Alumni management software is a software solution that allows educational institutions and businesses to keep in touch with their former students and employees. To help develop strong alumni ties, it automates processes like tracking contacts, organizing fundraising events, creating mailing lists, and engaging with members via social media, emails, and other means.
Although alumni management software and membership management software are similar, there is a distinction between the two. Businesses can use membership management software to automate operations like organizing and contacting their members. Alumni management software, on the other hand, does a lot more than just handle memberships. It offers institutions to share information regarding apprenticeship and voluntary work, as well as social activities. It also allows graduates to connect with one another via discussion forums.
Top Alumni Management Software is:
WildApricot is an all-in-one alumni management system that makes it simple for people to stay connected and active. Create a website, manage contacts, process donations, send emails, register event participants, and more. You have the ability to customize every part of your alumni network with a self-serve design and a user-friendly web or mobile interface. Our support team and community of experts are here to guide you and share their best practices if you need them at any point along the process.
Wild Apricot is offered a 30-day free trial, after which it is priced as follows: Organizations with up to 50 contacts are eligible for a free account. Personal accounts are $48 per month for up to 100 contacts. $60 per month for up to 250 contacts in a group. $110/month for up to 500 contacts in the community. Professional (up to 2,000 contacts): $190 per month. $350 per month for up to 5,000 contacts on the network. For up to 15,000 contacts, Enterprise costs $420 per month. $720 per month for up to 50,000 connections globally.
AssoConnect is an online solution that allows you to operate your organisation completely online, with no technical knowledge required. AssoConnect is a tool used by over 50,000 association leaders to help them improve the world. Accounting, fundraising, membership administration, communication, ticketing, and website management are just a few of the services available. From A to Z, association management All people can use it because it is simple to use. Volunteers will save time.
The monthly cost of AssoConnect starts at €24.00 per feature. A free version is available. A free trial of AssoConnect is available.
GradEngage by Graduway is a digitally engaged alumni portal that is effortlessly branded for universities. Offering access to a network on any device, delivering professional and social value to your alumni group regardless of background or region, is at the core of alumni engagement. Graduway is a 4-in-1 virtual community for recruiting and mentoring students, engaging alumni, and cultivating donors, with over 2,000 customers in more than 50 countries.
The annual cost of Graduway begins at $5000.00. There is a version that is available for free. A free trial is available with Graduway.
With 450+ clients across 20 regions, we help educational institutions manage their alumni relations in a simple and effective manner, including database management, website/community management, email management, event management, membership dues management, member & group management, and donation management. Helps companies remain in touch with former employees, increasing employer branding, rehiring, and recommendations; trusted by companies such as Qualcomm and KPIT, as well as organisations like as the United Nations GESCI.
Their software comes with a free trial option.
ThankView is dedicated to fostering long-term connections with individuals who make the world a better place through personalised video. We’re employed by over 1,000 institutions, organisations, and health centres who want to boost engagement, learn more about their beneficiaries through detailed data, and raise the overall financial effect of their outreach initiatives. Whether you want to make honest solicitations, spice up event invitations, or thank contributors more individually, the ThankView platform can help.
Their plans start from 99$ per month. Also, they offer a free trial before opting to go premium.
HelloAsso is a free payment system for non-profits and clubs in France. It assists over 150 000 non-profits in managing all aspects of their online campaigns, including raising cash, organising events and crowdfunding, managing members, and collecting money. The well-known firm ESUS (Solidarity Company of Social Utility) operates on a unique alternative economic model: instead of paying fees or commissions, donors opt to leave a voluntary contribution at the time of payment, which is used to fund platform growth.
A free version is available. There is no free trial available with HelloAsso.
Almabase is the most popular alumni management software in the world. Almabase assists your school in developing a genuinely alumni-centric programme that fosters lifetime connections. Almabase helps organisations find new contributors, enhance event attendance, boost digital engagement, and recruit new volunteers. Almabase is also the most popular alumni management software among Blackbaud, Salesforce, and Ellucian customers. It also interfaces with a number of other databases.
Their plan starts from 6000$ and its billed annually. Also, you can help yourself by taking the free trial of the application.
ToucanTech systems are designed specifically for alumni managers, addressing issues such as maintaining contact information up to date, identifying content preferences, and measuring effective communications. Choose between a public or private website, as well as a robust database, email engine, and event management system. All donor and alumni connections may be managed in one spot, saving time, increasing efficiency, and increasing engagement.
Designed with higher education in mind. Ellucian collaborates with over 2,500 institutions in over 50 countries to improve operations and enrich the educational experience of over 20 million students. Ellucian’s portfolio, as the market leader in higher education technology, is comprehensive and founded on best practises from our network of institutions as well as our 50 years of expertise in changing the industry landscape.
Cadence, higher education’s leading messaging platform, enables faculty to communicate with students and alumni using their favourite method of communication: texting. Two-way texting fosters participation and builds genuine connections rather than simply broadcasting information. In addition, your Mongoose Cadence staff will assist you in developing a strategic texting plan to lead kids through each stage of their lives.
nagement software Buyer’s Guide
What is Alumni Management Software?
Schools, charities, internship programmes, and other sorts of organizations all have alumni. These graduates are a distinct group that requires a different style of communication than other contributors, volunteers, or members. They have a personal connection to your school or organization, and ideally a life-long link that will keep them eager to assist you financially and physically in the future Advertising Agency Software.
The most important feature of alumni management software is that it combines tools for general membership management (such as donor management, event management, and volunteer management) with tools for alumni to log into a personalized portal and gain access to networking opportunities such as job boards, localized events, and mentorship opportunities.
In a nutshell, alumni management software combines broad membership organizing features with particular functionalities that are beneficial to an alumni-only membership.
Difference between Alumni Management Software and Membership Management Software?
In many aspects, alumni management software is comparable to membership management software. These are some of the parallels:
Membership management software is a database that stores member contact information and interactions, as well as payment due dates, related interests, and other information. Its goal is to make membership-based organizations’ business administration responsibilities and communications easier.
Alumni management software contains a database that stores alumni contact information and interactions, collects dues, and keeps track of relevant interests, among other things. For alumni organizations and administrators, it streamlines management responsibilities and communications.
However, there are important distinctions to be made between the two forms of software. Among the distinctions are:
Membership management software is typically inward-facing, which means it’s designed to help administrators automate tasks like contacting and organizing members (though some systems do include member portals where they can check their donation/volunteer history and update their contact information).
Alumni management software includes both inward-facing tools, similar to membership administration software, and outward-facing portals that allow alumni to network with one another via job and discussion forums, mentorship possibilities, the organization of local volunteer and/or social events, and so on.
Benefits of alumni management software
Here are a few of the most important advantages of alumni management software:
- IMPROVED COMMUNICATION: On a single platform, alumni management software allows for email communication, event and social media updates, job postings, and group discussions. These features serve to boost alumni involvement and keep them informed about what’s going on at their old school.
- BETTER CREDIBILITY: You may develop and maintain a database of your alumni using alumni management software, which includes information on their academic profiles, the firms with which they’re affiliated, and the jobs they have. It would be simpler for you to get more students to apply if you have a thorough alumni database. You may also contact your alumni to see if there are any possible placement options for your present pupils.
- STREAMLINED FUNDRAISING: The programme allows you to submit an online gift request to your alumni group, which simplifies fundraising. Every member is notified about the request, and after individuals begin giving, the programme keeps track of how much each person has donated. It also allows you to keep track of the cash earned through offline ticket sales, including the number of tickets sold, their pricing, and the information provided by the buyer.
Alumni management software’s typical characteristics
- MEMBER DIRECTORY: Make an alumni directory with information including contact information, academic profiles, current work positions and organizations, and interaction history.
- MANAGE EVENTS: Oversee the planning, scheduling, and execution of events such as alumni gatherings, athletic events, art exhibitions, and bids.
- MEMBERSHIP MANAGEMENT: Create a member database to keep track of your alumni’s information, such as their email addresses, phone numbers, and social media handles.
- ANALYTICS/REPORTING: Create reports to keep track of data like alumni involvement, contributions, volunteering, and networking.
- Create and maintain a job board where your alumni may post employment vacancies for students or fellow members of your club.
- FUNDRAISING: Make fundraising easier by allowing members to donate through the programme. Members of the alumni community can also look up information about their earlier gifts.
- EMAIL MARKETING: Send out emails and newsletters to inform people about forthcoming events, employment or volunteer opportunities, donations, and so on.
- ALUMNI PORTAL: Give alumni members access to a self-service portal where they may update personal information, contact with your organization and peers, donate, post jobs, and more.
- MANAGE YOUR WEBSITE: Create a bespoke website for your group and manage its content, which includes member profiles, news, and event details. You may also track and evaluate your website’s performance.
- Volunteer management: This feature utilizes your contact database/information to track volunteer engagement amongst alumni, including their participation history and availability. Scheduling functionality also provides outreach tools to contact those who’ve volunteered for upcoming events and to track responses and availability.
Considerations to Make When Buying Alumni Management Software
- INTEGRATION WITH OTHER APPLICATIONS: The alumni management tool you’ve chosen should work well with other software applications you already have, such as customer relationship management (CRM) software, enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, donation management software, or mentoring software. You won’t have to move between tools because of the integration capability, which allows for easy transfer of alumni data. On a single platform, it will also provide a full picture of all member interactions.
- SECURITY OF DATA: Alumni management software saves information including members’ contact information, payment records, and job-specific information. It is your obligation to safeguard this information and keep it from being misused. Inquire with the software provider about the data security safeguards in place to secure the information of your alumni. Also, see if the seller complies with any information security standards that apply to your industry, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
- ORGANIZATION AND DONOR BASE SIZE: If you run a tiny summer internship programme with only five new alumni each year, you’ll likely need fewer features than an international institution with thousands of graduates each semester. Check with your provider to ensure that your degree of functionality correctly represents your demands based on the size of your company.
- SUITE vs. STANDALONE SOFTWARE: Though most alumni management software combines a number of separate software tasks (donor, volunteer, and event management, for example), there are standalone alumni management vendors as well as general membership management vendors that offer alumni management solutions. If you’re a nonprofit looking for alumni management for past interns, for example, you might want to look into options that are part of a wider membership management package. An independent, standalone piece of alumni management software, on the other hand, will be more likely to meet your demands if you are a national alumni network for a major university.
- OFF-PREMISE SOFTWARE vs. CLOUD-BASED SOFTWARE: On-premise software is a system that is installed and maintained at your site, which means that in addition to having enough space, you’ll need to buy hardware and devote IT resources (both people and money) to set it up and keep it working well. Currently, only large, enterprise-level firms with the room and money to spare employ this type of software system (which may potentially include alumni organizations for giant universities). Cloud-based software, which is accessed over the internet through the cloud, is much more widespread, particularly for smaller businesses/organizations. Most firms will find this to be a more manageable option because it requires no more space, fewer IT staff, and lower upfront expenditures.
Alumni management software trends
DEMAND FOR CLOUD-BASED ALUMNI MANAGEMENT TOOLS IS INCREASING:
Because of the numerous advantages they provide, cloud-based software applications have grown in popularity in the alumni management software industry. These products have reduced upfront costs, don’t require the installation of any physical gear or equipment, and offer superior scalability than on-premise software. These software solutions provide a variety of pay-as-you-go alternatives and let organizations to access data from any location at any time.
FAQ
What is alumni management software?
Alumni management software is a tool designed to help educational institutions and organizations manage their alumni network. It usually includes features like alumni database management, event management, fundraising, communication tools, and more.
What are the benefits of using alumni management software?
Some of the benefits of using alumni management software include better communication with alumni, more efficient event management, improved fundraising capabilities, enhanced alumni engagement, and streamlined data management.
What features should I look for in alumni management software?
The features you should look for depend on your specific needs, but some common ones include alumni database management, event management, email marketing, social media integration, fundraising tools, and reporting and analytics.
How do I choose the right alumni management software for my organization?
To choose the right alumni management software, you should first identify your specific needs and goals. Then, research different software options and compare their features, pricing, and customer support. You can also read reviews and ask for recommendations from other organizations.
How much does alumni management software cost?
The cost of alumni management software varies depending on the software provider and the features included. Some software providers offer pricing plans based on the number of users, while others charge a flat rate. It’s important to compare pricing plans and features to find the best fit for your organization’s budget and needs.
