can you afford the cost of not upgrading? You need to consider the hours lost to manual admin, the renewals that slip through the cracks, the new members who don’t quite get started properly. Also the people who would have joined but didn’t, because it felt too hard, too unclear, too messy. That’s the quiet cost that adds up.
So if you’re sitting there thinking, we can’t afford this yet, I’d just encourage you to zoom out a little. You might not be able to afford the full dream system in one go — and that’s okay. You don’t need perfect. You need progress. You need a solid foundation, a phased plan, and a few smart funding options in your toolkit.
And if you do it well, it pays you back. Not just in time saved and admin reduced, but in member trust. In easier recruitment. In better retention. In members feeling like their experience matters. And that’s the kind of return that keeps an association strong.