What Tendenci - The Open Source AMS does

Tendenci is an open-source Association Management Software (AMS) platform serving nonprofit organizations, professional associations, chambers of commerce, educational institutions, faith-based organizations, festivals, and event-based organizations. The platform consolidates membership management, event registration, donor management, job boards, content management, business directories, community forums, newsletters, and online payments into a single installation rather than a platform-plus-add-ons model. Named customers include the National Conference of CPA Practitioners (NCCPAP), Canadian Apparel Federation, University and College Designers Association, Luxembourg-American Chamber of Commerce, DePelchin Children's Center, the Baker Institute at Rice University, and the Society of Petroleum Engineers – Gulf Coast Section. The platform has served an aggregate of 1.4M+ end users worldwide and is ranked among the top five AMS providers internationally per the Capterra Short List 2023.

The platform is built on Python with the Django framework, backed by PostgreSQL, using Bootstrap3 for responsive design, and distributed under the GNU GPLv3 open-source license with the codebase publicly available on GitHub. Tendenci hosts its SaaS offering on AWS infrastructure, deploying per-customer isolated containers with dedicated databases, custom AMIs, VPCs, and Security Groups. The product comprises roughly twenty modules included in every installation, with native integrations to Stripe (including Stripe Connect for multi-chapter fund management) and HigherLogic, and additional integrations to Zoom (webinars), Transifex (multilingual translations), and Let's Encrypt (SSL). Anomaly detection is performed internally via the ELK Stack for network log analysis as part of cyber defense.

The operating entity is Kinect LLC dba Tendenci, with Tendenci, Inc. also referenced in legal materials; the company was founded in 1997 (with prior corporate history under the Schipul name), is headquartered in Houston, Texas with a secondary office in San Francisco, and is led by CEO Nicole Davis with a women-led engineering team (TendenciDEV) of 1-10 employees. The company is bootstrapped with no disclosed external funding. Revenue is generated through three streams — AWS-hosted SaaS subscriptions (setup fees plus monthly or annual recurring fees), professional services (web design, custom development, SEO, email marketing), and tiered support packages (prepaid or usage-based). Distribution is sales-led through direct phone outreach (281-497-6567), contact forms, and RFP-driven enterprise deal flow, combined with a community-led open-source motion driving developer contributions and self-service adoption from SMB and self-hosting customers.

Name

Tendenci - The Open Source AMS

Legal name

Kinect LLC dba Tendenci

Website

https://tendenci.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Tendenci provides open-source Association Management Software on Python/Django, serving nonprofits, professional associations, chambers of commerce, educational institutions, and event-based organizations with integrated membership, event, donor, content, and payment management. The bootstrapped company monetizes via AWS-hosted SaaS subscriptions and professional services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. SaaS Hosting Subscriptions: Monthly and annual subscription fees for cloud-hosted software on AWS with setup fees and ongoing hosting charges. Includes automatic renewal with 30-day cancellation notice.
2. Professional Services: Web design services, SEO services, custom development, module/programming services, integration services, email marketing services
3. Support Packages: Tailored support packages including email and phone support, billable technical support requests at hourly rates, and pre-paid support packages

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Tendenci provides an open-source Association Management Software (AMS) platform that combines membership management, event management, donor management, content management, job boards, business directories, forums, newsletters, and online payments in a single deployment. The software is released under the GNU GPLv3 license and is available either as a self-hosted free download via GitHub or as a managed SaaS offering hosted on AWS with subscription billing, support packages, and professional services for implementation, custom development, and SEO.

Product overview

Tendenci is a single open-source Association Management Software (AMS) platform combining membership management, events, donor management, job boards, content management, and community engagement tools. The core platform includes all modules out-of-the-box: Membership Management (MMS), Content Management (CMS), Event Management, Donor Management, Job Banks, Community Forums, Newsletter Builder, Business Directories, Rich Media Galleries, Reports/Analytics, Website Builder, Built-in SEO, Design Templates/Themes, Corporate Memberships, Chapter Management, Trainings Module, Social Services Module, Region-specific Tax Settings, Multilingual Support, and Online Payments via Stripe. The architecture is a unified platform with all modules included in every installation, not a platform-plus-add-ons model. A SaaS hosting option on AWS is available as a managed service.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tendenci Open Source AMS (Core Platform) Fully open-source Association Management Software (GNU GPLv3) that combines membership management, event registration, donor management, content management, job boards, business directories, forums, newsletters, photo/video galleries, Stripe-powered online payments, multi-chapter support, and multi-regional tax settings in a single platform for nonprofits, associations, chambers, universities, and civic organizations.
• Tendenci SaaS Hosting on AWS Managed cloud-hosted deployment of the Tendenci AMS on Amazon Web Services, with SSL encryption, container-based application isolation, VPC, Security Groups, custom AMIs, virus and malware scanners, and managed software upgrades, billed monthly or annually with an initial setup fee and automatic renewal.
• Tendenci Professional Services Custom project services for Tendenci customers including professional web design, SEO services, custom module and integration development, and email marketing services, scoped per project and delivered by the Tendenci team and implementation partners.
• Tendenci Support Packages Recurring and pay-as-you-go support offering for Tendenci deployments, including email and phone support, pre-paid support packages, and hourly technical support for billable requests, with charges applied automatically at the end of each billing cycle.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1.4 million users served globally
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability1 record

Feature12 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• StripecoreTechnology or IntegrationStripe is Tendenci's payment processing partner providing the payment gateway infrastructure. Tendenci integrates with Stripe Connect to allow organizations to connect multiple payment accounts including sub-accounts for chapters with direct reporting to national organization.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)coreTechnology or IntegrationAWS provides the cloud infrastructure for Tendenci's SaaS offering. Tendenci AMS runs on AWS data centers with VPC, Security Groups, and custom AMIs for enhanced security.
• HigherLogiccoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration partner providing community and forum platform. Tendenci integrates with HigherLogic Communities for pushing user profile and event registration data, with security group synchronization.
• BixlyminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerDevelopment partner that collaborated with TendenciDEV Team on NCCPAP project discovery phase and implementation.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Novi AMS: Cloud-based AMS for trade associations and professional societies. Directly comparable in vertical focus, membership/event/donation features, and target mid-market customer.
• MemberClicks: Cloud-based association management platform serving small-staff associations and chambers. Directly comparable to Tendenci in target customer (small associations) and feature scope (membership, events, dues billing).
• Impexium: Association management platform targeting mid-to-large associations with modern cloud architecture. Direct competitor in the same vertical with a SaaS-only (non-open-source) go-to-market.
• Glue Up: All-in-one membership, event, and CRM platform for associations and chambers. Emerging cloud-native competitor with strong UX and international footprint, increasingly competing with Tendenci for global association deals.
• GrowthZone: Association management software purpose-built for chambers of commerce and membership organizations. Directly comparable to Tendenci for chamber and multi-chapter customers, with a more polished modern UI.
• YourMembership (Community Brands): AMS for trade associations and professional societies, part of Community Brands. Competes with Tendenci for mid-market association deals with deeper enterprise sales infrastructure.
• Wild Apricot: Leading cloud-based AMS for small-to-mid associations and nonprofits; now part of Personify Group. Most direct head-to-head competitor to Tendenci in the SMB association segment with a hosted SaaS model and similar feature set (membership, events, donations).
• MemberSuite: Enterprise-grade AMS for mid-to-large associations. Competes with Tendenci for larger deals where multi-chapter, complex permissions, and integrations are required.

Broad incumbents

• Aptify (Community Brands): Enterprise AMS serving the largest global associations; part of Community Brands' portfolio (alongside YourMembership and others). Comparable in functionality but targeted at large enterprise customers Tendenci does not primarily serve.
• Salesforce.org Nonprofit Cloud (NPSP): Enterprise CRM platform with a Nonprofit Success Pack that increasingly overlaps with AMS functionality (membership, donations, events). Broad incumbent that competes for the largest nonprofit and association CRM deals.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/tendenci
• GitHubgithub.com/tendenci/tendenci
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/schipul
• Facebookfacebook.com/tendenci
• Instagraminstagram.com/tendenci.inc

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Tendenci - The Open Source AMS