Build lifelong relationships

I’ve been at Almabase for over four years now, and one thing that hasn’t changed is how much this place genuinely loves animals. Not in the “let’s put it on our About Us page” kind of way, but in a very real, very heartwarming, very lived-out way.

And honestly, we’ve never really talked about it. So I thought it’s time we did.

Before I get into the stories, a big thank you to Janak Bhaiyya (JB, as we call him). He’s literally the backbone of our office. From cooking amazing food to being the go-to person for any small issue in the office, he does it all. But what makes him extra special is his love for animals. Every pet story at Almabase, in some way or the other, starts with him.

Here are some of the animals who’ve been part of our journey, even if just for a little while.

🐶 Pepper — The OG Queen

Pepper was rescued by one of our co-founders when she was just a pup and brought straight to the office. She’s been here ever since. If you’ve been to Almabase, you already know she’s our in-house queen.

She’s lazy, hates walking, barks at the rain, always takes the elevator, and demands belly rubs the minute you step in. She’s the best security system we could ask for. No one can escape her charm. She goes by Pepper, Peppu, Pepperoni, Peppudoodoo and whatever name the team invents on the spot.

When she’s unwell, people genuinely worry. When she’s lonely, someone visits. She’s gone home with team members for a change of scene and once even “went missing,” only to be found chilling outside a colleague’s (Akhil) house, wagging her tail like she owned the place.

JB and HB(Himalaya Bhaiyya) are her primary humans, but she really belongs to all of us.

🐱 Pichu — The Baby Catto

JB found Pichu in the empty plot next to our office. Tiny, loud, and adorable. Everyone wanted a turn holding her. She also became the rabbit’s BFF (More on that below).

Manashi eventually adopted her and gave her a forever home. She now has her own room and rules her humans (as cats should). She was named after the Pokémon because, well, she looked like a mini Pikachu.

🐦 Mango — A Small Birdie With A Big Personality

This little bird lives with JB. He flies around freely, always comes back, and basically listens only to JB. He perches on his shoulder, follows him around, and has this cute little bond with him that’s just lovely to watch.

We’ve had a few other birds over the years and even a birdhouse at one point, but Mango has stayed and completely stolen our hearts.

🐰 Bunny — The Cutest Rabbit

Black and white, potty-trained (yes, somehow), and so squishable. Yet another one of JB’s rare Pokémon(s). Bunny had the most unlikely friendship with Pichu. They used to chill together, eat grass, and just vibe. Eventually, Bunny was adopted by one of JB’s friends and went off to a happy home.

🐔 Hens — Yep, We Had Hens!

Don’t have a photo of the hen. But hey, all hens look the same anyway!

There was a time we had two hens in the office. JB became so attached to them that he actually paused eating non-vegetarian food for a while. It was a wholesome little phase and just made the place feel even more alive.

Visiting Celebrities

It’s not just the permanent pets. We’ve had tons of pet visitors too.

• Luca (Yash’s dog)
• Shifu (Sri’s dog)
• Muggesh (Akhil’s cat)
• Alexis (Janani’s bird)
• Bubu (Meg’s cat)
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And when someone needs help, the whole team jumps in. Like when Muggesh needed pet-sitting, Pragya, Bindiya, and Shweta all stepped up.

One Story That Still Makes Me Smile

I once found a scared little cat hiding near a car on a busy road. I brought him home, but my cat wasn’t having it. Aakash mentioned Meghana was looking to adopt, and she said yes immediately. But she wasn’t in town yet, so Mridul fostered the little guy. Took him to the vet, gave him meds, cared for him like his own. Today, he’s a big, healthy cat living with Meg, absolutely thriving. Also, he’s called Joonie now!

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We even have a Slack channel called #almeowbase. No explanation needed.

So yeah, we’re pet-friendly, but not in a checkbox-on-a-website way. It’s a part of who we are. It’s in the way people show up, care deeply, foster, adopt, and love.

On some days, it wouldn’t be wrong to call Almabase a full-blown petting zoo — and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

And if that’s not the best part of Almabase culture, I don’t know what is.

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As fundraising grows and changes, so do the best methods to raise money for your higher education institution. Embracing digital fundraising helps you to reach your funding goals, engage your alumni community, make giving more convenient, and stay relevant among donors.

To be successful, these fundraising efforts must go hand in hand with digital marketing. By combining both, you’ll engage alumni through their preferred online channels, crafting a seamless experience from first contact to donation. In this post, we’ll explore high-impact strategies that will help your institution refine and effectively promote its digital giving programs.

1. Test your donation form

The most successful and sustainable fundraising strategies are built on a solid foundation—for online giving, that’s a streamlined, user-friendly donation form. Completing your donation form is the last step alumni must complete to contribute to your school, but even minor points of friction at this stage could cause the gift to fall through.

To mitigate this, audit your donation forms to ensure they follow user experience (UX) design best practices. Find a few test subjects and conduct usability tests, during which you’ll:

1. Outline a task or set of tasks for the users to complete. This might be something like, “Starting on our home page, navigate to the donation form and make a gift.”
2. Observe how the users complete the task. Are there any signs of confusion? How many clicks does it require? How long does it take them to finish?
3. Follow up with users to gather feedback or ask clarifying questions. Ask them if they had any specific points of confusion or whether they have suggestions for improvements.
4. Implement changes and test again. Make sure the finalized form is designed for human users and is clear and concise.

These tests can pinpoint unnecessary or confusing questions you should adjust or remove altogether. Feedback can also spark ideas for behavioral nudges like progress bars and social proof ("Join 1,325 alumni who have already given") or additional UX features like suggested giving amounts and more ways to pay. Test the form with various devices, browsers, and demographics to get a deep understanding of its functionality.

Consider conducting similar tests or applying these insights to your other forms to enhance overall alumni experiences and satisfaction. For example, optimizing forms for your volunteer program can streamline and enhance your volunteer recruitment efforts.

2. Launch SMS fundraising campaigns

Text message or SMS fundraising is an effective way to cut through digital noise, drive urgency, and solicit gifts in a personal, impactful way. While this strategy is similar to other digital fundraising channels like email marketing that offer a direct line of communication with donors, SMS campaigns have special best practices concerning:

• Message length: Keeping messages shorter is both more cost-effective and more engaging. Limit the message to 160 characters or less, focusing on readability and cutting any fluff. An effective text could be as simple as, “Help future leaders thrive! Give today to support scholarships at Marindale University. Every dollar counts. Donate now: [Link to Donation Page].”
• Timing: Generally speaking, sending texts around mid-morning or early afternoon makes them more likely to be read. However, you should learn which times resonate best with your audience through testing and data tracking and adjust your strategy accordingly.
• Multimedia elements: To send longer text messages or better engage supporters with images, videos, and GIFs, you’ll need to leverage tools that can enable multimedia messaging service (MMS) marketing.
• Calls to action (CTAs): Because you can’t rely on bright buttons or bold fonts in text message CTAs, you need clear, compelling copy. These CTAs typically read something like “Text DONATE to support the campus cause of your choice.”

Always ensure your SMS flows are permission-based (i.e., ask for the recipient’s consent) and offer clear opt-out paths. To collect more phone numbers for your database, you could consider adding an optional question to your donation form for alumni who want to receive updates.

3. Implement omni-channel marketing techniques

As Allegiance Group + Pursuant’s guide to omni-channel marketing explains, an integrated marketing approach enhances digital fundraising by cultivating deeper relationships with donors, boosting responses and conversions, maximizing resources, and capturing more valuable opportunities. The guide breaks down the steps for launching an omni-channel campaign as follows:

1. Set clear goals for the campaign. Goals should be specific and measurable, such as “Raise $10,000 by the end of the quarter to fund a new tutoring program.”
2. Analyze data to better understand your audience. Identify common trends and preferences, segmenting alumni based on factors like graduation year, industry or major, location, etc.
3. Select channels that align with audience preferences. Send messages via the channels alumni use to engage and donate. For example, recent graduates might be active on social media, while older alumni may prefer to give by mail.
4. Create a unified message that supports your goal. Think of this as a theme to guide the individual messages that make up the campaign so you can then tailor those messages to each segment’s preferences.
5. Coordinate your efforts across channels. Messages on different channels should complement and build on one another (for instance, an email might contain a condensed version of the giving needs that are outlined in more detail on your website), nudging alumni closer to donating.
6. Set up and monitor tracking for each channel. Monitor data from each channel throughout the campaign, making adjustments as needed.
7. Follow up and foster long-term relationships. Encourage alumni to engage further by sending personalized thank-you messages and recommending other ways to get involved.

Set up data tracking tools for each communication channel before launching the campaign (e.g., platforms for website traffic, social media engagement, email open and click-through rates, etc.). To avoid fragmented data, choose marketing solutions that integrate with your constituent relationship management (CRM) system.

4. Launch pop-up giving challenges

Plan short, pop-up giving challenges that create a sense of competition and urgency among alumni. For example, your institution might run 24- or 48-hour mini-campaigns targeting specific affinity groups (e.g., class years, academic departments, or athletic teams). The group that raises the most in that time period wins recognition or even a special prize.

Promote the challenge across all channels, using SMS notifications as last-minute reminders to nudge participation. Make sure giving is as quick and easy as possible by linking directly to your donation form or simply allowing alumni to text a code and donate. Once the campaign wraps up, show your appreciation for donors by sending them personalized thank-you messages and explaining the impact of their donation.

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Digital giving is central to advancing your higher education institution. For the best results, first review and refine the building blocks of your fundraising activities and then experiment with engaging, integrated marketing techniques. With these tactics, your team can generate sustainable giving growth while deepening alumni affinity.

Your higher education fundraising team likely knows the importance of cultivating a strong supporter base for your university. Whether the goal is to fund a new scholarship, upgrade campus technology, or launch a renovation project, you need loyal donors in your corner to contribute to any initiative your university may decide to pursue.

You might also be aware of the great debate of donor relationship-building: whether prioritizing acquisition or retention creates the best foundation for supporting your university. Your team only has so much bandwidth for engaging donors, so you’ll typically need to focus on one or the other for each of your campaigns to succeed.

In this guide, we’ll review donor acquisition and retention essentials so you can make an informed decision about how to spend your team’s time and energy. Let’s dive in!

Donor Acquisition

Donor acquisition is the process of identifying, reaching out to, and securing new donors for your university. Acquisition aims to expand the available support for your initiatives and begins each individual’s donor journey with your institution.

Benefits

According to DonorSearch’s donor acquisition guide, this process enables your university to:

• ‍Expand its donor base. If you acquire donors strategically, you’ll gain more total supporters and bring different groups of prospective supporters into the fold who would be interested in supporting your work but haven’t yet considered doing so.‍
• Achieve higher fundraising goals. Naturally, a larger donor base allows you to bring in more total revenue, especially when you identify potential supporters who are able and willing to make major gifts.‍
• Build additional capacity for university growth. Over time, your expanded pool of donors can help your institution scale up its operations, launch new programs, conduct higher-quality research, boost its reputation among universities, and educate even more students!

These benefits often take time for your university to fully realize. In the short term, donor acquisition can be time- and resource-intensive, but it’ll be worth it for your university if the long-term outcomes above are part of your strategic plan.

Essentials

To successfully acquire donors for your university, you’ll need to:

• Identify your target audience. Be as specific about who you want to reach out to as possible. For example, don’t just say you’re trying to engage alumni in a campaign. Instead, narrow down your target audience by graduation year, degree program, campus involvement, location, or other criteria (e.g., alumni whose children currently attend your university). That way, you’re more likely to contact potential donors who want to support your current initiatives.
• Develop a marketing plan. Your target audience will influence both the content of your communications and the channels you use to send them. For example, younger donors are more likely to respond to text messages and actively use social media, while older donors often prefer more traditional outreach methods like direct mail. Time your messages to strike a balance between keeping your university top of mind and avoiding overwhelming supporters with fundraising appeals.
• Conduct prospect research. Comprehensive prospect research is critical for finding potential major donors who not only can give, but also want to. Use a prospect research database to assess potential supporters’ financial giving capacity, philanthropic history, and affinity for your university, which will help you determine whether they’re worth cultivating as a major donor.

Your donor acquisition process will look different based on expected donation size—for instance, major donors typically respond better to personalized outreach than mass marketing. However, developing a solid strategy and investing in the right software (donor database, prospect research tools, marketing platforms, etc.) are important across the board.

Donor Retention

Donor retention involves maintaining relationships with your higher ed institution’s existing donors to secure their long-term support. Donors who feel connected to, valued by, and satisfied with your university are more likely to give again.

Benefits

Retaining donors has its own unique set of advantages for your university, including:

• Saving time and money. Fundraising organizations can spend up to $1.50 per dollar raised to acquire a new donor, while the average cost of retaining an existing donor is just $0.20 per dollar raised. Plus, it takes less time and effort to ask an existing donor for a gift since they’re already familiar with your university and its fundraising department.
• Building stronger donor relationships. If you get to know your donors over time, you can better tailor your fundraising asks to their preferences. Donors also become more passionate about your university as the relationship develops, which motivates them to maintain (or even increase) their support as they’re able.
• Improving your fundraising team’s reputation. Longtime donors also become better fundraising advocates for your university, and this social proof can help you acquire new donors with less effort. You might even connect with new corporate partners through your retained donors (particularly their employers), expanding your institution’s community influence.

Generally speaking, donor retention provides stable support for your higher ed institution. No matter what challenges you may face or what new projects your university needs your team to fund, you’ll know your loyal supporters have your back.

Essentials

Here are a few practical tips for developing your university’s donor retention strategy:

• Thank donors for every contribution. Every gift—no matter how small—deserves a personalized thank-you from your fundraising team. However, the size of your appreciation should match the size of the donation. An email, text, or mass mailing is sufficient for a small-dollar donor, while major donors should get more recognition, like a mention in your annual report or naming rights to a space on campus.
• Demonstrate impact. Donors will only want to keep giving if they know their contributions are making a difference. Incorporate statistics, true stories, and images into your communications to show donors their impact. For example, if a major donor funded a study abroad scholarship, you could share a story about an English major who received the scholarship and had a life-changing experience spending a semester in London, along with some photos she took while there.
• Time further requests strategically. Like with potential donors, existing supporters will experience burnout and fatigue if every message you send them is a fundraising appeal. Mix donation requests with impact updates and invitations to get involved in other ways (attending events, volunteering, etc.). Then, use insights from these other communications to assess donors’ involvement potential, which can impact when and how much you’ll ask for in your next appeal.

As you can see, the best donor retention strategies also vary by gift size, but having a solid plan and the right tools are also critical for keeping supporters engaged with your university.

Should My University Prioritize Donor Acquisition or Retention?

The answer to this question depends on your goals. If you’re prioritizing sustainable fundraising, your university should focus on donor retention. If you’re planning for substantial growth, you’ll likely need to acquire new donors. In general, retention is a better day-to-day priority since it’s more cost-effective, but when your strategic plan calls for acquisition, you should switch your focus.

According to higher education giving insights from EverTrue, the number of donors decreased by 8.2% in Q1 2024 compared to Q1 2023. Meanwhile, the total dollar amount donated increased by 60% on average, with a median growth of 18%. This shift underscores a critical challenge (and opportunity) for advancement teams: fewer donors are giving more, meaning institutions must focus on deeper engagement and stronger relationships with supporters.

In this guide, we’ll discuss actionable university fundraising tips to help your institution build meaningful, lasting relationships. From using segmented communication strategies to digital tools like texting and early student engagement, we’ll explain what works and why. Let’s begin.

1. Segment your donors

University donors don’t all have the same preferences or interests, so your outreach shouldn’t treat them as a monolith. By tailoring your donor engagement efforts to your audience’s unique needs, interests, and preferences, you can design outreach materials that resonate with them.

Your organization’s constituent relationship management (CRM) platform will come in handy in this process. Whether you use Slate, Salesforce Education Cloud, Ellucian CRM Advance, or a different CRM tool, you should be able to manage donor segmentation directly within your donor database.

Use donor data and behavioral insights to segment donors by:

• Graduation year or decade
• Career field or industry
• Past engagement activity
• Preferred communication channel

This allows you to personalize messages and target content effectively. For example, a young alumni donor might respond well to a digital networking event invite, while a seasoned donor might be more interested in legacy giving updates.

2. Engage students before they graduate

Alumni are among the most essential donors for university fundraising because of their powerful personal connections to your institution. The most successful alumni engagement strategies start before commencement. Building affinity early fosters long-term loyalty and stronger giving potential among new grads.

Consider the following tactics to keep students engaged with your institution:

• Launch student ambassador programs that connect undergrads with alumni mentors. Pair students with mentors in a similar career field so they can learn valuable insights about joining the industry. Encourage pairs to meet in person to form stronger bonds that can last long after graduation.
• Offer resume reviews or career panels led by alumni. Host virtual resume workshop sessions or Q&As with alumni to prepare students for the working world. Ask current students for feedback about which types of sessions they’d find the most interesting or helpful.
• Involve students in annual giving campaigns or campus traditions. Participation helps students build a sense of ownership and connection with their institution. Whether they’re tabling for Giving Day or joining a tradition like senior class gifts, these experiences lay the groundwork for long-term alumni engagement and giving.

These efforts show students that your university cares about their ongoing success, even after they get their diplomas. As a result, students will hold more goodwill for your institution, increasing the likelihood of consistent, meaningful support.

3. Improve your fundraising events

90% of donors prefer experiential recognition to physical acknowledgment materials like letters or gifts. This makes fundraising events an especially valuable engagement tool as a social touchpoint and a meaningful way to recognize and celebrate supporters.

High-impact events don’t have to be large or elaborate, but they must be personal and memorable. Whether in person or virtual, the goal is to build community and reinforce connection to your institution through shared experiences.

To improve your fundraising events:

• Tailor themes and formats to your audience segments. For example, you could host meetups for specific industries, mixers for certain regions with large alumni populations, or sports watch parties for young alumni.
• Include opportunities for supporters to network and interact meaningfully. Provide attendees with wearable event badges that provide information such as their names and job titles. This will make it easier for donors to find and network with others in similar fields.
• Collect and analyze feedback to iterate on future event formats. Send a survey to attendees after events to gather their feedback on everything from the networking opportunities offered to the quality of the catering. Incorporate their input into future experiences to make your events more audience-friendly.

Well-designed events can spark new engagement, rekindle dormant relationships, and create lasting memories that keep donors connected for years to come.

4. Leverage multichannel communications

Your donor community is diverse, not just in background, but also in how they prefer to communicate. To meet them where they are, use a mix of digital and traditional methods such as:

• Email newsletters and event invites
• Social media engagement
• Personalized direct mail
• Text messaging campaigns

Texting, in particular, offers high engagement rates. It enables fast, two-way communication and is ideal for event reminders or campaign updates. Busy contributors can read concise messages from your organization and click on links to your event registration forms or donation pages instantly.

5. Don’t neglect mid-level donors

Major donors receive a lot of attention in university fundraising because of their ability to contribute transformational gifts. However, mid-level donors represent a valuable bridge between casual supporters and your highest-tier donors.

These donors are typically more consistent in their giving, have a demonstrated affinity for your institution, and are often receptive to deeper engagement if you approach them intentionally.

Use these tips to engage mid-level donors:

• Send tailored thank-you messages that acknowledge their giving history and other forms of involvement, such as reunion attendance or past volunteer roles.
• Invite them to intimate gatherings or campus tours during homecoming weekends that celebrate their sustained support.
• Share impact reports that show how mid-level gifts helped fund specific programs like scholarships, departmental research, or student services.

With strategic cultivation, your mid-level donors may even decide to become planned or legacy donors in the future. According to a Sea Change Strategies report, 31% of mid-level donors have made a bequest to the organization they support, and another 23% say they plan to make one later. This data highlights the value of intentionally building lasting relationships with mid-level supporters.

6. Strengthen donor cultivation with personalization

In university fundraising, personalized cultivation is essential for strengthening lifelong ties and converting engagement into sustained giving. From milestone celebrations to targeted giving appeals, personalized outreach helps donors feel connected to your school and its evolving mission.

Use tools like predictive analytics, donor personas, and engagement tracking to:

• Identify key moments to reach out (e.g., birthdays, reunion years).
• Align giving opportunities with donor interests.
• Provide relevant updates based on donors’ past charitable giving that reinforce donor impact.
• Spotlight matching gift opportunities based on employment information.

BWF’s guide to university fundraising recommends going beyond simple emails to create personalized gratitude videos for donors. According to the guide, these videos can “capture donors’ attention and show them that your organization values their involvement.” Ask current students or professors to volunteer to speak in these videos, making them even more personal and meaningful.

Effective university fundraising requires your school to meet donors where they are and build mutually beneficial relationships with them. With the tips in this guide, your advancement team can build enduring donor relationships that drive both connection and giving.

If you’re not already measuring alumni engagement metrics, you might be missing the clearest window into your alumni community’s interests, behavior, and potential. Whether it’s attendance at reunions, click rates on newsletters, or repeat giving patterns, your engagement data should be your earliest source for what’s working as well as what you can do better.

In this blog, we’ll walk through 10 of the most important alumni engagement metrics every advancement team should monitor, how to track them, and why they matter.

Why Tracking Engagement Metrics Matters

“Alumni engagement” is often used as a catch-all, but in practice, it includes everything from event attendance and volunteering to content views, mentorship activity, and online interactions. Tracking these engagement touchpoints helps advancement teams go beyond guesswork to real, actionable insights.

Here’s why it’s essential:

• Drive smarter fundraising strategies: Metrics like donor retention or event turnout help segment alumni by engagement level—so you know who’s likely to give, and when.
• Plan better programs: Knowing what kind of events get traction lets you avoid low-turnout flops.
• Boost alumni lifetime value: Engaged alumni are more likely to become repeat donors, mentors, or ambassadors.
• Tailor communications: Metrics like email open rates or survey responses help you send the right message, to the right people, at the right time.
• Justify resources: Having the data makes it easier to secure budget, staff, and leadership buy-in.

Essentially, these metrics are the bridge between alumni activity and institutional growth. Without them, you’re flying blind.

10 Alumni Engagement Metrics Every Advancement Team Should Track

1. Event Participation

Use event management software to record registrations, track RSVPs, and gather demographic data. Post-event surveys can provide additional insights into attendee satisfaction and areas for improvement.

What to track:

• Percentage of alumni attending events (both in-person and virtual)
• Attendance trends over time
• Demographics of attendees (age, gender, class year, region)
• Event-specific engagement (e.g. donations at fundraising galas)
• Repeat attendees vs. first-time visitors
• No-show rates for RSVPs
• Return on Investment (ROI) per event type
• Alumni testimonials and qualitative feedback quotes
• Event referral rates (alumni recommending events to other alumni)
• Post-event follow-up engagement rates (responses to thank you emails, surveys)

Why it matters:

Events are a tangible way to engage alumni and strengthen their connection to the institution. High attendance often correlates with alumni feeling valued and involved. It’s also a prime opportunity to identify high-affinity individuals who are likely to become volunteers or donors.

According to CASE, events are a top-tier indicator in their alumni engagement metrics model.

Tip for Blackbaud users:

Use Almabase’s TrueSync integration to automatically log event RSVPs and attendance as interactions in RE NXT, so you can build profiles around actual alumni behavior—not just assumptions. You’ll be able to segment by event type, frequency, and participation history, making follow-ups and engagement scoring far more targeted.

2. Email Engagement (Opens, Clicks, Unsubscribes)

Emails remain one of the most effective digital channels for alumni communications. Tracking how alumni interact with your emails helps you evaluate the quality and timing of your messaging.

What to track:

• Open rates (are your subject lines working?)
• Click-through rates (is your content relevant?)
• Unsubscribe rates (is your messaging too frequent or off-topic?)
• Bounce rates (outdated contact info)
• Alumni segments with highest and lowest engagement
• Email forwarding and sharing rates
• Segmented performance by graduation year, geographic location, or donation history

Why it matters:

If alumni aren’t reading your emails, they’re not hearing your story or getting involved. Low engagement might signal poor targeting, while high clicks can point to future donors or volunteers. Email engagement is often a predictor of future giving behavior, as found in this CallHub guide.

3. Social Media Interactions

Social platforms give you real-time feedback on alumni sentiment and preferences. Tracking interactions helps you tailor content and spot alumni influencers.

What to track:

• Engagement metrics: Likes, shares, comments, and post saves across platforms.
• Platform-specific trends: Engagement differences between platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
• Hashtag usage and reach: Effectiveness of campaign-specific hashtags (e.g., #AlumniGivingDay).
• User-generated content (UGC): Alumni-created content mentioning the institution.
• Direct interactions: Messages, mentions, and responses to polls or stories.
• Video completion rates and average watch time
• Story interaction rates (polls, questions, swipes)
• Website traffic driven from social media platforms
• New follower acquisition rates

Why it matters:

Engaged alumni on social media are more likely to attend events, donate, or share your campaigns. It’s also an effective space to amplify success stories, student impact, and fundraising results.High engagement can amplify campaigns, attract prospective students, and foster a sense of community.

4. Volunteer Participation

Alumni who volunteer are among your most loyal supporters. Whether they help organize reunions, mentor students, or fundraise, their contributions build trust and community.

What to track:

• Number of active volunteers: Total alumni engaged in volunteer roles.
• Types of volunteer activities: Mentoring, event organization, fundraising, etc.
• Volunteer hours logged: Total time contributed by alumni.
• Repeat vs. first-time volunteers: Understanding volunteer retention.
• Volunteer-to-donor conversion rates: Transition from volunteering to financial contributions.
• Alumni expressing interest in volunteering but not yet participating
• Volunteer recruitment source effectiveness (referrals, events, social media)
• Geographic distribution and accessibility of volunteer opportunities
• Volunteer program completion rates

Why it matters:

Volunteering is often the first step toward deeper alumni involvement. A growing volunteer base is a strong signal of trust in your institution—and often a precursor to financial giving.

5. Mentorship Program Involvement

Mentorship is a win-win: students get real-world guidance, and alumni stay connected in meaningful ways.

What to track:

• Number of active mentorships: Total ongoing mentor-mentee relationships.
• Match success rates: Effectiveness of pairing processes.
• Mentorship duration and frequency: Longevity and consistency of interactions.
• Feedback scores: Satisfaction levels from participants.
• Post-mentorship outcomes: Career advancements or continued engagement.
• Number of actionable items and follow-up notes per session
• Personal satisfaction scores from both mentors and mentees

Why it matters:

Alumni who mentor are giving their time, expertise, and attention—huge indicators of engagement. Plus, students often transition into active alumni when they've experienced mentorship as recipients.

University of Michigan’s LSA Connect is a case study in how mentorship platforms can foster long-term alumni loyalty. Evidence from related alumni engagement initiatives at the College of LSA shows that such programs increase alumni willingness to volunteer, mentor, and donate.

6. Online Directory or Portal Usage

Your alumni portal is more than a directory—it’s a living hub. If no one’s logging in, it’s a sign something’s broken.

What to track:

• Login frequency: How often alumni access the portal.
• Profile updates: Regularity of information updates by users.
• Feature utilization: Engagement with job boards, event calendars, forums, etc.
• Mobile vs. desktop access: Preferred access methods.
• Feedback and support requests: User satisfaction and areas for improvement.
• Average session duration and time spent per visit.
• Content consumption patterns within the portal
• Internal search behavior and query analysis

Why it matters:

Consistent portal use indicates alumni find real value in your digital ecosystem. If they’re logging in regularly, it’s likely they’re staying up to date and finding relevant opportunities to engage.

7. Profile Updates

When alumni update their information—whether it's a new job title, email address, or city—it means they still care enough to keep in touch.

What to track:

• Frequency of updates: How often alumni update their information.
• Types of updates: Changes in employment, contact information, or interests.
• Prompted vs. spontaneous updates: Responses to institutional prompts versus voluntary updates.
• Data completeness: Percentage of profiles with comprehensive information.
• Update trends: Patterns in updates across different alumni segments.

Why it matters:

Clean, updated data is vital for fundraising, event planning, and targeted outreach. Plus, updates are a subtle but telling sign of active alumni interest.

8. Content Engagement (Blogs, Webinars, Newsletters)

Your content library is one of your biggest touchpoints for value-driven engagement. But are alumni actually consuming it? Content consumption patterns reveal alumni interests and inform content strategy.

What to track:

• Open and click-through rates: Effectiveness of email newsletters.
• Webinar registrations and attendance: Interest in live content.
• Content shares and comments: Engagement with blogs and articles.
• Time spent on content: Depth of engagement.
• Feedback and ratings: Quality assessments from alumni.
• Page views and unique visitor counts.
• Content bounce rates (single-page sessions).
• Video play rates and completion percentages.
• Content bookmarking and saving behaviors.
• Content-to-action conversion rates (from reading to donating/volunteering).

Why it matters:

Understanding what topics resonate helps you create smarter campaigns, newsletters, and giving asks. Content engagement also supports your drip and nurture sequences.

9. Giving Participation and Frequency

This one’s obvious—but critical. Tracking how alumni give (and how often) helps you identify your most committed donors and build targeted stewardship journeys.

What to track:

• Donor participation rate: Percentage of alumni who donate.
• Donation frequency: One-time vs. recurring contributions.
• Average gift size: Typical donation amounts.
• Campaign-specific contributions: Effectiveness of targeted fundraising efforts.
• Donor retention rates: Repeat donor statistics.

Why it matters:

Giving isn’t just about money—it’s about commitment. Alumni who give regularly are your most engaged segment and should be treated as such. According to The Chronicle of Philanthropy, repeat donors are 5x more likely to give major gifts down the line.

10. Survey Response Rates

Surveys help you understand the “why” behind alumni behavior. The more responses you get, the more accurate your insights.

What to track:

• Response rates: Overall participation in surveys.
• Completion rates: Percentage of fully completed surveys.
• Segmented responses: Feedback from different alumni groups.
• Recurring themes: Common suggestions or concerns.
• Net Promoter Score (NPS): Likelihood of alumni recommending the institution.
• Survey delivery method effectiveness (email vs. phone vs. in-person).
• Average time to complete surveys.
• Drop-off points and question abandonment rates.
• Follow-up survey response rates.

Why it matters:

Surveys turn passive alumni into contributors. Even if they aren’t giving or attending events yet, a thoughtful survey response is a step toward deeper connection.

Pro Tip: Track which segments respond best to different campaign types and use that to guide your calendar.

How to Track These Metrics with Almabase

Tracking alumni engagement metrics across multiple tools—spreadsheets, CRMs, email platforms, social media dashboards—can get messy fast. Almabase eliminates that chaos by pulling all your key engagement data into one place. Designed specifically for advancement teams, Almabase offers a centralized platform to manage events, campaigns, communications, and reporting—without needing five different systems.

Here’s how Almabase helps you track each metric efficiently:

1. Centralized Engagement Dashboard

Almabase’s real-time dashboard gives you a bird’s-eye view of how your alumni are interacting across channels—without needing to build custom reports.

What you get:

• Live data on event attendance, email performance, portal logins, giving, and more
• Segmentation by class year, geography, affinity, or engagement score
• Visual charts to spot patterns and drop-offs at a glance
• Easy export options for leadership reports or board meetings

Instead of chasing down numbers in five tools, everything you need to analyze and act is in one place—updated live, and accessible to your whole team.

2. Two-Way Sync with Blackbaud RE NXT (TrueSync)

Maintaining clean, updated records is half the battle in alumni engagement. Almabase’s TrueSync integration with Blackbaud RE NXT ensures that engagement data flows seamlessly between platforms—without duplication or delay.

What you get:

• Real-time sync of gifts, profiles, interactions, and attendance
• Automatic updates when alumni change their email or job title on Almabase
• Clean, deduplicated records across systems
• Sync logs for full visibility and data trust

TrueSync means no more CSV uploads or reconciling gift data between systems. Your CRM becomes a true source of truth—with minimal manual effort.

3. Built-in Email + Event Tracking

Whether it’s a giving day push or a webinar invite, Almabase tracks every email open, click, and RSVP—right within the platform.

What you get:

• Real-time open, click, and bounce rates
• Pre-built email templates with dynamic personalization
• RSVP tracking for events (virtual or in-person)
• Segmentation tools for better targeting

You don’t need separate tools for emails and events. Almabase consolidates outreach and engagement data in one view, helping you measure effectiveness immediately—and iterate quickly.

4. Pre-Built Reports for Every Metric

Not everyone on your team is a data wizard—and with Almabase, they don’t have to be. The platform comes loaded with pre-configured reports that align with advancement KPIs.

What you get:

• Giving participation by class year or region
• Email engagement broken down by audience type
• Volunteer and mentorship involvement dashboards
• Custom report builder for one-off insights

When your leadership asks for last quarter’s giving engagement by affinity group, you won’t be stuck building pivot tables. It’s ready in a few clicks.

Want to See Your Metrics in One Place?

With Almabase, advancement teams spend less time cleaning spreadsheets and more time building strategy. If your team is juggling tools and still doesn’t have clarity on what’s working, it’s time to streamline.

Conclusion

Hopefully, the 10 metrics we’ve covered give you a roadmap to understand your community, focus your team, and build stronger donor pipelines. Whether you're focused on growing your volunteer base, boosting Giving Day turnout, or just understanding what content resonates, metrics are the starting point.

We’ve talked in length about some good events and the event management or fundraising tools that can make them succeed consistently. This time, we’re taking a step back and at the basics of fundraising event planning.

In this blog, we’re going through the essentials to turn your fundraising ideas into successful events that don’t just reach your targets but create powerful memories to strengthen your cause. Let’s get started.

10 Steps to Planning a Successful Fundraising Event

1. Have a clear goal before anything else

As with every advancement initiative, the goals are where everything starts and leads back to. We’ve talked about the importance of Smart, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based (SMART) goals in a past blog. While creating the goals that will define your fundraising event, keep the following questions your attendees would have in mind:

• Why should I want to attend this event?
• Do i know what this event is for?
• Does a fundraiser make sense for this event?
• Why should I care enough to donate for this cause?
• Does this event feel relevant to me?
• Where am i hearing about this event?

Apart from these questions, your available staff time, target audience, budget, and other upcoming institution events will play a big part in shaping your scope for your event. Take your time with this step as the right goals are the foundation of a successful event.

2. Select the right type of fundraising event

Depending on your audience, budget, and goals, you may choose from a variety of fundraiser ideas, such as:

• ‍Gala dinners for engaging major donors‍
• Interactive Workshops for a skill or career-oriented event‍
• Walkathons or fun runs for community involvement‍
• Silent auctions for a blend of entertainment and fundraising‍
• Culinary events can be an intimate tasting menu event or a casual food truck rally‍
• Escape rooms/Scavenger hunts to create fun and memorable team-based or competitive activities‍
• Virtual experiences, like online trivia or livestreamed performances, for broader reach

No two events are truly alike, and depending on the success of your fundraiser, a bold new approach might just be your next hallmark annual event.

3. Choose your fundraising method

As you’re not just planning any event, how you want to introduce fundraising to your event is going to be very important. Remember, a fundraising event can have multiple revenue streams. For example:

• Ticket sales or entry fees
• Auctions or raffles with enticing prizes
• Merchandise sales (e.g., branded mugs or shirts)
• Peer-to-peer fundraising, where attendees rally their own support networks

Nowadays, institutions usually look to include diverse fundraising methods in their fundraisers. This is also where pairing the right event with the right fundraising method can greatly impact your raised amount.

4. Choose the right event management and fundraising tools

Now that you know what type of event you want as well as how you’re going to raise funds during it, it’s time to put the right tools to work. Pretty much every modern institution uses a fundraising platform to streamline their events and fundraisers. These tools help you:

• Create event and fundraising pages
• Facilitate online registrations and tickets
• Logistics to engage virtual attendees
• Automated and personalized invitations and follow-ups
• Data collection, reporting, and analytics based on event and giving data

and much more.

Platforms like Almabase help streamline these logistical elements, allowing you more time and energy to focus on fostering genuine connections with your donors.  

5. Building a team for your event

Now that the building blocks are coming into place, it’s time to decide on arguably the most important part of an event, the people. You’ll want to form a committee of people to take on and help with specific parts of the event including but not limited to:

• Event coordinators to oversee logistics
• Volunteer coordinators to manage helpers and ensure a smooth event
• Outreach personnel to secure partnerships and sponsors
• Marketers to handle invitations, storytelling, and getting your cause to the right people

Apart from the above, you’ll want to think about corporations, non-profits, and associations that may want to play a pivotal role in helping you bring your event to life.

6. Finalize a date and time

Now that all the bits and bobs are there, it’s time to lock in a specific place and time. It seems fairly basic but keep in mind that:

• a date that shouldn’t conflict with major holidays or other high-profile events in your area
• your venue must suit your event type, accommodates your expected audience, and is accessible to attendees (physically and virtually)
• for virtual events, your platform of choice can handle the number of participants and offers interactive features to keep your audience engaged

7. Spread the word: Marketing your fundraising event

You’ve got all the info ready to go. But it doesn’t mean anything if it doesn’t reach the right audience. And even if it does, what type of messaging should they receive and when should they receive it so that they truly feel like attending or giving? That’s where your event marketing comes into play. You’ll want to make use of channels such as:

• Social media
• Email
• Flyers and posters (for local audiences)
• Influences, ambassadors, and partners
• Storytelling campaigns

and much much more to get your event and your cause heard. Make sure that your marketing emphasizes how your fundraiser can help your cause of choice.

8. Prepare for contingencies

Even the most tight-knit plans have a chance of going wrong. A 10-minute delay caused by faulty audio equipment might just be that small little factor that disinterests a potential first time donor.

• Have backup vendors in case of last-minute cancellations
• Plan for unexpected weather if your event is outdoors
• Test your equipment and rehearse your event ahead of time
• Have backup equipment and technicians at the ready
• Set up alternative giving options through a different payment provider or website just in case

These are good things to keep in mind but ultimately, your contingencies may have to be just as unique as your event.

9. Nurture relationships after your event

Nowadays, the event doesn’t truly end when the last guest leaves. Following up with attendees is crucial to maintaining their engagement and potentially turning them into loyal supporters. Post-event action items include:

• Sending thank-you emails or handwritten notes to participants and donors
• Sharing photos, videos, and impact reports to highlight the event’s success
• Making segments out of your attendees and donors to improve your engagement efforts
• Requesting feedback to improve future fundraising efforts

Gratitude and proactive follow-ups go a long way in building long-term relationships with your supporters.

10. Turn attendees and donors into supporters

The ultimate measure of a successful fundraising event isn’t just the dollar amount raised but also the connections made and how deep those connections go over time. To turn your attendees into loyal supporters, you’ll want to consider some steps such as:

• Encourage attendees to join your mailing list/newsletter for updates on upcoming campaigns
• Foster a sense of community with behind-the-scenes content, testimonials, or networking opportunities
• Share how their contributions made a tangible impact through success stories or project updates
• Provide exclusive benefits and rewards to past attendees and donors to show your appreciation
• Provide an organic pathway for donors to eventually become champions and help with your planning

By nurturing these relationships, you're creating a network of passionate supporters who are more likely to advocate for your cause and contribute to future initiatives.

Conclusion

Fundraising events have certainly not gotten any easier to plan and host in the past few years. Donors and alumni in general simply expect more, and you can’t just rely on your long-time donors alone. However, we hope that this guide, despite just scratching the surface, was able to give you some ideas for your next fundraising event.

If you’re looking for a partner to help you manage events, engage alumni, and raise funds, do give us a shout and we’ll happily walk you through how we can help with your own personalized demo! ⤵️

Alumni relations have come a long way from simple newsletters and reunion invites. Today, institutions are embracing creativity, technology, and community-driven values to build meaningful, lasting connections with their alumni.

In this blog, we’ve curated 10 standout alumni initiatives that go beyond the ordinary. Whether you're looking to spark new ideas or elevate your existing engagement strategy, these examples are sure to inspire your next big move.

What counts as an alumni relations initiative?

An alumni relations initiative refers to any program, event, or effort specifically designed to engage and strengthen ties with an institution’s alumni community. These initiatives aim to foster a sense of belonging, keep alumni informed, and encourage continued involvement in the life of the school or university. In essence, alumni relations initiatives are a focused subset of broader alumni programs—those that revolve around community-building rather than fundraising, career services, or admissions support.

These initiatives can take many shapes depending on the institution’s goals and audience. Across the US, UK, and Canada, schools and universities have adopted a wide range of strategies to stay connected with their alumni in meaningful ways. Below are some of the most common and effective alumni relations initiatives seen in practice today:

• Reunion Events: Class reunions, homecoming weekends, or milestone gatherings
• Alumni Chapters & Regional Meetups: Local events organized by geography or shared interests‍
• Mentorship Programs: Pairing alumni with current students or recent graduates
• Alumni Awards & Recognition: Honoring outstanding alumni achievements‍
• Online Communities & Networking Platforms: Digital spaces for alumni to connect and collaborate‍
• Lifelong Learning Opportunities: Webinars, courses, and lectures exclusively for alumni‍
• Volunteer Engagement: Alumni-led committees, ambassador programs, or event support‍
• Career Support & Job Boards: Alumni-exclusive job listings, resume reviews, and networking‍
• Affinity Groups: Communities based on identity, profession, or extracurricular involvement‍
• Alumni Newsletters & Magazines: Regular updates showcasing alumni stories and institutional developments

These are some of the most popular ways schools and universities stay connected with their alumni, but the real magic lies in how each institution puts its own spin on them. From small colleges to large universities, we’ve seen some truly creative and impactful ideas take shape.

10 alumni relations initiatives to take inspiration from

In this section, we’re highlighting 10 real-life examples of alumni relations initiatives that stand out. Each one comes with a quick snapshot (literally, where possible!) so you can see how these ideas were brought to life and maybe even borrow a little inspiration for your own alumni strategy.

1. Kent State's Care Calls to New Graduates

In a time when many new graduates feel uncertain about their next steps, Kent State University took a deeply human approach—picking up the phone. As part of their wonderful initiatives, the university launched Care Calls, where staff and faculty personally called recent graduates to check in, offer congratulations, and provide information on alumni resources and support.

What made this initiative so powerful wasn’t just the information shared—it was the gesture itself. A personal call during a major life transition reminded students that they remained part of the Kent State family even after crossing the graduation stage. It turned a one-way farewell into a two-way conversation, reinforcing lifelong belonging. The program’s success earned it a CASE Circle of Excellence Award in 2024.

2. Next-Gen Platform Takes Alumni Engagement to New Level

Punahou School earned a 2024 CASE Circle of Excellence Award for its cutting-edge alumni engagement platform, built in partnership with Almabase. The platform brought together events, volunteer opportunities, career networking, and alumni directories—all in one easy-to-navigate space. The result? A dramatically improved alumni experience and increased participation.

This thoughtful integration led to a measurable impact: over 7,000 alumni became active monthly users, 70% of contactable alumni engaged with the platform, and more than 30,000 alumni profile views were recorded. Additionally, job boards saw 2,000+ self-serve interactions, and alumni resources received over 19,000 engagements. By leveraging Almabase’s tailored technology, Punahou not only modernized its engagement strategy but also built a stronger, more connected alumni community. The initiative demonstrates how the right tech partner can transform passive alumni databases into thriving, connected communities.

3. Undercover President Meets Alumni in Their Workplaces

St. Lawrence College took a bold and refreshingly personal approach to alumni relations by sending their college president undercover. As part of this initiative, the president visited alumni at their workplaces, not just to observe, but to celebrate their post-college journeys in a deeply authentic way. These surprise visits were documented and shared as inspiring stories of alumni success, bridging the gap between the institution and its graduates in a memorable and human-centered way.

What made this initiative stand out wasn’t just the novelty; it was the genuine connection it created. Alumni felt recognized and valued, while the broader college community gained new appreciation for the real-world impact of their peers. The initiative earned St. Lawrence College a 2024 CASE Circle of Excellence Award for redefining how leadership can show up for alumni, literally and figuratively.

4. Connecting Students and Alumni Through Externship Experiences

William & Mary's innovative approach to alumni engagement involved facilitating externship experiences that connected current students with alumni in their professional environments. This initiative earned the university a 2024 CASE Circle of Excellence Award in the Alumni Relations category.

By providing students with the opportunity to shadow alumni in various industries, the program offered real-world insights and fostered meaningful connections between students and graduates. These short-term experiences not only enhanced students' understanding of potential career paths but also strengthened the alumni network by encouraging alumni to actively participate in mentoring the next generation.

5. TCU Fair Connects Alumni and Supports Scholarships and Alumni-Owned Businesses

Texas Christian University (TCU) brought alumni together in a really fun and meaningful way with their Horned Frog Vendor Fair. This event isn’t just about catching up — it’s all about shining a spotlight on alumni-owned businesses and giving back to the community through scholarships. Imagine a campus filled with alumni entrepreneurs selling everything from handmade jewelry to tasty treats, creating a buzz and building connections that matter.

What makes this initiative so special is how it turns alumni support into action — fostering a sense of pride, community, and collaboration all in one place. Plus, it’s a win-win: alumni get to promote their businesses, students benefit from scholarships, and everyone leaves feeling a little more connected. No wonder it snagged a CASE Circle of Excellence Award in 2024!

6. Thompson Rivers University’s New Alumni Welcome Reception

At Thompson Rivers University, graduation was not just about crossing the stage—it was about stepping into a lifelong community. The New Alumni Welcome Reception, held in the nostalgic TRU Old Gym, gave fresh graduates a chance to celebrate with family, friends, faculty, and fellow alumni. Following each convocation ceremony, the gym transformed into a festive space filled with music, photo ops with iconic TRU symbols like the TRU letters and Wolfie, and light refreshments.

This warm tradition, in recent years, saw record-breaking attendance, welcoming nearly 10,000 guests over three days and six ceremonies. The event’s success didn’t go unnoticed; it earned TRU a Gold award for Best Special Initiative from the Canadian Council for Advancement of Education (CCAE) in 2023.

7. The Aston for Life Platform

Aston University introduced the Aston for Life platform to provide its alumni with a centralized hub for personal and professional development. Launched in July 2023, the platform offers a range of resources, including career development tools, networking opportunities, and access to university news and events. This initiative earned Aston University a 2024 CASE Circle of Excellence Award in the Alumni Relations category.

By offering tailored content and opportunities, the platform ensures that alumni remain connected and supported throughout their careers. Features such as personalized career advice, industry-specific news, and community forums foster a sense of belonging and continuous growth among graduates.

8. Ask an Alum: Using AI as an Engagement Tool

The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) took a forward-thinking approach to alumni engagement by integrating artificial intelligence into their "Ask an Alum" program. This initiative earned LSE a Gold award in the 2024 CASE Circle of Excellence Awards.

By leveraging AI, LSE streamlined the process of connecting current students with alumni, facilitating meaningful conversations about careers, experiences, and advice. The AI-driven system efficiently matched students' inquiries with the most relevant alumni, enhancing the overall engagement experience.

9. Young Alumni Opportunity Fund

Stanford University has been putting the power of alumni engagement directly into the hands of its recent graduates through the Young Alumni Opportunity Fund. This ongoing initiative has provided young alumni with micro-grants to create and host events that resonate with their peers, fostering a sense of community and connection beyond the campus.

From local meetups and virtual workshops to networking events, the fund has empowered alumni to take the lead in building meaningful relationships within the Stanford community. By supporting these grassroots efforts, Stanford continues to enhance alumni engagement while cultivating leadership and initiative among its recent graduates.

10. USask Golden Grads Program

At the University of Saskatchewan (USask), the Golden Grads Program is a heartfelt tribute to alumni who graduated 50 years ago. Initiated in 2017, this annual celebration honors the enduring connection between the university and its alumni, recognizing their contributions and lifelong bond with the institution. Each year, Golden Grads receive a commemorative golden alumni pin and parchment, symbolizing their lasting place in the USask community.

The program also features "Memory Lane," a curated collection of stories, photos, and traditions shared by fellow Golden Grads, allowing alumni to reminisce and reconnect with their peers.  It’s a beautifully simple idea that reminds us how powerful it can be to pause, look back, and celebrate the journey because alumni engagement isn’t just about the present, but honoring the paths that led us here.

These initiatives show that alumni engagement isn’t one-size-fits-all—it’s personal, thoughtful, and evolving. What ties them all together is a deep understanding of community and a creative commitment to keeping the alumni spirit alive.

Best practices for any successful alumni relations program or initiative

No matter how creative or ambitious your alumni initiative is, a few foundational practices can go a long way in making sure it actually connects with your community. Think of these as the essentials—habits and principles that the most impactful alumni teams consistently follow.

1. Use data to drive decisions

Before launching any initiative, dig into alumni engagement analytics—email open rates, event RSVPs, survey feedback. This helps you prioritize what alumni actually respond to, not what you think they want.

2. Segment your audience

Treat young alumni, mid-career professionals, and retirees differently. Use graduation year, location, and profession to personalize outreach and events. A mentorship invite for a recent grad isn’t going to resonate with a 1985 alum—and vice versa.

3. Build peer-to-peer momentum

Create alumni champions or ambassadors for different regions, industries, or class years. When initiatives are peer-driven rather than institution-driven, they gain more traction.

4. Integrate with student life

Make alumni relations part of the student experience before graduation. Invite alumni to guest lecture, offer externships, or co-host events. This ensures students transition into engaged alumni, not distant observers.

5. Celebrate milestones, not just fundraising

Spotlight 10-year reunions, professional achievements, new parents, or business launches. Engagement doesn’t always need to lead to a donation—sometimes it starts with a simple celebration.

6. Choose tech that scales but stays human

Platforms like Almabase can help automate communication, host events, and manage data to make sure your communication stays warm and human without having to write each email manually.

7. Measure and adjust

Don’t set and forget. Track KPIs like event attendance vs. registration, digital engagement, and volunteer sign-ups. Run quick pulse surveys post-events and use that insight to iterate.

Things to avoid when setting up an alumni relations initiative

Even with the best intentions, some common missteps can hold your initiative back. Here are a few pitfalls we’ve seen teams stumble into—and some gentle reminders to help you steer clear of them.

1. Don’t launch without clarity

If your initiative lacks a clear “why” or value proposition, alumni will eventually struggle to relate to your cause. They need to understand why your initiative exists and why now, as well as what they are gaining from participating.

2. Avoid asking before giving

Jumping straight into donation appeals—especially with younger alumni—can backfire. Offer value first, whether it's through mentorship, events, or learning opportunities.

3. Don’t rely on one-size-fits-all engagement

Personalization is simply not just a matter of luxury anymore but a growing necessity. Sending the same event invite or newsletter to a 23-year-old and a 60-year-old just won’t land the same way. Segmentation and personalization should be central to your communication and promotion efforts.

4. Neglecting internal collaboration

If your alumni office is working in a silo, you’re bound to not get the most out of your initiatives, whether that’s time wasted on manual syncs or solving redundancies. Sync with career services, student affairs, and advancement for richer programming and outreach.

5. Minimal post-event follow-up

Sending a thank-you is pretty much expected now, which means the standard is higher. Follow up with a thank-you, share event highlights, and suggest a next step (e.g., join a group, mentor, donate).

Conclusion

At the heart of every great alumni initiative is a simple goal: building genuine, lasting relationships. It’s about authenticity, continuity, and creating moments that make alumni feel seen, heard, and still part of the story. Whether you're just getting started or looking to level up, small, thoughtful steps can lead to a big, meaningful impact.  So if you're designing your next initiative, let these ideas be a reminder: meaningful engagement starts with listening, builds with consistency, and grows with creativity.

If you're exploring Graduway alternatives, you're likely in the middle of evaluating what your advancement team truly needs from an alumni engagement platform in 2026. Maybe you're looking for tighter CRM integration, a more tailored user experience, or modular functionality that aligns better with your internal workflows.

This blog is designed to help you identify the best-fit solutions. We’ve researched five leading platforms that advancement professionals are turning to—each offering a slightly different approach to engagement, community management, and fundraising. Whether you’re focused on alumni networking, giving days, mentorship programs, or branded experiences, these alternatives are worth your time.

What Makes a Great Graduway Alternative?

Not every platform will meet every institution’s needs. That’s why the best Graduway alternatives are flexible, powerful, and deeply connected to the daily operations of advancement teams. Here's what to look for:

• CRM Integration: especially with Raiser’s Edge NXT, Salesforce, or Ellucian
• Scalable Personalization: dynamic communications based on user data
• Fully Branded Experiences: Your alumni portal should look and feel like your institution.
• Built-In Analytics: understand and act on engagement metrics
• Ease of Use: both for internal teams and alumni end users
• Modular Pricing: pay for what you use, and accommodate your personal requirements

5 Best Graduway Alternatives

Each of these platforms offers a unique value proposition. Here's a deep dive into why they stand out in 2026:

1. Almabase

Almabase is an all-in-one alumni engagement and fundraising platform purpose-built for educational institutions. It’s known for its tight integrations, intuitive interface, and ability to run giving, events, email, and community features from a single platform.

Why advancement teams love it:

Almabase is designed around the real workflows of advancement teams. It integrates directly with Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT, enabling bidirectional sync of contacts, activities, and gifts. Teams can automate email cadences, launch giving day microsites, run peer-to-peer campaigns, and manage alumni directories—all without code.

Pros:

• Deep RE NXT integration with best-in-industry two-way sync
• Highly dedicated support for onboarding and issues
• Easy to set-up and customize
• A customer-feedback-driven product roadmap

Cons:

• Almabase doesn’t offer a free trial or free tier.
• As a platform that has historically focused on K-12 and Higher-ed, Almabase may not be as experienced with nonprofits as some other options on the market.

Ideal for:

Advancement teams at higher-ed and K-12 schools as well as small to mid-sized nonprofits that want to focus on alumni engagement, events, and fundraising.

Pricing:

Modular pricing based on features and alumni database size. Book a demo here.

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2. Anthology

Anthology offers a wide range of solutions for institutions to engage, raise funds, and host events within their platform ecosystem. Some tools such as their Anthology Encompass and Anthology Raise will be of interest to advancement teams.

Why advancement teams love it:

Anthology comes with its own CRM to complement its ecosystem as it covers both students and alumni as well as a few complementary tools to help advancement tasks such as marketing.

Pros:

• An expansive set of tools for teams with a higher budget
• May be ideal for institutions that heavily lean into the Microsoft software environment

Cons:

• Some reviews mention the possibility of glitches
• As an expansive platform, it may come with a higher learning curve
• Integrations with tools outside of the Anthology environment may be limited

Ideal for:

Institutions or nonprofits that are used to the Anthology environment or preferred the previous iteration of iModules

Pricing:

No publicly available pricing sheet. You can book a demo and ask for a quote here.

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3. EverTrue

EverTrue is an alumni engagement and fundraising platform designed for educational institutions and nonprofits. It stands out for its deep integration with social media, advanced segmentation, and real-time analytics, enabling advancement teams to connect with donors and alumni in highly personalized ways.

Why advancement teams love it:

EverTrue’s unique TrueView profiles aggregate up-to-date career, giving, and engagement data—including Facebook interactions—into a single dashboard. Teams can segment audiences with 80+ filters, automate outreach, manage events, and identify new ambassadors or volunteers using actionable engagement insights. Its mobile-friendly interface and seamless integrations with popular tools (like Eventbrite and Emma) help advancement teams save time and boost participation.

Pros:

• Social media integration for engagement tracking
• Filters for advanced segmentation and targeted outreach
• Real-time analytics and customizable reporting

Cons:

• Evertrue focuses heavily on data enrichment through social media and any gaps in integrations with your social media workflows or CRM could impact its effectiveness
• May be expensive for teams who want an expansive alumni engagement and event management tool on top of Evertrue

Ideal for:

Teams who want to engage alumni active on Facebook and mainly prioritize fundraising

Pricing:

EverTrue’s pricing is not publicly available. You can request a demo to get a quote here.

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4. ToucanTech

ToucanTech is a CRM-driven engagement platform designed for schools, colleges, and nonprofits. It combines fundraising, alumni engagement, and communication into a single interface.

Why advancement teams love it:

ToucanTech is praised for its ease of use and built-in CRM, which removes the need to integrate with a third-party system. It's particularly popular among K–12 independent schools and smaller colleges that want an all-in-one system without heavy tech lift.

Pros:

• Built-in CRM and donation tracking
• User-friendly design according to reviews
• Forums, job boards, and photo galleries
• Online payments and ticketing

Cons:

• May require some getting used to as it is an expansive platform that relies on how well you can use its database
• Will take time and effort to switch to if your institution already has an extensive software environment or CRM in place
• May not have as many integrations as some other options

Ideal for:

Advancement offices that want a branded alumni website with an in-built back-end CRM.

Pricing:

ToucanTech’s pricing is not publicly available. You can request a demo to get a quote here.

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5. Hivebrite

Hivebrite is a powerful community management platform used across education, enterprise, and nonprofit sectors. It offers robust customizability and scalability for complex engagement needs.

Why advancement teams love it:

Hivebrite excels at creating branded online communities for alumni, offering tools for networking, groups, forums, events, mentorship programs, and content sharing.

Pros:

• Hivebrite offers good community-building, group management, and online interaction features
• Powerful API and third-party integration capabilities
• Many reviews praise their customer support

Cons:

• Some users report limited customizations and a variable learning curve
• Reporting and analytics modules are still developing and may lack flexibility or depth, especially for payments and emails.
• As a well-established and extensive tool, it may be one of the more expensive options

Ideal for:

Large universities or Advancement teams that need deep customization, API access, and enterprise-level security for complex engagement structures.

Pricing:

Hivebrite offers three pricing plans: “Connect”, “Scale” and "Enterprise" with each tier having custom pricing. You can find out more here

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Choosing an Engagement Platform That Matches Your Strategy

The platforms above offer different strengths. What you ultimately choose as an alternative to Graduway will depend on:

• Your budget and team size
• You current data infrastructure and potential costs of migrating data
• Your team’s comfort with your current and alternative choices
• Your institution’s long-term needs and goals

Ultimately, integrated platforms that offer a variety of tools are meant to be long-term partnerships and you’ll want to make sure you land on the right platform for your institution and your team.

If you’re considering Almabase, we’d love to sit down with you and show you how we can help. We’re always open for a personalized demo or conversation! ⤵️