Matthew Plaisted, Former Director of Annual Giving at Thomas Aquinas College, Joins Almabase
Matthew Plaisted joins Almabase as a Director of Partnerships. Matthew is an advancement professional with nearly three years of experience in the industry.
Matthew was formerly the Director of Annual Giving at Thomas Aquinas College, a private, Roman Catholic, need-blind college in California. During his tenure there, Matthew worked with the College’s Advancement team to engage with their 3,000+ constituents across 14 countries around the world. Under his wings, the College also achieved one of the highest alumni donor participation rates of any educational institution in the US. Matthew is also an alum of Thomas Aquinas College, having obtained his B.A. in Liberal Studies in 2018.
“My role at TAC not only involved fundraising and alumni engagement, but I was also working with advancement services. Working on different projects (especially with alumni) gave me some good insights to better understand Almabase’s partners. I understood what alumni really want from their alma mater, and how advancement teams can tune their mission and programming accordingly. It's great to be in a position where I have experience on both sides of the table,” says Matthew.
"It's great to be in a position where I have experience on both sides of the table."
Matthew Plaisted
At Almabase, Matthew will use his expertise and technical skill to empower advancement teams across the country to bridge the gap with their alumni. He is at the forefront of a team that is helping top schools, colleges, and universities boost alumni engagement and participation, and develop life-long relationships with their alumni community. Matthew’s unique perspectives and fresh ideas will help Almabase better understand how advancement teams can become truly alumni-centric.
“Matt's experience as a Director of Annual Giving gives him three unique advantages. His empathy towards our partner institutions will come naturally, as he’s been in their shoes at some point. Having been a former user of Almabase, Matt will be able to communicate the power of the platform more effectively. Finally, Matt’s strong knowledge of the domain will help us identify new problems to keep the innovation going,” says Kalyan Varma, the Co-Founder & CEO of Almabase.
Matthew began his journey with Almabase in September, 2021.
About Thomas Aquinas College
Thomas Aquinas College is a private Roman Catholic Liberal Arts College, with campuses in Ventura County, California, and Northfield, Massachusetts. They are a need-blind institution with 46 faculty members, and more than 3,000 Alumni residing in 50 states and 14 countries around the world. The college has bagged numerous accolades along the way, such as “#1 Best Value in Private Colleges” by Kiplinger’s and “Best Value” by US News & World Report.
About Almabase
Almabase is the world’s most loved alumni management software. The platform empowers advancement teams with the right Lego blocks to build, grow, and sustain alumni-centric programming. Almabase has partnered with advancement teams of more than 300 leading institutions across the US to unlock more participation and drive more donations from their alumni.
Matthew Plaisted joins Almabase as a Director of Partnerships. Matthew is an advancement professional with nearly three years of experience in the industry.
Matthew was formerly the Director of Annual Giving at Thomas Aquinas College, a private, Roman Catholic, need-blind college in California. During his tenure there, Matthew worked with the College’s Advancement team to engage with their 3,000+ constituents across 14 countries around the world. Under his wings, the College also achieved one of the highest alumni donor participation rates of any educational institution in the US. Matthew is also an alum of Thomas Aquinas College, having obtained his B.A. in Liberal Studies in 2018.
“My role at TAC not only involved fundraising and alumni engagement, but I was also working with advancement services. Working on different projects (especially with alumni) gave me some good insights to better understand Almabase’s partners. I understood what alumni really want from their alma mater, and how advancement teams can tune their mission and programming accordingly. It's great to be in a position where I have experience on both sides of the table,” says Matthew.
"It's great to be in a position where I have experience on both sides of the table."
Matthew Plaisted
At Almabase, Matthew will use his expertise and technical skill to empower advancement teams across the country to bridge the gap with their alumni. He is at the forefront of a team that is helping top schools, colleges, and universities boost alumni engagement and participation, and develop life-long relationships with their alumni community. Matthew’s unique perspectives and fresh ideas will help Almabase better understand how advancement teams can become truly alumni-centric.
“Matt's experience as a Director of Annual Giving gives him three unique advantages. His empathy towards our partner institutions will come naturally, as he’s been in their shoes at some point. Having been a former user of Almabase, Matt will be able to communicate the power of the platform more effectively. Finally, Matt’s strong knowledge of the domain will help us identify new problems to keep the innovation going,” says Kalyan Varma, the Co-Founder & CEO of Almabase.
Matthew began his journey with Almabase in September, 2021.
About Thomas Aquinas College
Thomas Aquinas College is a private Roman Catholic Liberal Arts College, with campuses in Ventura County, California, and Northfield, Massachusetts. They are a need-blind institution with 46 faculty members, and more than 3,000 Alumni residing in 50 states and 14 countries around the world. The college has bagged numerous accolades along the way, such as “#1 Best Value in Private Colleges” by Kiplinger’s and “Best Value” by US News & World Report.
About Almabase
Almabase is the world’s most loved alumni management software. The platform empowers advancement teams with the right Lego blocks to build, grow, and sustain alumni-centric programming. Almabase has partnered with advancement teams of more than 300 leading institutions across the US to unlock more participation and drive more donations from their alumni.
Blackbaud, the leading provider of software for powering social impact, and Almabase, the digital-first alumni engagement solution, have announced the expansion of their partnership to the education sectors of Canada and the United Kingdom. The partnership will provide institutions with a modern, digital-first solution to improve constituent data, drive self-serve engagement, and boost event participation.
A Unified Vision
The partnership aligns with Blackbaud’s commitment to customer-centric innovation across digital engagement, Advancement CRM, and financials.
“Partners bring integrated capabilities that extend capabilities and outcomes for Blackbaud customers. We are thrilled that Almabase’s offering, integrated with Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT® and leveraging Blackbaud’s best-in-class payment solution, Blackbaud Merchant Services™, is now available to even more of our customers around the world.”
- Liz Price, Sr. Director of Global Partners at Blackbaud
