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Blackbaud recently announced that support for Raiser’s Edge NXT’s database view and related functionality will end on September 15, 2027, affecting several Blackbaud products. These include Blackbaud Online Express and Blackbaud NetCommunity (BBNC). For advancement teams that have spent years building forms, pages, workflows, and other processes around the platform, this means choosing and migrating to a new platform. The prospect can feel like a lot to take on, especially if it wasn't something you'd anticipated.

If you're looking for an alternative, Almabase can help you replace the functionality you currently rely on across these products. We've already covered why teams might be thinking of a move off BBNC and how the main alternatives compare. In this article, we’ll be focusing on what happens once you've made that decision: what the migration process looks like, what your team can expect along the way, and how Almabase approaches the move.

In case you’re evaluating how Almabase stacks up against BBNC, check out our comparison blog here.

There’s also another question that comes up around a platform migration: How much is this going to cost?
This question extends beyond the immediate, visible technical costs. In fact, the technical side of the move might just be the simplest to figure out. It’s the broader, more abstract elements like shifting scopes, changing requirements, or even figuring out the right set of requirements in the first place that could end up costing the most amount of money and time, if not approached thoughtfully.

That's why we want to walk you through the Assisted Fast Pass Migration process upfront: what happens at each stage, what your team is responsible for, what our migration team handles, and where costs may come into the picture. We hope to give you a clear idea of what the move to Almabase will look like before you get started, so there are fewer surprises along the way.

Why transparency matters during a migration

A migration project always begins with an agreed-upon plan. But it’s also very likely that, a few weeks in, you discover a form that needs some additional customization or a request that seemed straightforward seems to fall outside the original scope, on second thought. These are perfectly reasonable hiccups during the migration, but if work is already underway, it could seem harder to understand what you're paying for, and even harder to plan around the rest of the project.

Clear expectations are at the heart of our migration approach, starting with total transparency around what extra requirements cost. With Almabase’s Assisted Fast Pass Migration, each stage gives you a chance to understand what's being proposed, what falls within the standard migration, and where something would require additional work.

Basically, you shouldn't find out about an extra requirement after the work has already been done. Your approval and sign-off comes first. The five steps in the migration process are built around this intention. Let’s get into them.

1. Kickoff: Getting the project off on the right foot

The migration process starts with a kickoff between your team, a dedicated CSM, and an implementation specialist. This is where we get the groundwork in place. This is usually access to your current site, your branding assets, and the dates your team needs to work around.

Another important step here is understanding your calendar and priorities. Your Giving Day, reunion, fiscal year-end, or another major event may determine what needs to happen first and we would be building the migration calendar around it. So, the migration sequence might look a little different for each institution, as each gets to choose which product goes first.

The kickoff is also a chance to flag anything unusual about your current NetCommunity setup.

After years on a platform, it's normal for your setup to have accumulated a few workarounds, custom configurations, or integrations that made sense when they were created. We don't need to solve all of those questions in the first meeting, but we do need to know about them.

That way, we can account for them during the next stage: the inventory. 🤗

Your team mainly needs to provide:

  • Key dates and deadlines
  • Relevant branding assets
  • Access to your existing NetCommunity site
  • Any known custom configurations, integrations, or unusual workflows

From there, you can let us take on the heavy lifting.

Your dedicated CSM and implementation specialist work with you throughout the migration, while your team focuses on the decisions and approvals. A migration shouldn't require your advancement team to take on managing a project full time on top of everything else they’re already handling.

Your data doesn't have to wait for the build

Your data migration is handled alongside the rest of the process. Almabase's bi-directional TrueSync integration connects with Raiser's Edge NXT and supports two-way syncing for configured entities and fields, including constituent, event, and gift data.

Admins can also decide which fields update automatically and which should be reviewed before they're pushed or pulled between systems.

That means your team doesn't have to wait until every page and workflow decision has been finalized before thinking about what happens to your data. The data side of the transition can move forward alongside the rest of the migration, with real time decisions being made.

2. Discovery and inventory: weeks one and two

Once kickoff is complete, your implementation specialist carefully starts building a complete inventory of what's currently running on NetCommunity: pages, forms, events, programs, memberships, and other key components of your site.

This process is useful in its own right, especially when taken on by someone external. After years on a platform, it's easy for a site to accumulate things that no one thinks about anymore, simply because they’re too involved in the process. The inventory gives you one place to see what's actually there, anything you might’ve forgotten about, and to make decisions about what needs to move vs what can be left behind.

Probably the most effective part of this is that it's a shared inventory that you can review alongside your specialist. If something looks outdated, doesn't need to move, or needs a closer look, you can flag it before it moves to the new product.

The inventory can surface things like:

  • Duplicate or unused event pages
  • Old forms or pages that are still live
  • Site elements that don't need to be carried into Almabase
  • Custom fields and configurations that don’t make sense on the new platform

This idea is to document your NetCommunity site so well that both teams end up on the same picture of what exists and what needs to happen next. The Almabase team handles the actual inventory work, and all you need to do is review the inventory and flag anything that should be changed, removed, or investigated.

3. Sign-off: deciding what moves forward

At this stage, the migration project starts taking on a more defined shape as you decide what you need to bring into Almabase. You and your implementation specialist review the inventory, decide what carries forward, and establish what the finished version should look like.

For each item being migrated, the team, along with you, defines the acceptance criteria before the building begins. If your existing alumni directory has eight fields and three filters, for example, those requirements can be documented as part of the scope. By the end of this discussion, everyone has arrived at the same definition of what needs to be delivered.

This is also where you’ll be able to clearly separate standard migration work from anything that requires additional effort.

If something falls outside the standard scope, you'll know before the work begins:

  • What the additional work involves
  • What's included and what's excluded
  • The estimated effort
  • The associated cost

You won’t have to decipher this from the invoice later on, because the work only moves forward once you’ve signed off on the scope.

This is exactly why your input here matters most. The Almabase team handles the building, but it’s you and your team deciding what is important enough to carry forward and what “done” needs to look like, within the standard process or with additional effort layered on.

4. Build and launch: 30 days for each product

Our team takes up building only once you’ve greenlit the scope. Each product gets its own dedicated 30-day track, with the order of products taken up built around your events and fiscal calendar.

This is to accommodate your calendar: giving days, reunions, Homecoming, we’ll build that product first so you’re ready in time for go-live day. If your immediate priority is your broader alumni site, we might begin with building that instead. The point is, even at this pace, you’re not forced to adopt a one-size-fits-all solution. Your implementation team works with you to determine what needs to come first.

The build itself happens on your Almabase pages, so you can review as it gets built while also familiarizing yourself with the new platform.

The timeline typically looks like this:

  • 30-day build track: Each product moves through its own focused build.
  • Weekly working session: Your team meets with the implementation team to review progress, provide input, and make decisions.
  • Training as you go: Your team gets hands-on experience with the platform during the build, rather than waiting until everything is finished to start learning it.
  • First launch: The fastest migrations can have their first product live around 45 days from kickoff, depending on the scope and sequencing of your project.

Having the scope agreed upon shows up in smoothness at this point: you can expect fewer decisions to make from scratch during this stage. Your team knows what's being built, your implementation specialist knows what they're working toward, and everything can move as planned, on track.

5. Cutover: moving from NetCommunity to Almabase

As you get closer to launch, the focus shifts from building to making the transition itself as smooth as possible.

The most important part of that is making sure people can still find the things they've been using. Your team receives a redirect map that pairs each carried-forward NetCommunity URL with its new Almabase destination. You'll also want to review where those old links appear outside NetCommunity: your main institutional website, email templates, QR codes, printed materials, and any other places where an old URL may still be in circulation.

The redirect map gives you a clear list of what needs to change and no one has to discover old links one by one after launch.

Before each product goes live, your team gets to review it thoroughly and explicitly approve the launch.

The aim, with these five steps, is to get your Almabase programs ready before your NetCommunity access ends, so the transition remains smooth and doesn't become a last-minute scramble.

What happens when something doesn't fit the standard scope?

Not everything that comes up during a migration falls neatly into the original plan. But there's also an important conversation to be had: what counts as additional scope and what is a limitation in the platform itself?

If something requires work beyond the standard migration scope, that's identified and quoted before the work begins. You can then decide whether you want to take it on.

But if there’s a requirement you have that Almabase cannot support yet, we’ll be fully transparent with you. Essentially, you haven’t asked for too much, we’re just not there yet. Depending on what you need, the team can look at a workaround or determine how the functionality could be addressed after launch.

This conversation is also one of the reasons the earlier stages matter. The shared inventory, defined acceptance criteria, and upfront scoping give everyone a common reference point throughout the project.

That's really the principle behind the entire migration process. You're not expected to know every detail of what needs to happen before the project starts. The process itself is designed to show you those details early, give your team a chance to make the calls that matter, and keep the build moving while minimizing unexpected, last-minute surprises.

Ready to make the move?

A BBNC migration may not have been on your roadmap, but that also doesn't mean it has to become a project that takes over your team's calendar.

With a clear process, an agreed scope, and the right support, you can move the parts of NetCommunity that matter to your team and work for your institution without having to figure everything out as you go. The Almabase team handles the build and migration work, while your team stays in complete control of the decisions, priorities, and final approvals.

And because the scope and any additional costs are addressed before the work happens, you can go into the migration knowing what to expect.

If you're planning your move away from BBNC, let's talk about what it could look like for your institution.

Talk to the Almabase team about your BBNC migration →

Assisted Fast Pass Migration from BBNC to Almabase
Moving from BBNC to Almabase: The Assisted Fast Pass Migration
Featured

Moving from BBNC to Almabase: The Assisted Fast Pass Migration

Blackbaud is sunsetting support for Raiser’s Edge NXT’s database view and related functionality in September 2027. Learn how Almabase replaces your current functionality and how our Assisted Fast Pass Migration makes for a smooth switch without disrupting your campaigns or operations.

Anwesha Kiran

September 10, 2026

12 minutes

Read

A paddle raise (also called a fund-a-need) is a great and simple fundraising format for nonprofits. It is easy to host, fun, and similar enough to auctions that if you have experience in one, you can easily incorporate the other.

All this is to say that, with proper planning, it is one of the most effective ways to get donations for your nonprofit or a particular project.

In this blog, we’ll look at what makes a typical paddle raise work, its benefits, and the essential steps to start hosting one on your own.

What is a Paddle Raise?

A paddle raise, also often called fund-a-need, is a live, direct appeal during a fundraising event such as a gala where donors pledge a financial contribution to a nonprofit, charity, or a particular cause. This is usually done by raising paddles containing varying numbers or ‘levels’, or through bidding devices and software.

A person with a paddle raise or auction paddle
Photo by Anita Jankovic on Unsplash 

Unlike charity auctions though, there aren’t any items or art involved, and attendees will not be bidding on a piece. An ask is made, and donors willing to contribute that amount raise their paddles. Due to the simpler setup and direct contributions, paddle raises have high ROI and are generally considered to be very effective.

How does a Paddle Raise work?

Usually taking place at the peak of the fundraiser, a paddle raise takes around 10-20 minutes (it happens quite quickly). This is typically how it unfolds:

  • A designated speaker or emcee gets the event rolling by showing a video or narrating a quick story that introduces and emphasizes the impact of your mission.
  • The emcee announces the fundraising target for the night, or if there are multiple causes, the goals for each.
  • Tiers of contributions are planned beforehand ($10k, $7.5k and so on), and the emcee starts with the highest tier and works their way down to the lower tiers. When they ask for contributions, attendees express their willingness by raising numbered paddles.
  • Volunteers and staff keep track of all the pledges and note it down.
  • After going through all the tiers, the pledges are processed, and the total amount raised is announced. Attendees are thanked for their contributions and the event draws to a close.

Now that we’ve gone through what a paddle raise is and how it usually plays out, let’s get to how you can run one of your own.

How to Run a Successful Paddle Raise (Step-by-Step)

While paddle raises are simple enough in concept, they do require proper planning and coordination to capture pledges accurately and create good energy overall.

Here’s how you do it:

1. Pick the right cause/project for your targets and set your targets

Paddle raises are a lot more effective if you can tie them to a specific initiative that makes donors feel like they’re making a meaningful impact. It could be an annual raise for cancer, providing education to underprivileged children, etc.

Set a tangible goal and be clear on where the money goes. Sharing this with your donors builds trust. The goal shouldn’t be so high that hitting it feels impossible. All in all, you want to set a realistic but fairly ambitious figure.

2. Decide the contribution levels or tiers

You should aim for 5-10 levels and make sure it’s inclusive of everyone’s giving capabilities. You can discuss with your pre-committed donors (more on that later) to decide amounts for the higher giving tiers (or conversely for lower giving tiers depending on the situation).

This is where having a regularly updated donor database helps greatly, as you can base your levels off of giving history and data.
A basic example would be to have $15k as the highest tier, followed by $10k, $5k, $2k and so on all the way to $50. Remember that you have to be inclusive, so don’t skimp out on small or micro-level contributions.

3. Pick your emcee or host

The emcee is critical in setting the stage and the energy before the raise begins. An enthusiastic crowd can make a massive difference in contributions. If possible, hire a professional emcee who has been on the mic for other charity events before. You know your donors best; use that knowledge to pick out a host that can connect with them and elevate the room accordingly..

Alternatively, if your organization has deep ties with the attendees, you could consider a leadership figure (directors, chair, etc.) for familiarity. Of course, they need to be a good orator as well.

4. Decide the schedule and script

Since a paddle raise is relatively short, decide when the paddle raise should take place during your fundraising event or gala. You should aim to host the raise during the peak of the fundraiser, when everyone is energetic and receptive to instructions from you or your host.

Come up with a script, including your opening statement, tier announcements, anecdotes, and expressing gratitude at the end. Have alternative scripts ready for different scenarios since you can’t always predict if you’ll hit your target, overshoot it, or come close.

5. Pick the right tools for your event

You can choose to host your paddle raise with either physical paddles or through bidding software, though incorporating the former is heavily recommended.

You’ll need to assign numbers to each attendee and give them a paddle with the corresponding number. When a certain giving tier is called out, they can choose to pledge that amount by raising the paddle while volunteers keep track of it.

If you’re opting for a digital process, look for mobile-friendly bidding platforms. There are some other options as well like scanning QR codes to pledge. However, keep  your attendees’ preferences in mind and try to find a balance between their experience and your team’s feature set. This is important, since  the bidding and giving data will need to be synced to your CRM.

6. Running the paddle raise itself

When opening your event, it helps to set the energy high. Start with the mission statement and targets you set earlier. Here’s where the emcee does the heavy lifting. Videos and stories with emotional angles work really well at establishing a connection with your donors and creating empathy for your cause. If you have first time donors in the mix, a quick explanation of how the paddle raise works would also be helpful.

Make sure your volunteers are in place to clearly record everything. The emcee announces the levels in succession, starting with the highest one and working their way down.
Seeing major contributions right at the start might encourage the others to go beyond what they had originally planned. Make sure that the emcee acknowledges and celebrates pledges briefly for each tier before moving on to the next one.

How your staff records the pledges is up to you. You can use an app, spreadsheets, or simply pen and paper. Choose whichever would be the most convenient and accurate for your team.

7. Gratitude and stewardship

After going through all the levels, tally the total amount raised and announce it as the event draws to a close. Celebrate the impact everyone has created on the day. Tying the money raised to a tangible outcome (for example, 50 scholarships granted for struggling children, or feeding 100 people) creates even more positivity and really drives home a sense of accomplishment and giving.

After your fundraising event, follow up with your attendees to collect the pledged amounts, preferably within a day. Include key details like their paddle number, amount they pledged, and multiple payment options. Thank all the participants, regardless of whether they donated or not.

A Few Tips to Enhance Your Paddle Raise

Here are a few extra things to ensure you get the most out of your paddle raise(s):

  • Pre-committing a handful of donors: Reach out to some of your long time supporters, and ask for an early commitment to a particular level, especially the higher ones. Hesitation in the opening rounds of the raise can affect the overall contributions negatively. When attendees see paddles being raised immediately even at higher tiers, it gives them confidence to donate more.
  • Host it at the right time: If your paddle raise is part of a larger fundraising event (as is most common), avoid doing it right after a meal break when attendees are a bit languid, or at the very end of the event when a lot of them have left already.
  • Celebrate milestones during the raise: Every time you get significantly closer to hitting the day’s target, celebrate it. For example, if your goal is to raise $30000, then announce and celebrate when the contributions reach $5000, $15000, maybe hit a gong at $25000, and so on. Also, make sure to recognize all contributions, big or small, with equal excitement.

Almabase - A Powerful Tool for Hosting Your Paddle Raise

At its core, a paddle raise is fairly simple. But behind that simplicity is a lot of manual tracking like volunteers noting down pledges, someone tallying totals, and follow-up calls or emails to actually collect what was pledged. This is usually where a platform like Almabase can take some of that load off your team.

Instead of clipboards and spreadsheets, Almabase gives you a real-time dashboard of the event as it unfolds, so pledges don't need to be re-entered after the fact. Since collecting payment is often the trickiest part, you can also capture a guest's card at registration and charge pledges automatically once the raise wraps, rather than chasing donors down individually.

A couple of other things worth mentioning: contributions can be routed straight to the fund or project they were raised for, and everything syncs directly with your CRM so your donor records stay accurate without extra data entry.

None of this replaces a great emcee or an emotionally engaged room, but it does mean less time spent staring at numbers, and more time celebrating what you raised. 
Request a personalized demo to see how this would look for you!

Book an events demo with Almabase
How to run a successful paddle raise (fund-a-need) at your event
Featured

How to run a successful paddle raise (fund-a-need) at your event

Learn what a paddle raise is, how you can run one successfully, as well as a few tips to make your paddle raise stand out.

Hari Govind

September 4, 2026

12 minutes

Read

Modern donors expect deeply relevant, personalized communications, especially when it’s alumni hearing from their alma mater. Generic messages won’t cut it, but it can also be difficult to make your appeals stand out when you’re making the same ask every year. To develop annual fund appeal letters that drive revenue and deepen relationships, you need a strategic approach.

Annual fund appeals succeed when they have refined messaging, emotional resonance, and enough variation to win donors’ support outside of flashier, major campaigns. In this post, we’ll explore a few key ways to elevate your university’s next ask.

1. Center Authentic Student Storytelling

Donors give to people, not institutions, making personal narratives one of the most effective fundraising and marketing strategies you can use. By shifting the focus from university-wide achievements to the tangible success of individual students, you foster a direct emotional connection with your audience and demonstrate the real, lasting impact of their donations.

Instead of relying on generic asks for annual fund appeal letters, incorporate the stories of individual students and the scholarships and programs that empower them to thrive. For instance, you might share how a first-generation nursing student used a grant to complete their clinical rotations, or include a quote from a scholarship recipient about how attending your university made their dreams a reality.

No matter how you incorporate storytelling into your appeals, Meyer Partners recommends using the three R's of storytelling to make them as impactful and ethical as possible:

The three R’s of nonprofit storytelling: resonance, relevance, and respect
  • Resonance: Every story should include real, humanizing details that resonate with donors. Let students tell their stories in their own words, and pair testimonials with photos whenever possible.
  • Relevance: Make sure the donor can clearly understand their role in the story. Use donor-centric language that appeals directly to supporters’ values, inspiring them to become the changemakers who support the next generation of students.
  • Respect: Respect both your readers and your storytellers by maintaining authenticity. Be direct and honest about what donations can achieve, and always focus on positive emotions like empowerment rather than guilt or scare tactics.

Incorporate these stories into multiple elements of your annual fund campaign to ensure maximum visibility and consistency. For example, you might include quotes from a student in your direct mail appeals, then post a selfie video of the same student telling their story on social media.

2. Highlight Impactful Giving Opportunities

To maximize revenue and increase average gift sizes, ask for more than standard, one-time cash gifts in your annual appeal letters. Offer additional giving options that provide greater flexibility and can increase donors’ long-term impact. These opportunities are often more compelling, especially for young alumni looking for accessible options and for high-capacity donors looking to make the most of their donations.

Specifically, use your annual appeals to highlight opportunities like:

Matching Gifts

The easiest way to make supporters’ donations go further is to double them. Typically, donors can double the impact of their gifts at no extra cost in one of two ways:

  1. Your university offers a matching donation challenge. Organizations often partner with a major donor who commits to matching every dollar donated within a set timeframe, up to a certain amount. These challenges motivate individual donors to give urgently so they don’t miss out on the match.
  2. Donors request corporate matching gifts from their employers. At any time, donors who work for participating companies can independently request matching donations from their workplaces. If the request meets the employer’s guidelines (e.g., a donation between $10 and $100 to a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit), they’ll match their employee’s gift.

Either way, donation matching is a powerful motivator, especially during year-end giving season. Feature matching gifts prominently in your annual fund appeals, explaining how to participate and why these donations are so impactful.

Recurring Giving

Imagine you’re a recent graduate just starting your career and trying to pay off student loans. You wouldn’t want to donate $1,000 to the university you left last year, but it might be feasible to give $20 a month. In this case, you’re much more likely to respond to an appeal that highlights recurring giving.

Recurring gifts offer a more manageable opportunity to support your university while deepening donor relationships. In your annual fund appeal letters, include the option to give monthly and provide several accessible donation tiers.

Legacy Giving

Plant the seed for long-term support by introducing planned giving and bequest options in your annual appeals, too. These avenues empower alumni to leave a lasting mark on your institution without requiring an immediate, large-scale donation.

Even if most donors aren’t ready to commit to a legacy gift right now, just including information about planned giving in your appeal can get them thinking about it. Include links in emails and QR codes in direct mail letters so supporters can easily learn more on your university’s website or request a meeting with your major gifts officer. Note each donor who shows interest in the program so you can cultivate the relationship over time.

3. Leverage Donor Data for Highly Personalized Appeals

The best fundraising strategies reflect the unique relationship each supporter has with your university. Highly personalized appeals show each donor that you value them as an individual and respect their unique contributions.

Use your donor and alumni data to tailor your asks as much as possible. Go beyond addressing recipients by their preferred names—reference their specific past involvement, giving history, and personal connections to the university. Acknowledging that an alumnus was on the debate team or that a donor consistently supports the engineering department validates their identity and gives them clear, specific reasons to give again.

Segment your donor lists in several ways to maximize relevancy, and regularly audit your donor database to ensure all contact information and engagement records are accurate before sending appeals.

If you aren’t sure how to best segment your audience, hone in on the highest-value potential donors, or match supporters with the right requests, consider professional donor analytics services. Experienced fundraising consultants who specialize in data analysis can help you optimize your strategy for this year’s annual fund appeal and well into the future.

An effective annual fund approach relies on deep personalization, authentic narratives, and a variety of flexible giving options tailored to your audience. Upgrading the underlying strategy of your communications with these tips will help you build stronger relationships with alumni and secure the financial future of your core programs.

3 Ways to Build a Better Annual Fund Appeal for Higher Ed
Featured

3 Ways to Build a Better Annual Fund Appeal for Higher Ed

Asking for donations to your annual fund can feel repetitive, but your appeal letters shouldn’t be. Learn how to develop better annual fund appeals here.

Alyssa Jefferies

September 3, 2026

12 minutes

Read

LinkedIn continues to stay relevant for alumni outreach in 2026 as it is one of the most comprehensive self-updating directories from an advancement standpoint. Over 50% of LinkedIn’s user base holds a higher-education degree, and ~53% of US college graduates are active on the platform.

That means your alumni not only present but also likely engaging with a variety of content. But as far as reaching out to them goes, being present on LinkedIn and being reachable are two different things, and the wrong outreach strategy can disinterest or even alienate alumni.

In this blog, we’ll go through whether LinkedIn is worth your time for alumni outreach and how you can get your alumni’s attention effectively.

Is LinkedIn outreach worth the investment?

Let’s start with understanding why LinkedIn is different from the other channels

LinkedIn InMail gets a 10–25% response rate while cold email, by comparison, sits at 1–5%. The platform’s natural context is also a big factor here because when an alum receives an InMail from their alma mater, it’s in a different environment to when they’re sorting through personal emails and family messages. They log on to LinkedIn with a certain mindset, which makes them more open to professional conversations.

LinkedIn also gives outreach teams more context about who they’re reaching before they begin the process such as:

  • Where an alum works currently
  • What they’ve recently posted
  • What groups and communities they’re in
  • Who the common connections are

That’s a lot of helpful material to tailor the first message that will hopefully be the start of a donor’s journey. Combine all of this with the social media nature of the platform and you get a channel that has a lot of potential if you approach it right.

LinkedIn Alumni Outreach Strategies

Now that we’ve established that LinkedIn is at least worth a look, let’s set your team up for success so that your messages don’t go ignored.

1. Build an Active Presence Before You Send a Message

Advancement teams (and most teams in any field, to be fair) tend to treat LinkedIn outreach the same way they’d treat a cold email campaign. They find the person, write the message, hit send, and hope for the best.

But LinkedIn is, at it’s core,  a social network. Your alumni notice who’s following you, who’s commenting on your posts, and whether your institution has a solid presence on the platform. If your university’s LinkedIn page hasn’t posted in months and the last post was a stock photo of a campus building, it hurts your cause already.

Before you start an outreach campaign, make sure you tick all these boxes::

  1. First, make sure your institution’s LinkedIn page is active. Posting once per weekday helps you reach 60% of your followers in a month. You should be aiming for consistent presence over viral content.
  2. Secondly, look for mutual connections, a shared connection increases reply rates by 27%. If a colleague or another alum is already connected,
  3. Thirdly, follow the alum you plan to message and leave a genuine comment on something they’ve posted. If possible, build and nurture your online relationship with them. You should be looking to gain a follow-back. This can be crucial since alumni who already follow your institution are 81% more likely to respond to your InMail.

2. Build a Segmented List

Use your CRM along with LinkedIn's alumni search tool to understand who you will be sending your messages to. Many alumni engagement tools also allow you to better find, segment, and automate outreach to the right people.

The segmentation itself will be crucial as personalization is a big part of making your message stand out (as we will explain later), so take your time and make sure all your segments and alumni information is updated, synced, and ready to go.

3. Get the Subject Line Right

LinkedIn InMail by default gives you a 200-character subject line limit. When an alum receives your InMail as a notification, they see roughly 25 to 40 characters before the preview cuts off.

For this reason, short, specific, and personalized subject lines can work really well. For example: “A quick question from [University]” or “Connecting with [Name] re: mentorship”.

What won’t work on the other hand, is anything that sounds like a mass email campaign. Something like “Exciting news from the alumni office!” might feel generic or may confuse recipients.

4. Keep the Message Short and Simple

LinkedIn’s own data shows that InMails under 400 characters get higher response rates. Many institutions sometimes write messages much longer than this and have their messages scrolled past.

For your first message, your alums only need enough to understand what you’re asking and if it's worth their time. If you have more context to give and more reasons to say why this outreach matters, that can follow later.

Write a ~300-character message that asks one clear question. The message can address the basics such as who you are, why you’re reaching out, and your one specific question.

5. Personalize Beyond the Name

Alumni can tell if a message was written for them or if someone just replaced a mail merge field, so you’ll want to go further than just swapping people’s first names. Here’s a few things that might help with personalization:

  • Spend a couple of minutes on the alum’s profile; personalized InMails increase acceptance rates by about 40%, according to LinkedIn data. Mention a recent post they made, a project they were publicly credited for, a career transition they just went through, or a shared connection.
  • Find a good natural connection between what you discover about them and what you’re reaching out about. If you’re inviting them to a career mentorship panel and they’ve been posting about early-career development, mention that. If you’re reaching out around their 10-year graduation anniversary, you definitely want to acknowledge it.
  • Avoid mentioning generic and obvious things like “I see you graduated from [University].” Good personalization shows you’ve paid attention to their life after graduation and you have a brief window that you want to make the most out of, especially for less-engaged alumni.

6. Templates for Common Outreach Scenarios

Here are some templates that you could borrow and build on to personalize your next outreach message on LinkedIn:

General reconnect: ‍

"Hi [Name], congrats on the move to [Company]. I'm on the alumni relations team at [University]. We're putting together a small group of alumni at your career stage to get some honest input on our programs. Would a 15-minute call work?"

Mentorship opportunity: ‍

"Hi [Name], I work in alumni relations at [University]. Saw your recent post on [topic] and thought you'd be a great fit for our mentorship program. We're matching alumni with students in [field]. Would you have 30 minutes to hear more?"

Upcoming event: ‍

"Hi [Name], I'm with alumni relations at [University]. We're hosting a small dinner for [City] alumni on [date] and wanted to make sure you were on the list. Can I send you the details?"

Giving day: ‍

"Hi [Name], [University]'s giving day is [date]. This year all gifts are going toward [initiative]. Wanted to reach out personally before things kick off. Can I send you a bit more context on what it supports?"

What each of these has in common is one clear ask and customization that shows the sender did their homework before reaching out.

7. Time Your Outreach Well

LinkedIn data shows that Friday and Saturday see 4% and 8% fewer than average responses, respectively. Your alumni may want to relax and disconnect from the professional world on the weekends, so Monday through Thursday is a good window. However, depending on your event calendar, and past alumni engagement data, this can vary a bit so do double check!

Going back to the mentioned window, Sprout Social's analysis of nearly 2 billion engagements across major social platforms points to Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., as LinkedIn's peak activity window. That's when professionals are most actively checking and responding on the platform, so it's your best shot at being seen before your message gets buried.

8. What to Do When Alumni Reply

Your next message after an alum replies sets the tone for the entire conversation that follows and the subsequent relationship. So here’s a few things to keep in mind:

  • Reply quickly, ideally within a few hours of seeing their response.
  • Thank them by name and reference something specific from their reply.
  • Remember that this is a conversation on a social platform.

The goal should be to establish that your team and, by extension, your institution has a real interest in keeping in touch with them after graduation. For this reason, you’ll want to:

  • Find out what they’re working on.
  • Ask follow-up questions.
  • Make it clear that there is no immediate ask attached.
💡This doubles as an opportunity to get updated information in case their profile information hasn’t been updated in a while.

Alumni who are connected to their institution are 23 times more likely to donate than those who aren’t. That connection, however, has to be built through consistent, genuine interaction over time. So, when it’s time to make an ask, it’s coming from the context of the conversation.

Build a LinkedIn Alumni Community (and not just another contact list)

At the end of the day, one-on-one outreach can only take you so far. Advancement and alumni relations teams that are able to keep alumni engaged are also building environments where alumni feel like they want to stay engaged.

If we are sticking to the platform at hand, LinkedIn Groups are a great way to do this. You can organize alumni groups around:

  • Your institution
  • Graduation cohorts
  • Academic departments
  • Regional chapters
  • Donor groups
  • Matching gift opportunities

…and much much more

AdvancementForm looked at what the institutions running active alumni groups have in common. Here are the main takeaways:

  • Stay active every day: Keith Hannon of Cornell University shared that two-thirds of alumni relations professionals running thriving LinkedIn communities log in daily. That includes posting, answering questions, responding to comments, and engaging with what other members are sharing.
  • Give alumni the spotlight: Spotlighting a graduate's career achievement or resharing something they wrote brings their audience into your content. Even the simple act of tagging alumni where needed will ensure that their network is notified as well. 
  • Share career resources such as job postings, industry reads/insights, career advice for alumni at different stages and make sure they are updated frequently. This is the content that consistently performs well as it provides a clear reason to engage.
  • Mix up your content formats: Posts with images get a 98% higher comment rate than those without, and posts with YouTube videos (that play directly in the feed) get a 75% higher share rate. Varying your formats will keep the feed from feeling like a broadcast channel.
  • Ask alumni to help current students: Academic Impressions flags this as an especially meaningful way to engage alumni because it gives them an opportunity to give back give back, even without a financial element. Posting something like "What do you wish someone told you in your first year in [industry]?" gets replies from alumni who would otherwise never comment on, say, an event announcement.
  • Run polls: Lebanon Valley College asked their alumni "What career field are you currently in or looking to enter?" and it sparked a lively, ongoing discussion among their alumni.  Polls can be a great icebreaker and contextualizing them to recent events, career stages, or other segmented needs is even better!
  • Add in the nostalgia angle: Questions and posts about campus memories or institutional history give alumni interactive content that serves as a break on their feed from the usual LinkedIn content while also reminding them of why they feel connected to their school.

Finally, if you're thinking about content ratios, keep it weighted toward value-first content, career resources, alumni recognition, and conversation, with campaigns and event promotion playing a supporting role, not leading the feed.

Measure Your Progress and Know Your Blind Spots

You need to know whether your efforts are paying off. So, if you’re running structured outreach campaign on LinkedIn, here are the metrics which will help you track what's working:

  • Connection acceptance rate:  You generally want to aim for ~20% or above. If you're below that, check whether you're warming up contacts before sending requests and whether your institution's page looks active and credible.
  • InMail response rate: With personalized, well-targeted outreach, this should sit between 10–25%. Single-digit numbers are an indication to look at your message length, your subject line preview, and how specific your personalization is.
  • Conversation-to-action rate: This tracks what percentage of replies converts into whatever your goal is, whether that’s an event registration, a scheduled call, or a gift.

The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) tracks alumni engagement across four modes: philanthropic, volunteer, experiential, and communications.

LinkedIn activity can feed into your experiential and communications metrics. If you’re not tracking LinkedIn engagement as part of your overall alumni engagement scorecard, you should consider starting now.

A few common blind spots that can be avoided include: 

  • Reaching out only when there's an ask: If alumni only hear from you around giving day or annual fund season, the outreach feels transactional. Only 27% of alumni who donate give to their alma mater. The most common reason others don't give is because they don't feel connected enough to make it a priority.
  • Writing LinkedIn messages like emails: Avoid long messages, formal language, attached PDFs when LinkedIn is conversational. Keep messages short, and the tone conversational.Save the documents for follow-up conversations.
  • Ignoring alumni who engage with your posts: When an alum comments on something your institution shared, respond to them, thank them by name, and if appropriate, send a connection request with a brief personal note referencing what they said.
  • Not knowing what comes next when someone replies: Replying to a message without a clear next step might waste the opening you had spent time and effort on. Know what you’re trying to accomplish before you send the first message so that when someone replies, you’re ready to take the conversation forward.

Final Thoughts

We hope we’ve been able to give you and your team plenty of things to keep in mind. While LinkedIn outreach may seem like a simple game of numbers at first glance, any outreach campaigns involving social media rarely tend to be so predictable and you definitely want to keep that in mind.

To wrap things up, keep personalization (and segmentation by extension) at the heart of your strategy, have a consistent presence on LinkedIn just as you probably do with Facebook or Instagram, and make sure you are thinking about how to take the conversation forward many weeks ahead of time so that alumni feel appreciated after reacting to your outreach.

If you are looking for an alumni engagement platform to help you plan, execute, and measure your alumni  outreach and engagement strategy, Almabase is built just for that so feel free to book a personalized demo with us!

Book an engagement demo with Almabase
How to Reach Out to Alumni on LinkedIn and Get Responses
Featured

How to Reach Out to Alumni on LinkedIn and Get Responses

Our article takes you through LinkedIn alumni outreach and how your team or institution can ensure that your alumni don't ignore your messages.

Prajnya Yelamali

September 2, 2026

12 minutes

Read

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If you're comparing Cvent and Eventbrite for your institution's alumni events, you're probably asking the wrong question.

It's like trying to choose between a commercial airline and a cargo ship for your family vacation. Sure, both can transport people, but they're built for fundamentally different purposes. Cvent and Eventbrite are powerful horizontal event management platforms designed to serve all industries, from corporate conferences to music festivals. But alumni relations in higher education isn't just about managing events; it's about building lifelong relationships that translate into engagement and support.

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The questions you should be asking are:

  • Do you need a general-purpose event platform, or a specialized solution, purpose-built for educational advancement and nonprofit fundraising?
  • Will your event data automatically sync with your advancement systems like Blackbaud, or will you be stuck with manual data entry after every event?
  • Are you managing one-off events, or building a continuous engagement strategy with your alumni community?
  • Do you want to track just event attendance, or understand how events fit into your broader alumni engagement and fundraising pipeline?
  • Can your team afford to manage multiple platforms with irrelevant features, or do you need everything in one integrated system designed specifically for education?

In short, here's what we recommend:

👉 Cvent is the enterprise powerhouse for large-scale, complex events across any industry. With over 5,000 employees and comprehensive features from venue sourcing to onsite solutions, it’s great for managing massive conferences and multi-day events. However it includes many features irrelevant to educational institutions while missing essential advancement-specific features. Its steep learning curve, complex implementation process, and premium pricing make it overkill for most educational institutions' alumni events.

👉 Eventbrite is the self-service champion for easy event creation and ticket sales across all event types. Its user-friendly interface and built-in marketplace help events get discovered by millions of potential attendees. While its simplicity is appealing, this horizontal platform comes with significant drawbacks: high ticketing fees for larger events, slow customer support response times, and limited customization options for branding and email communications. It lacks the education-specific features and comprehensive advancement tools that institutions in the US, UK, and Canada need for effective alumni engagement.

Both platforms are undeniably powerful for general event management. But managing alumni events for schools and higher educational institutions isn't just selling tickets and checking people in. It's all about nurturing relationships, tracking engagement across multiple touchpoints, managing donor finances, and ultimately driving philanthropic support. That's why we included Almabase in this comparison.

👉 Almabase is an alumni engagement platform designed specifically for educational institutions' advancement teams, now expanding into healthcare and other nonprofit verticals. It combines comprehensive event management with a complete alumni engagement ecosystem, including directories, email marketing, fundraising, finance management, and mentorship programs. With native two-way integration with the Blackbaud ecosystem and additional integrations with Raiser's Edge NXT and Salesforce, every event interaction automatically updates in your systems. Meanwhile, the platform's no-code tools let you create custom branded pages that can be published directly on your institutional website, creating a seamless experience for alumni while maintaining complete control over your brand.

Tired of juggling horizontal platforms with irrelevant features while missing the education-specific capabilities you actually need? Check out Almabase in action and see how it transforms alumni events into true relationship-building opportunities.

‍

The fundamental disconnect: Horizontal platforms vs. vertical solutions for education

Cvent approaches events from a horizontal enterprise operations perspective, trying to be everything to everyone. Need to source venues through their Supplier Network? Check. Want to manage complex multi-track conferences? It supports it. Require detailed seating charts and meal preferences? They've got you covered. But these are features built for corporate trade shows and association conferences. 

While Cvent does offer some education integrations through third-party connectors, these generic solutions don't fully understand the nuances of advancement workflows, constituent management, or the specific needs of institutions managing alumni databases of any size.

Eventbrite takes the horizontal approach to its extreme, democratizing event creation for anyone. Their platform makes it incredibly easy to create an event page, sell tickets, and check people in with their mobile app. Their marketplace helps events get discovered by 93 million potential attendees. But those attendees are looking for concerts and workshops, not exclusive alumni gatherings. 

As a horizontal platform, Eventbrite not only includes features you'll never use (like public marketplace visibility) but also suffers from limited customization options for your registration pages and checkout process. 

Users consistently report that branding options are restrictive, making it difficult to maintain your institution's visual identity throughout the registration experience. Combined with slow customer support response times and high fees that increase with event size, these limitations make Eventbrite poorly suited for sophisticated alumni engagement programs.

Almabase understands that alumni events exist within a larger engagement ecosystem specific to educational institutions and expanding nonprofit organizations. As a purpose-built advancement platform, every feature is designed for advancement teams. 

When someone registers for your reunion through Almabase, it's not just a transaction. Their registration updates their alumni record through deep integrations with Blackbaud and other advancement systems, triggers automated communications, adds them to relevant segments for future outreach, and provides advancement officers with real-time insights into who's engaging with your institution.

Every event becomes a strategic touchpoint in your advancement strategy, with proper finance management tracking, not an isolated activity managed in a horizontal platform.

Event management capabilities show different philosophies

Let's look at how each platform handles the core aspects of event management.

Cvent's horizontal approach is comprehensive. Their event creation process involves multiple stages, from defining event details to configuring registration paths, setting up sessions, and managing accommodations. 

The platform offers incredible depth, with features like reserved seating maps, exhibitor management, and detailed analytics. But this power comes at a cost. Most of these features are irrelevant for educational institutions. After all, you’re not managing trade show exhibitors at your reunion.

Users report spending weeks learning the platform, and while some implementations can be completed in about two months, enterprise rollouts can extend much longer depending on complexity.

Eventbrite's horizontal approach is refreshingly simple. 

You can create an event in minutes using their streamlined interface. Choose your event type, add a description and image, set up tickets, and publish. Their AI-powered tools can even generate event descriptions automatically. 

Source: Eventbrite

The platform handles the basics brilliantly: ticketing, registration, and check-in. But as a horizontal platform designed for everything from yoga classes to music festivals, it lacks the education-specific features needed for complex alumni events with multiple activities, reunion classes, and varied pricing structures tied to giving levels.

The limited customization extends beyond just branding because users report frustration with inflexible email templates and restricted options for tailoring the registration flow to match institutional processes.

Almabase's vertical approach balances sophistication with usability, purpose-built for educational advancement. 

It handles multi-day reunions with various sub-events, conditional ticket visibility, and complex pricing tiers, all while maintaining an interface that advancement teams can actually use. 

Key differentiators include comprehensive end-to-end event management with badge generation and distribution, automated email workflows specific to alumni events, the ability to include fundraising options during registration, and guest itineraries that clearly show personalized schedules. 

Plus, institutions can create custom branded event pages using no-code tools and publish them directly on their own websites, maintaining complete brand control while leveraging Almabase's infrastructure as a content delivery network.

CRM integration: The make-or-break feature for data-driven advancement teams

Cvent offers integrations with business CRMs like Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics.

These are powerful but designed for B2B sales tracking across all industries. They're built for tracking business contacts and sales opportunities, not alumni relationships, giving history, or the complex household structures common in advancement databases. 

While Cvent can connect to some education systems through third-party tools, you're still dealing with data mapping challenges and the fundamental mismatch between horizontal CRM structures and advancement database needs.

Eventbrite provides integrations through platforms like Zapier and other connectors, offering both one-way and two-way data flow capabilities.

However, these integrations lack understanding of the complex relationships in advancement databases (soft credits, household management, giving history, pledge tracking). You'll likely spend significant time after each event ensuring data accuracy and maintaining constituent records because this is time that advancement teams of any size can't afford to waste.

Almabase offers something different: native integration with advancement-specific systems, particularly excelling with its two-way Blackbaud ecosystem integration. The platform seamlessly retrieves data from and pushes data back to Blackbaud products, while also supporting integrations with Raiser's Edge NXT and Salesforce. 

When an alumnus registers for an event, their participation is automatically recorded in their constituent record. Payment information flows directly to gift records through integrated finance management. Event attendance updates engagement scores.

Pricing models reveal the platforms’ target audiences

Cvent uses a quote-based enterprise model with annual contracts and per-registrant fees.

Since it serves all industries, you're paying for capabilities designed for corporate conferences that you'll never use. You're looking at significant upfront costs, long-term commitments, and pricing that assumes you're running numerous large events annually.

The ROI calculation works for corporations running massive trade shows but rarely pencils out for alumni relations teams at educational institutions regardless of their alumni database size.

Eventbrite charges per ticket (3.7% + $1.79), which seems reasonable until you realize these fees add up quickly for larger events. 

Combined with the fact that you're paying for horizontal features you don't need (marketplace visibility for public discovery) while missing ones you do (alumni data management, finance tracking for advancement), the value proposition weakens. 

Free events are free to host and still provide data and reporting capabilities, though this data isn't automatically integrated with Blackbaud or other CRM systems and their reporting tools are less detailed than what advancement teams typically require.

Almabase prices based on your contactable alumni database size, which makes sense for a specialized advancement platform. 

You're not just buying event management; you're investing in a comprehensive alumni engagement platform designed specifically for educational institutions and expanding nonprofits. The cost is justified by the efficiency gains across your entire advancement operation, from events to giving campaigns to finance management, because the value extends far beyond isolated event functionality.

The alumni and donor engagement ecosystem neither Cvent nor Eventbrite provides

Here's what horizontal platforms like Cvent and Eventbrite fundamentally miss: alumni events in higher education don't exist in isolation. Modern educational institutions need integrated systems that connect every touchpoint.

Your events are part of a larger engagement strategy that includes:

  • Alumni directories where classmates reconnect before reunions
  • Custom branded pages published on your institutional website for campaigns and events
  • Email marketing to promote events and maintain year-round engagement
  • Fundraising campaigns that leverage event attendance for giving days
  • Finance management to track all donor transactions and gift processing
  • Mentorship programs that launch at networking events
  • Job boards that drive attendance at career-focused gatherings
  • Business directories that facilitate alumni-to-alumni connections

While both Cvent and Eventbrite offer email marketing capabilities and Eventbrite supports fundraising through donation tickets, neither provides the comprehensive suite of education-specific features needed for a complete engagement strategy.

Almabase provides all of these in an integrated vertical platform, including alumni directories, mentorship programs, job boards, and business directories. 

When an alumnus attends your entrepreneurship panel, they might join the business directory, sign up as a mentor, and increase their annual giving, all while being tracked in a single system with proper finance management that feeds back to your Blackbaud or other CRM systems.

Cvent, Eventbrite, and other horizontal platforms would require you to bolt on multiple additional platforms to achieve similar functionality, creating data silos, integration challenges, and higher overall costs.

Virtual and hybrid events in the alumni context

All three platforms support virtual events, but they prioritize different use cases.

Cvent's Attendee Hub is built for large-scale virtual conferences with multiple tracks, exhibitor booths, and networking lounges, which are features designed for horizontal use cases like trade shows. 

It's impressive technology, designed to handle events scaling to hundreds of thousands of attendees, though it's primarily oriented toward corporate events rather than intimate alumni gatherings or donor cultivation events.

Eventbrite provides virtual event support through integrations with streaming platforms like Zoom, Vimeo, and YouTube. 

You can sell tickets to any type of online event and provide access links, with basic analytics and reporting available, though engagement tracking depends largely on your chosen streaming platform and won't integrate with your advancement systems.

Almabase approaches virtual events as another touchpoint in the alumni journey, purpose-built for education and nonprofit engagement. 

Their Zoom integration handles registration and attendance tracking, with enhanced participation tracking features in development. Virtual attendees can still access alumni directories, participate in giving campaigns, and network with classmates, all within the same platform. 

Custom branded virtual event pages can be created and published on your institutional website, maintaining a cohesive experience whether events are in-person, virtual, or hybrid.

Support and implementation for resource-constrained teams

Cvent provides 24/7 support but assumes you have dedicated event professionals on staff who understand general event management. 

Their implementation process can range from a couple of months for simple setups to much longer for enterprise deployments, often involving consultants and project managers. This makes sense for enterprises with event teams but can overwhelm smaller advancement offices at educational institutions.

Eventbrite offers tiered support based on your plan, with options including email, chat, and phone support. 

The platform is self-service by design, which works for simple events but users frequently report slow response times from their support team. Also, their support staff won't understand the specific needs of alumni gathering requirements or advancement operations, and may take days to resolve issues that are critical during event registration periods.

Almabase provides 24/7 support with a crucial difference: they understand advancement and are built for alumni events. As a bootstrapped, customer-first organization, their support consistently receives high ratings from educational institutions. 

Their support team knows what Blackbaud is, understands gift processing and finance management, and can help with alumni engagement strategies specific to higher education in the US, UK, and Canada. The onboarding isn't just technical setup; it's strategic consultation on building your alumni engagement program for institutions of all sizes. 

During critical periods like giving days and homecoming events, their priority support ensures your events run smoothly.

Cvent vs Eventbrite vs Almabase: Which should you choose?

The choice becomes clear when you focus on your needs as an educational institution or nonprofit organization.

Choose Cvent if:

  • You need a horizontal platform that can handle any type of event across any industry
  • You're a large university running 50+ major events annually with dedicated event staff
  • You need enterprise features like venue sourcing and exhibition management
  • Budget is less of a concern than having every possible event feature
  • You're willing to pay for and navigate features irrelevant to education while managing separate systems for alumni engagement

Need enterprise-scale power? Request a demo of Cvent now.

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Choose Eventbrite if:

  • You're running occasional public events open to non-alumni
  • You need simple ticketing without complex requirements
  • You want to leverage marketplace discovery for community events
  • You're comfortable with a horizontal platform that lacks education-specific features
  • Your events are isolated from your broader advancement strategy
  • You can work within limited customization options and don't mind high fees for larger events

Choose Eventbrite if simplicity matters. Sign up to get started.

‍

Choose Almabase if:

  • You're an educational institution in the US, UK, or Canada focused on alumni engagement
  • You want a purpose-built advancement solution designed specifically for education
  • You need deep integration with Blackbaud or other advancement systems
  • You want comprehensive finance management for donor transactions
  • You need to create custom branded pages on your institutional website
  • You want events integrated with your overall advancement strategy
  • You need alumni-specific features like reunion class management
  • You value highly-rated 24/7 support from a customer-first organization
  • Your institution serves any size alumni database and needs a scalable solution

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The reality is that most educational institutions don't need the horizontal complexity of Cvent or Eventbrite with their irrelevant features for all industries. They need a vertical platform that understands that every alumni event is an opportunity to strengthen relationships, gather data, manage finances, and advance their mission.

Ready to see how Almabase transforms your alumni events from isolated activities into integrated engagement opportunities? Schedule a demo to explore an advancement platform built specifically for educational institutions of all sizes.

Cvent vs Eventbrite (vs Almabase): Which Platform Is Better For Educational Institutions?

Cvent vs Eventbrite (vs Almabase): Which Platform Is Better For Educational Institutions?

Cvent vs Eventbrite for education: Compare horizontal platforms vs Almabase's vertical solution built for alumni engagement & advancement.

Events

December 4, 2025

12 minutes

Read

Hivebrite has established itself as a significant player in the community management space, offering organizations an all-in-one platform that brings together member directories, event management, communication tools, mentoring programs, job boards, and more.

But as your community evolves and your specific needs become clearer, you might find that a platform designed to serve everyone from corporations to universities to professional associations doesn't quite hit the mark for your particular use case. Organizations often discover that Hivebrite's extensive feature set requires significant time investment to learn and configure properly, particularly for smaller teams without dedicated technical resources. The platform's flexibility can be limited for organizations that need specific customizations.

That's where this guide comes in. Whether you're looking to:

  1. Focus exclusively on alumni fundraising and advancement with purpose-built tools
  2. Find a budget-friendly solution for volunteer-run organizations
  3. Build embeddable communities within your existing product
  4. Create structured mentorship programs with career outcomes
  5. Launch creator-focused communities with built-in monetization
  6. Establish discussion forums for knowledge management
  7. Or integrate community features directly with your CRM

We'll explore specialized alternatives that excel in these specific areas. Some organizations might use these tools alongside Hivebrite to enhance particular functions, while others might find that a more focused solution better serves their needs entirely.

What is Hivebrite?

Hivebrite is an all-in-one, cloud-based community management and engagement platform designed to help organizations build, manage, and grow private, branded online communities. Founded in 2015 and serving over 900 customers in more than 50 countries, it provides a comprehensive suite of tools for various sectors including educational institutions, nonprofits, corporations, and professional associations. Its key features include:

  • Member management with searchable directories and interactive maps
  • Event hosting for virtual, in-person, and hybrid formats with integrated ticketing
  • Multi-channel communication tools including email campaigns, push notifications, and direct messaging
  • Interest-based groups and sub-communities with delegated administration
  • AI-powered mentoring module with admin-led or self-selection matching
  • Integrated job board for career opportunities
  • Content management system with drag-and-drop page builder
  • Comprehensive analytics and reporting dashboards

When organizations use Hivebrite, all these components work together in an integrated fashion: a member who registers for an event automatically appears in the attendee list, their participation is tracked in analytics, they can be added to relevant groups, and targeted for specific communications based on their engagement. This integration reduces the need for multiple disconnected tools.

However, as a horizontal platform designed to serve all industries—from corporate alumni networks to professional associations to educational institutions—Hivebrite's broad approach can present challenges. The extensive feature set that makes Hivebrite powerful for large enterprises with dedicated staff can feel overwhelming for institutions without technical resources. Additionally, customization options are often restricted based on tier levels, limiting flexibility for organizations with specific needs.

That's why exploring alternatives that excel in particular use cases can help you find the perfect fit for your community's unique needs. In this guide, we've organized alternatives into two distinct categories: Alumni Engagement & Management platforms (designed specifically for educational institutions and advancement teams) and Generic Community Engagement & Management platforms (suitable for a broader range of organizations)

How We Curated Our List of Hivebrite Alternatives

After thoroughly researching Hivebrite and analyzing user feedback, we identified that organizations often seek alternatives when they need:

  • Deeper integration with existing CRM systems for advancement and fundraising
  • Purpose-built solutions designed specifically for their sector rather than generic all-industry tools
  • More affordable options for volunteer-run organizations with limited budgets
  • Simpler setup and configuration without extensive learning curves
  • Better mobile experiences and more intuitive user interfaces
  • Greater customization flexibility without tier-based restrictions
  • Specialized tools for specific functions like mentorship, forums, or content monetization
  • Solutions better scaled for smaller organizations without dedicated technical staff

Each platform on this list excels in at least one of these areas, providing specialized solutions that might better match your organization's specific requirements, technical capabilities, or budget constraints.

To help you navigate these options more effectively, we've organized our alternatives into two distinct categories:

Alumni Engagement & Management Platforms (1-6): These platforms are purpose-built for educational institutions—K-12 schools, colleges, and universities—with features tailored for advancement teams, alumni relations, fundraising, and student/alumni mentorship. If you're in the education sector looking for a Hivebrite alternative, start here.

Generic Community Engagement & Management Platforms (7-10): These platforms serve a broader range of organizations, from creators and SaaS companies to enterprises and technical communities. They excel at general community building, customer engagement, forum discussions, and CRM integration across various industries.

❗DISCLAIMER: We aren't covering every single community platform in the market. Our focus is on highlighting the best alternatives that address specific limitations or use cases where organizations might need something different from Hivebrite's all-in-one approach.

Part 1: Alumni Engagement & Management Platforms

The following six platforms are specifically designed for educational institutions seeking specialized tools for alumni engagement, advancement operations, and fundraising. Unlike Hivebrite's all-industry approach, these solutions understand the unique workflows of K-12 schools, colleges, and universities.

1. Almabase — Best Alternative for Educational Institutions with Existing CRMs

Almabase is a comprehensive alumni management software purpose-built for educational institutions such as K-12 schools, colleges, and universities. Unlike generic community platforms that try to serve all industries, Almabase is an education-specific platform that works as an integrated solution on top of your existing CRM, enhancing your current database of record without replacing it. This specialized advancement platform provides tools designed specifically for how educational institutions engage alumni and drive fundraising. Its key features include:

Take a quick product tour →

     
       

Almabase serves over 500 institutions and maintains a 95% customer retention rate, demonstrating its value for advancement teams that need their community platform to work in harmony with their existing CRM infrastructure. The platform's consistently high support ratings reflect its customer-first philosophy as a bootstrapped organization.

Why Choose Almabase Over Hivebrite for Educational Advancement

While Hivebrite offers a comprehensive platform that attempts to serve various sectors from corporations to associations to educational institutions, Almabase excels as a dedicated alumni engagement system built exclusively for educational advancement. Where Hivebrite's all-industry approach can require extensive configuration and may include irrelevant features while missing education-specific capabilities, Almabase delivers exactly what advancement teams need.

Purpose-Built for Education vs. Generic All-Industry Design

Almabase is architected specifically for educational institutions, not adapted from a generic platform. Every feature—from event management to fundraising to communications—is designed with advancement workflows in mind. The platform includes comprehensive event management capabilities that are market-leading for education, with features like badge generation and distribution, complete attendee management, and seamless data flow to your CRM.

Unlike Hivebrite, which requires significant time investment to learn and configure for educational use cases, Almabase provides pre-built templates and workflows designed specifically for advancement teams. The platform's modularity and ease of use mean you can create custom branded pages without any coding knowledge and publish them directly on your institutional website through Almabase's CDN infrastructure—eliminating the need for separate technical resources.

Deep CRM Integration with TrueSync Technology

Almabase's TrueSync technology provides bidirectional synchronization with Blackbaud advancement CRMs (Raiser's Edge NXT and Blackbaud CRM)—the deepest integration available in the market. The platform also offers native integrations with Salesforce and connections to other CRMs like Ellucian.

This integration extends beyond simple data sync. Almabase includes comprehensive finance management capabilities designed for educational advancement, enabling proper gift processing, donor transaction management, and financial tracking. When gifts are processed through Almabase giving pages, they are batched and pushed to your CRM with proper gift coding, soft credits, and constituent matching—significantly reducing manual data entry.

Exceptional Support Designed for Advancement Teams

While Hivebrite users often report struggling with setup complexity and needing dedicated technical staff, Almabase provides 24/7 customer support with a customer-first philosophy that has earned consistently high ratings. The support team offers priority assistance during critical institutional periods like giving days and homecoming events—exactly when advancement teams need immediate help.

The platform is specifically designed for advancement teams who may not have extensive technical resources. Pre-built templates for common workflows, automated data enrichment that finds updated alumni information, and drag-and-drop builders eliminate the steep learning curve that many experience with horizontal platforms.

🏅 NOTE: We also evaluated platforms like Graduway and 360Alumni for educational institutions. Graduway offers strong AI-powered fundraising through its Gravyty merger and integrates with existing CRMs. 360Alumni provides good value for smaller schools and offers integrations with Raiser's Edge NXT and Salesforce. Almabase combines comprehensive advancement features with deep CRM integration through TrueSync, making it a strong choice for institutions that want to enhance their existing database infrastructure with a purpose-built solution.

Almabase Pricing

Almabase uses customized pricing based on your institution's size and needs:

  • Implementation: Includes 45-50 day onboarding with dedicated success team, however, onboarding varies dependingon how many tools you need.
  • Annual licenses and pricing: Scaled based on database size (number of contactable alumni) and modules selected
  • Multiple subscription options: Different functionality bundles available
  • Data migration support: Available during implementation

Who Should Use Almabase?

Choose Almabase if:

  • You're an educational institution with an existing CRM investment (particularly Blackbaud/Raiser's Edge, Salesforce, or Ellucian) that needs a specialized advancement platform to enhance, not replace, your database
  • Your advancement team needs powerful, education-specific tools without the complexity and learning curve of generic all-industry platforms
  • You want comprehensive event management capabilities designed specifically for educational institutions, including badge generation and attendee management
  • You need no-code tools to create custom branded pages that publish directly to your institutional website
  • Alumni engagement in your organization directly serves fundraising goals, requiring sophisticated finance management and gift processing capabilities
  • You value exceptional customer support with 24/7 availability and priority assistance during critical events like giving days and homecoming

Ready to see how Almabase can transform your advancement operations while working seamlessly with your existing CRM? Schedule a personalized demo and discover why 500+ institutions trust Almabase for their alumni engagement and fundraising.

2. Graduway — Best Alternative for Fundraising-First Alumni Engagement

Graduway is an alumni engagement platform that has evolved into a comprehensive fundraising ecosystem through its merger with Gravyty and the addition of Gratavid and the Advance giving platform. Built with the philosophy that alumni engagement should directly translate into philanthropic support, it serves larger educational institutions and advancement offices that want to operationalize their alumni network as a pipeline for fundraising campaigns. Its key features include:

Why Choose Graduway Over Hivebrite for Fundraising Focus

Graduway distinguishes itself through three key advantages:

  1. Purpose-Built Fundraising Ecosystem
    While Hivebrite's donation features were added to a community platform, Graduway integrates with Gravyty's Advance giving solution, built specifically for nonprofit fundraising. Giving forms embed directly within the alumni network, capturing philanthropic intent at the moment of inspiration. Research suggests a 93% correlation between engagement on Graduway portals and subsequent giving.
  1. AI-Powered Donor Intelligence
    Through Gravyty integration, the platform analyzes institutional databases to identify high-potential prospects, predict giving behavior, and assist fundraisers in crafting personalized outreach. The Gratavid integration enables personalized video messages that have shown high engagement rates in case studies.
  1. Advanced Mentoring Programs
    Graduway offers both structured long-term mentoring with milestone tracking and "flash mentoring" for quick career advice. Smart matching algorithms pair participants based on multiple criteria, with dedicated scheduling tools and goal tracking built in.

🏅 NOTE: We considered 360Alumni and PeopleGrove as alternatives. While 360Alumni offers strong networking capabilities and transparent pricing, and PeopleGrove excels at career services, Graduway's comprehensive fundraising ecosystem through the Gravyty partnership makes it a strong choice for institutions prioritizing philanthropic outcomes from alumni engagement.

Graduway Pricing

  • Essential Plan: $5,000-$10,000/year for smaller implementations
  • Premium Plan: Custom pricing with API access and SSO
  • Enterprise Plan: $10,000-$30,000/year for larger universities
  • Multi-year contracts may apply
  • Implementation fees: $2,000-$10,000

Who Should Use Graduway?

Choose Graduway if:

  • Your advancement office prioritizes fundraising ROI from alumni engagement over pure community metrics
  • You need sophisticated mentoring programs with both flash and structured options
  • Personalized video communication is part of your stewardship strategy
  • You're a larger institution with enterprise budgets and multi-year planning horizons

3. Wild Apricot — Best Alternative for Budget-Friendly DIY Membership

Wild Apricot is a cloud-based membership management platform providing organizations with unified tools for websites, member databases, events, and payments without requiring technical expertise. Originally launched in 2006 and serving organizations ranging from small groups to those with up to 50,000 members, it's designed for associations and small nonprofits that need robust functionality at predictable costs. Its key features include:

Why Choose Wild Apricot Over Hivebrite for Budget-Conscious Organizations

Wild Apricot excels in three critical areas:

  1. Transparent, All-Inclusive Pricing
    Wild Apricot publishes all pricing directly: approximately $63/month for 100 contacts, scaling through defined tiers. Every feature is included at every tier, with no setup fees or hidden costs. Hivebrite requires sales calls for custom quotes, with features gated by tier levels.‍
  2. Volunteer-Optimized Design
    The platform acknowledges its users are often volunteers who change roles. QR code-based event check-in, member self-service portals, and straightforward interfaces mean less training and fewer support calls—addressing the complexity issues many experience with Hivebrite.‍
  3. Included Mobile Apps
    Two purpose-built mobile apps come standard: an admin app for event check-in and member management, plus a member app for directory access and event registration. Both sync with the web platform, providing the mobile experience many find lacking in other platforms.

🏅 NOTE: We evaluated Memberful and MemberPress as alternatives. While Memberful excels at lightweight membership integration for existing websites and MemberPress works well for WordPress sites, Wild Apricot provides a complete standalone solution with website building, membership management, and payments at transparent pricing.

Wild Apricot Pricing

  • 100 contacts: ~$63/month
  • 250 to 50,000 contacts: Progressive pricing tiers
  • All features included at every tier
  • Prepayment discounts: 10% (1 year), 15% (2 years)
  • 60-day free trial (note: some features like online payments and custom domain are not available during trial)
  • No setup or training fees

Who Should Use Wild Apricot?

Choose Wild Apricot if:

  • Your organization is volunteer-operated and needs predictable, transparent costs without sales negotiations
  • You lack technical staff and need an immediately usable platform without developer involvement
  • You're currently juggling multiple tools (website, email, events, database) and want consolidation
  • Your members expect self-service capabilities for profile updates and event registration

4. ToucanTech — Best Alternative for Self-Contained School Communities

ToucanTech is an all-in-one community platform consolidating website building, CRM, email communications, event management, and payment processing into a single system. Specifically designed for schools and nonprofits, it reduces the need for multiple vendors and complex integrations, though it does connect with payment processors and accounting software. Its key capabilities include:

Why Choose ToucanTech Over Hivebrite for Self-Contained Operations

ToucanTech differentiates itself through three key advantages:

  1. Integrated Architecture
    While Hivebrite requires integration decisions and module configuration that can be challenging for smaller teams, ToucanTech provides many components pre-integrated. The website, CRM, email engine, and payments share the same data architecture, eliminating the setup complexity many organizations experience with more configurable platforms.‍
  2. Built-In Website as Primary Web Presence
    ToucanTech includes a complete website builder serving as your organization's main website, not just a member portal. This can eliminate separate website contracts and ensures activity syncs automatically to member records.‍
  3. Unified Data Without Fragmentation
    Every interaction automatically updates one unified member profile. When someone registers for an event, opens an email, or makes a donation, it appears in their single record without manual reconciliation.

🏅 NOTE: We evaluated Hivebrite's integrated modules and other school-focused platforms. While Hivebrite offers more customization and modular flexibility, ToucanTech's pre-integrated approach reduces configuration complexity, making it well-suited for schools wanting operational simplicity over extensive customization options.

ToucanTech Pricing

Who Should Use ToucanTech?

Choose ToucanTech if:

  • Your lean team lacks dedicated IT resources but needs a comprehensive platform
  • You want to retire multiple legacy applications with one unified system
  • You prioritize rapid deployment over extensive customization
  • You need a complete web presence, not just a member portal

5. PeopleGrove — Best Alternative for Mentorship & Career Outcomes

PeopleGrove is a comprehensive student success platform that reframes mentorship and career development by unifying initiatives across the entire learner lifecycle. Rather than treating mentorship as a standalone feature, PeopleGrove integrates AI-powered matching, career exploration, experiential learning management, and community engagement into a single Career Access Platform. Its key capabilities include:

Why Choose PeopleGrove Over Hivebrite for Career-Focused Institutions

PeopleGrove excels through specialized career development features:

  1. Integrated Career Development Architecture
    While Hivebrite's mentoring exists as one module among many, PeopleGrove designs its entire platform around career outcomes. When students explore careers through PathwayU, they can connect with alumni mentors in that field, creating natural connection pathways.‍
  2. Experiential Learning Management
    PeopleGrove centralizes clinical placements, internships, research, and projects into a unified system tied to learning objectives and competencies. Faculty can track whether students develop expected skills, creating institutional accountability for career readiness.‍
  3. Alumni Job Connection Intelligence
    Rather than generic job listings, PeopleGrove highlights opportunities at companies where alumni work, transforming job searches into warm networking opportunities with automatic facilitation of introductions.

🏅 NOTE: We evaluated Stack Overflow for Teams for technical mentorship and various LMS platforms with career modules. PeopleGrove combines mentorship, experiential learning, and measurable career outcomes in ways that many general community or learning platforms do not.

PeopleGrove Pricing

Contact PeopleGrove for specific pricing based on your institution's size.

Who Should Use PeopleGrove?

Choose PeopleGrove if:

  • Career outcomes and readiness are strategic institutional priorities
  • You need to manage experiential learning programs at scale with learning objective integration
  • You want to leverage alumni networks as competitive advantages in job placement
  • You need CASE-aligned reporting for alumni engagement metrics

6. 360Alumni — Best Alternative for Small-to-Mid-Sized Alumni Networks

360Alumni is a community-first platform designed for educational institutions and nonprofits seeking streamlined, affordable alumni management without enterprise complexity. Launched in 2013, it offers comprehensive engagement and fundraising tools within a single environment, with every feature included at every price tier regardless of record count. Its key capabilities include:

Why Choose 360Alumni Over Hivebrite for Smaller Institutions

360Alumni differentiates itself through focused simplicity:

  1. No Feature Gatekeeping
    Every plan includes all features: alumni map, events, fundraising, mentorship, and job board. Only record count determines pricing. This eliminates Hivebrite's tiered upgrade requirements when you need advanced features, avoiding the flexibility limitations smaller organizations often encounter.‍
  2. Dedicated Client Success Model
    Every customer receives a dedicated Client Success Manager with regular check-ins, regardless of size. This hands-on partnership helps small teams maximize platform value without external consulting—addressing the support needs of institutions without dedicated technical staff.‍
  3. Quick Implementation
    The streamlined "Blueprint for Success" gets communities live in a few weeks, with staff-assisted data migration typically completed in 3-10 business days. This speed-to-launch suits schools planning homecoming launches or fiscal year deadlines, avoiding the extended setup periods common with more complex platforms.

🏅 NOTE: We evaluated Graduway for advanced analytics and considered general association platforms. While Graduway offers strong features for larger enterprises and association platforms serve multiple industries, 360Alumni offers a straightforward solution specifically for K-12 and small colleges prioritizing rapid deployment with transparent pricing.

360Alumni Pricing

  • Volume-based annual subscription (not feature-based)
  • Custom quotes based on alumni database size
  • All features included at every level
  • 3% credit card processing on donations/tickets
  • One-time setup fee with implementation typically completed in a few weeks
  • Unlimited support and admin accounts included

Who Should Use 360Alumni?

Choose 360Alumni if:

  • You're a K-12 school or small college with limited budget and lean staff
  • You want comprehensive features without feature restrictions or upgrade pressure
  • You need rapid launch without months of customization
  • You value dedicated support with regular strategic check-ins

‍

Part 2: Generic Community Engagement & Management Platforms

The following four platforms serve organizations beyond the education sector, including creators, SaaS companies, enterprises, and technical communities. If you're looking for Hivebrite alternatives for customer communities, creator monetization, enterprise CRM integration, or discussion forums, these options may better fit your needs.

7. Mighty Networks — Best Alternative for Creator Communities

Mighty Networks is an all-in-one community platform purpose-built for creators and entrepreneurs who want to build, monetize, and scale branded communities without extensive development. Unlike enterprise-focused platforms, Mighty Networks prioritizes the creator economy with integrated courses, memberships, and events in a single ecosystem. Its key capabilities include:

Why Choose Mighty Networks Over Hivebrite for Creator-Centric Communities

Mighty Networks excels for individual creators and small teams:

  1. Creator-First Design Philosophy
    While Hivebrite targets enterprises requiring significant setup time and dedicated staff, Mighty Networks' interface, onboarding, and pricing assume individual creators or small teams wanting rapid launch. AI assistance helps generate community names, course outlines, and engagement content—eliminating the steep learning curve many experience with enterprise platforms.‍
  2. Native Course Integration
    Courses are built directly within the platform with AI-powered outline generation, drip content, cohort management, and immediate monetization through the same payment system handling memberships and events.‍
  3. Branded Mobile Apps
    Fully branded native apps are available through the Mighty Pro tier without custom development. These support all features including courses, community, and push notifications—addressing the mobile experience limitations users report with other platforms.

🏅 NOTE: We evaluated Circle for flexible community architecture and Kajabi for sales funnels. While Circle offers good customization and Kajabi excels at marketing, Mighty Networks provides a cohesive all-in-one experience for creators wanting community and monetization without external integrations.

Mighty Networks Pricing

  • Community Plan: $49/month
  • Courses Plan: $109/month (unlimited members, AI features, 20 livestream hours)
  • Business Plan: $189/month (30 livestream hours, polls, monetized events)
  • Growth Plan: $360/month (advanced features, 1% transaction fee)
  • Mighty Pro: Custom pricing (dedicated support, custom branded apps)

Note: Branded mobile apps are only available with the Mighty Pro tier.

Who Should Use Mighty Networks?

Choose Mighty Networks if:

  • You're a creator or entrepreneur building a community-powered business
  • You want integrated community, courses, and monetization without tool sprawl
  • You prefer simple administration designed for solo creators or small teams
  • You need branded mobile apps without custom development (available through Mighty Pro)

8. Bettermode — Best Alternative for Embeddable Customer Communities

Bettermode is a community platform architected as "infrastructure for communities," designed to be embedded directly into existing products and websites rather than functioning as a standalone destination. This makes it ideal for SaaS companies and digital product teams that view community as integral to their product ecosystem. Its key capabilities include:

Why Choose Bettermode Over Hivebrite for Product-Integrated Communities

Bettermode excels at embedded community experiences:

  1. Embeddability as Core Architecture
    Unlike Hivebrite's destination approach requiring users to navigate to a separate portal, Bettermode embeds entire spaces or specific discussions directly into products via customizable iframes. SaaS companies can embed "Feature Requests" directly in dashboards, removing navigation friction.‍
  2. No-Code Deep Customization
    The block-based Design Studio allows non-technical users to create custom layouts without code—addressing the customization restrictions many encounters with tier-based platforms. Each block has configurable settings, enabling brand alignment without developer resources.‍
  3. Developer-First Infrastructure
    GraphQL API enables full CRUD operations, webhooks provide real-time event notifications, and JavaScript SDK allows custom integrations. This positions Bettermode as buildable infrastructure rather than a fixed platform with limited flexibility.

🏅 NOTE: We evaluated Hivebrite's customization and Circle for creator communities. While both offer strong features for their target markets, Bettermode combines no-code customization with embeddability and developer flexibility for teams building branded customer communities native to their product ecosystem.

Bettermode Pricing

  • Starter (Free): 100 members, 20 spaces, 1GB storage
  • Pro: $49/month (annual) for unlimited members, custom domain
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing with custom limits, SOC 2 compliance
  • Add-ons: API access ($199/month), SSO ($199/month)

Who Should Use Bettermode?

Choose Bettermode if:

  • Your community needs to feel native within your product/platform
  • You need highly customized layouts without developer resources
  • You want mature API/webhook ecosystem for custom integrations
  • Your goal is customer engagement and product feedback over general networking

9. Salesforce Experience Cloud — Best Alternative for Enterprise CRM Integration

Salesforce Experience Cloud (formerly Community Cloud) is a digital experience platform enabling organizations to create branded portals natively integrated with Salesforce CRM. Rather than treating community as a separate system requiring integration, Experience Cloud operates as an extension of your Salesforce platform with data flow across Sales, Service, and Marketing Clouds. Its key capabilities include:

Why Choose Experience Cloud Over Hivebrite for Salesforce Organizations

Experience Cloud provides CRM-native capabilities:

  1. Deep CRM-Native Architecture
    While Hivebrite requires integration with external CRMs, Experience Cloud is built directly on Salesforce. Portal interactions can update CRM records directly since they share the same database, reducing synchronization complexity.‍‍
  2. ‍Enterprise Process Automation
    Through Salesforce Flow and approval workflows, organizations automate complex business processes across sales, service, and marketing. Partner deal registration, case escalation, and opportunity collaboration happen natively within the portal.‍
  3. AI-Powered Personalization at Scale
    Einstein (available as an add-on) analyzes behavioral data, purchase history, and profiles to provide predictive recommendations and dynamic content delivery that adapts in real-time, handling enterprise-scale personalization.

🏅 NOTE: We evaluated standalone community platforms with Salesforce connectors and considered Microsoft Viva Engage for Office 365 organizations. While these provide integration capabilities, Experience Cloud's native CRM architecture significantly reduces synchronization complexity for organizations already invested in Salesforce.

Salesforce Experience Cloud Pricing

Who Should Use Experience Cloud?

Choose Salesforce Experience Cloud if:

  • Your organization already uses Salesforce and wants to avoid tool sprawl
  • You need to extend complex business processes to external stakeholders
  • You require AI-powered personalization for large user bases (with Einstein add-on)
  • Enterprise security, scalability, and compliance are mandatory requirements

10. Discourse — Best Alternative for Discussion Forums

Discourse is a 100% open-source discussion platform designed for building forums focused on "civilized discussion." Founded by Stack Overflow co-founder Jeff Atwood, it concentrates on creating structured, searchable conversations rather than broad community management. Its key capabilities include:

Why Choose Discourse Over Hivebrite for Discussion-Focused Communities

Discourse excels at structured knowledge creation:

  1. Community-Driven Self-Moderation
    The Trust Level system automatically grants privileges based on positive participation. By Trust Level 3, users can recategorize topics, while Trust Level 4 users can merge discussions, creating a "natural immune system" against trolls without proportional moderator increases—ideal for organizations without the dedicated staff that platforms like Hivebrite often require.‍
  2. True Open-Source Freedom
    Organizations can inspect, modify, and redistribute code with no vendor lock-in. Self-hosted instances cost nothing beyond infrastructure, contrasting sharply with Hivebrite's enterprise pricing and tier-based restrictions. The full source code is available on GitHub.‍
  3. Purpose-Built Discussion Architecture
    Flat threading keeps conversations focused, Oneboxing expands links for context, and topic summarization condenses long discussions. Chat conversations can be converted to permanent forum topics when warranted.

🏅 NOTE: We evaluated Stack Overflow for Teams for Q&A and phpBB for mature open-source options. While Stack Overflow excels at technical Q&A and phpBB offers forum basics, Discourse provides a modern discussion platform combining forums with real-time chat while maintaining complete data ownership.

Discourse Pricing

Self-Hosted (Free)

Managed Hosting

  • Starter: $20/month (2 staff, 500k pageviews)
  • Pro: $100/month (5 staff, custom domain, API)
  • Business: $500/month (15 staff, migration services)
  • Enterprise: Custom (unlimited scale, dedicated hosting)
  • 85% educational discount available

Who Should Use Discourse?

Choose Discourse if:

  • Your primary need is structured discussion rather than comprehensive member management
  • You require true data ownership with self-hosting options
  • You're building a technical community where members may contribute customizations
  • Budget constraints require free/low-cost software with community-driven moderation

The Final Verdict

While Hivebrite excels as a comprehensive all-in-one community platform, organizations with specific requirements often benefit from more specialized solutions. The platform's broad, all-industry approach can present challenges: many users find the initial learning curve steep, customization options are restricted by tier levels, smaller organizations often feel overwhelmed by the complexity, and the interface and mobile experience don't always meet modern expectations. Based on our research, here are the best alternatives organized by category:

Alumni Engagement & Management Platforms

  • Almabase for educational institutions needing a purpose-built advancement platform with deep CRM integration, market-leading event management, and exceptional support
  • Graduway for larger institutions prioritizing AI-powered fundraising and philanthropic outcomes
  • Wild Apricot for volunteer-run organizations needing affordable, all-inclusive membership management with transparent pricing
  • ToucanTech for schools wanting a self-contained platform with minimal external dependencies and simplified setup
  • PeopleGrove for institutions focusing on mentorship and measurable career outcomes
  • 360Alumni for small-to-mid-sized schools needing rapid deployment with transparent pricing and no feature gatekeeping

Generic Community Engagement & Management Platforms

  • Mighty Networks for creators building monetized educational communities with intuitive interfaces
  • Bettermode for companies embedding community features within existing products without navigation friction
  • Salesforce Experience Cloud for enterprises extending Salesforce capabilities to external stakeholders
  • Discourse for organizations prioritizing discussion forums and knowledge management with community-driven moderation

Remember, you don't have to choose between Hivebrite and these alternatives exclusively. Many institutions and organizations successfully combine platforms to address different aspects of their community needs. Consider your specific requirements, technical capabilities, and growth trajectory when selecting the solution that best fits your organization.

‍

Ready to enhance your alumni engagement? Discover how Almabase's education-specific platform can transform your advancement operations with market-leading event management, no-code custom page creation, and 24/7 priority support. ‍

Schedule your personalized demo and join 500+ institutions already achieving results with integrated alumni engagement and fundraising.

10 Hivebrite Alternatives: Specialized Solutions for Different Community Needs

10 Hivebrite Alternatives: Specialized Solutions for Different Community Needs

Compare 10 Hivebrite alternatives for alumni, membership & community management. Find specialized solutions for education, creators & enterprises

Alumni Engagement

November 28, 2025

12 minutes

Read

From First Impressions to Real Transformation

When the Almabase team spoke at CEAC about practical ways to use AI in advancement, the room felt mixed with curiosity and caution. Everyone had heard big promises about artificial intelligence before, and it was hard to tell what was real. But a few minutes into the session, something shifted.

There were no futuristic predictions or talk of machines replacing people. Instead, the focus was clear demonstrations of how AI can help with real work: making everyday tasks faster, cleaner, and easier.

By the end, people were not taking pictures of slides anymore. They were leaning forward, already thinking about what they could try first.

We wanted to revisit that moment and expand on it. This blog is for advancement and alumni relations professionals who want to see what AI can do right now in practical, human ways.

Why Advancement Teams Need AI That Works Like a Teammate

Advancement professionals live in two worlds. One is personal, where conversations, thank-yous, and connections matter most. The other is operational, filled with lists, reports, and follow-ups that never seem to end.

AI, when used smartly, can bring these two worlds together. It handles the mundane, repetitive work that keeps people from doing what truly matters i.e, connecting with donors, writing meaningful messages, and planning strategy.

Of course, this should not just be about speed for its own sake. It is about giving professionals time to think, plan, and act on ideas instead of constantly catching up to spreadsheets, deadlines, and data entry.

Common Misconceptions That Keep Teams from Using AI

Some teams understandably hesitate to use AI because they believe it is either too shallow or technical, or perhaps too impersonal. The truth is somewhere in between and surprisingly simple

Myth 1: AI will replace gift officers

AI cannot listen, care, or read real human emotions. It only removes the repetitive tasks that stop officers from doing those very things.

Myth 2: AI takes away the human touch

When used right, it should actually strengthen it. Less admin work means more energy for conversations, thank-yous, and relationships.

Myth 3: AI requires coding or deep technical skills

If you can explain what you need in simple language, you can most likely use most AI tools effectively.

Myth 4: AI is costly to adopt

The most useful tools shown during the CEAC session cost less than a lunch for two.

What AI Looks Like When It Actually Works

During the CEAC session, the Almabase team showed live examples that anyone could build. Each one was based on a simple idea: use affordable tools, connect them intelligently, and always keep people in charge.

These workflows were not theory or promises. They were real systems that anyone could set up in a few hours.

The Prospect Research Copilot: Meeting Preparation Without the Chaos

Preparing for a donor meeting often means sorting through emails, spreadsheets, and profiles to find the right information. The Prospect Research Copilot makes that process easy.

It connects your calendar to tools like Zapier or N8N, which identify upcoming meetings. Then Clay updates donor profiles with the latest information, while ChatGPT or Perplexity writes a short briefing with key details.

Before your meeting starts, a clean summary lands in your inbox — complete with recent activity, giving history, and professional updates.

Meetings begin with confidence instead of guesswork, and officers spend their time building connections rather than chasing data.

Watch demo: Prospect Research Copilot

Alumni Career Change Alerts: Reconnect at the Right Time

Every time an alumnus changes jobs, it opens a window for conversation. The hard part is knowing when it happens.

This workflow uses Clay to track alumni job changes through LinkedIn. When one occurs, Zapier triggers ChatGPT to draft a short, personal message. A staff member reviews it before sending.

This way, no updates go unnoticed. Each career move becomes a chance to reconnect and build goodwill.

Watch demo: Career Transition Alerts

Event Recap Generator: Turning One Event into a Week of Content

Events take weeks to plan and only hours to run, but their value often ends too soon. The Event Recap Generator helps keep the momentum alive.

Upload your event recording to Descript to get a transcript. Send that text to ChatGPT to identify key quotes and themes. Then use Canva Magic Write to create branded visuals and posts for social media.

By the end of the day, your team has ready-to-share summaries, visuals, and emails. One event turns into several pieces of content that keep your community engaged.

Watch demo: Event Recap Generator

More Workflows Worth Trying

After CEAC, several schools started creating their own versions of these workflows. Here are four that have shown strong results.

Using AI in advancement and alumni teams

Each workflow starts small but creates a real difference in time and clarity.

To see automation in action, read RISD’s Almabase journey on how to turn efficiency into real-world results.

Start Simple and Build from There

The easiest way to begin with AI is to pick one tool and try it. ChatGPT, Jasper, or Perplexity can already plan, summarize, and write faster than traditional methods.

The real power comes when these tools connect to your CRM. Once AI understands your data, it becomes context-aware and starts suggesting meaningful next steps — who to contact, which donors need attention, and which campaigns are performing best. This is where AI agents add real value — handling multiple steps autonomously, from pulling data to triggering follow-ups. Teams ready to go further can use an ai agent builder to create workflows tailored to their own advancement processes.

That is where Almabase creates real value. The platform gives AI the context it needs to make insights useful and human.

Visit the Almabase Platform Page to learn how these integrations work.

What’s Next for AI at Almabase

AI at Almabase keeps evolving, but one idea stays the same: make everyday work simpler while keeping humans in control.

Coming Soon on the Roadmap

  • Email Emily helps write emails that match your institution’s voice and save hours of drafting time.
  • AI-Generated Event and Appeal Descriptions produce ready-to-use copy, releasing in early 2026.
  • CRM Sync Enhancements improve how data learns from engagement trends.
  • Engagement Copilot answers data questions in plain English.
  • Autonomous Engagement Agents schedule follow-ups and reminders automatically.

Each new feature is designed to work quietly behind the scenes so your team can focus on meaningful work.

How to Use AI Responsibly

AI can multiply both good and bad habits. If your process is clear, it becomes a powerful helper. If it is sloppy, mistakes spread fast. Responsible use keeps your team’s quality and reputation strong.

Good Habits for Every Team

  • Review all AI outputs before sharing or publishing.
  • Avoid entering private or confidential data into public tools.
  • Be open about when and how AI was used.
  • Double-check all names, quotes, and numbers.
  • Use tools that protect user privacy and limit environmental impact.

These small habits decide how much people trust your institution and your message.

One Step You Can Take This Week

Pick one workflow that solves a real problem for your team. Build it, test it, and see what changes. If it saves time, share the results so other departments can learn from it. Innovation spreads best through examples and mutual learning.

The most effective teams usually start with something small and doable. Each success builds momentum for the next project, and if the past several years have proven anything, it is the importance of scalable improvements in advancement and alumni relations.

If you want to explore the CEAC workflows or see them in action, join the next Lunch and Learn or request a personalized demo, and our team will reach out with a quick demo.

The Takeaway for Advancement Professionals

AI is not some faraway idea. It is already here, ready to help teams work smarter. It will not make thank-you calls or write heartfelt notes. It will not remember a donor’s favorite story about their college days. But it will give you the time and space to do those things better.

The next chapter of advancement will not be about machines replacing people. It will be about balance and technology handling the busywork so humans can focus on connection.

That is what Almabase continues to build toward. AI that works quietly in the background while people do what only humans can do best, which is to build relationships that last.

Beyond the Hype: How AI Is Quietly Changing the Way Advancement and Alumni Teams Work

Beyond the Hype: How AI Is Quietly Changing the Way Advancement and Alumni Teams Work

Beyond the hype, what does AI actually bring to the table for advancement and alumni facing teams? We're bringing you all things practical about AI with this blog

Alumni Engagement

November 28, 2025

12 minutes

Read

Why Creative Fundraising Events Matter for Hospital Foundations

Rising competition for donor attention, the need for diversified revenue streams, and the growing shift toward community-anchored fundraising are changing how hospital foundations engage supporters. 

Today's donors, especially younger donors, prefer experiential giving: personal, Meaningful experiences they can feel and remember. In fact, 75% of Millennials and two-thirds of Gen X say they’re  more likely to donate after a fantastic event experience. 

These trends are reshaping donor engagement and nonprofit fundraising, especially as hospital foundations look for fresh healthcare fundraising ideas that spark connection and long-term loyalty. 

Small fundraising events offer alternatives to traditional hospital gala ideas for hospitals and are quickly becoming a reliable way to engage donors and inspire repeat giving — an urgent problem since ​​fewer than 20% of first-time healthcare donors ever return.   

Almabase helps make your event planning, and donor follow-up easy, automated, and intuitive, with automated ticketing, branded event pages, QR check-ins, and TrueSync which ensures data that flows directly into Raiser's Edge NXT. What once took days or weeks of manual cleanup now takes minutes, freeing your team to focus on donor relationships instead of administrative tasks.

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5 Creative Fundraising Events That Deepen Donor Engagement  

Let's look at five fun ideas that can turn your fundraising event into the talk of the town, and how Almabase’s technology makes them easier, faster, and more cost-effective to execute. 

1. Salon-Style Gatherings: High-Touch Donor Engagement Ideas for Hospitals

These invitation-only events, typically hosted in private homes or unique venues, create the kind of meaningful access that donors never get from a ballroom full of 300 people. 

CommonSpirit's Dignity Health Foundation--Inland Empire turned its board-hosted salons into high-impact donor cultivation tools. They’ve hosted salons in unforgettable locations: a board member's airplane hangar dressed up for the holidays, an animatronics studio, and even a physician's exceptionally gorgeous home. 

The results speak for themselves. CommonSpirit’s salons have attracted three major gifts, a new bequest, new relationships with donors showing major giving potential, and deeper board engagement. The team is already planning multiple new salons for FY26.

2. 50/50 Raffles: A Timeless Fundraising Tool for Hospital Foundations

Raffles remain a staple across nonprofit fundraising, and in healthcare they offer an easy entry point for supporters who may not attend a gala. They’re relatively simple and inexpensive to execute, and can be incredibly effective when you add a little urgency or exclusivity.

Manitoba-based Boundary Trails Health Center Foundation raised more than $36,000 (after paying out the raffle winner) in its winter 2025 raffle. Attractive ticket bundles kept momentum rolling—from 10 tickets for $20 up to 200 tickets for $100.

Virginia’s Martha Jefferson Hospital Foundation capped tickets at 200, sold each for $100, and offered a top prize of up to $10,000. With odds of just 1 in 200, its raffle turned into something exclusive and talked about.

3. Tea Party: Small Fundraising Events With Big Impact

High tea fundraising events reach supporters who prefer something small and elegant and are a great way to attract community leaders, long-time volunteers, and donors of all ages who appreciate tradition, hospitality, and a clear sense of purpose.

Peace Arch Hospital Foundation hosts its "Steeped in Elegance" event at a private ocean-side estate, combining a refined luncheon, themed attire, and a tightly curated guest list. The British Columbia-based healthcare foundation tied every detail back to a clear need: renovating the hospital's production kitchen to improve the quality and dignity of patient meals.

4. Craft Beer or Wine-Tasting Events 

Tastings offer a relaxed atmosphere where people can socialize while staying connected to your mission. These fundraising events attract a wide mix of healthcare supporters—donors, business leaders, board members, and younger professionals who respond well to casual, social formats.

Ohio-based Magruder Hospital Foundation hosts its Grapes & Grains fundraising event at a local brewery, offering curated beer and wine tastings, guided brewery tours, food pairings, and an online auction that opened two weeks before the event. Proceeds helped the hospital foundation fund a new operating table designed specifically for hip surgeries—a direct, tangible story that donors could rally around.

5. Retail “Round-Up” Campaigns 

Round-up campaigns literally meet people where they are—at the checkout counter—and keep your hospital's mission visible in daily life.

Washington-based Tri-State Hospital Foundation runs its Annual Retail Round Up every May. Local businesses encourage customers to round up or make small add-on donations at checkout. Participating retailers include local hardware stores, pharmacies, and fast-food locations.


Let Almabase Automate Your Next Hospital Fundraising Event

Creative events don’t have to create more work. Here are just some of the ways Almabase makes your events turnkey and intuitive with automation and TrueSync functionality with Raser’s Edge NXT:

  • Build custom event microsites that make it easy to set up premium tables, themed seating, sponsorship packages, RSVPs, or specialty add-ons like dessert auctions.
  • Automate invitations and outreach with Almabase’s AI Email Builder.
  • Sync attendee data into Raiser’s Edge NXT through our TrueSync functionality. Every ticket purchase, payment, and donor interaction syncs quickly and easily.  
  • Use QR-code check-ins to keep the arrival experience polished and fast, especially for upscale events where donors expect seamless entry.
  • Collect payment with built-in compliance and payment processing. Payments flow through Blackbaud Merchant Services, so teams don’t have to worry about fragmented payment tools or reconciliation headaches.
  • Create flexible ticketing and sponsorship bundles to offer general admission, VIP tastings, early-access pours, commemorative items, or bundled packages that drive higher revenue.

Instead of spending days cleaning data or chasing down payments, your team can spend more time building relationships, deepening donor engagement, and turning your memorable events into lasting support.

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See how Almabase helps hospital foundations automate event logistics, strengthen donor relationships, and free up staff time for the work that actually moves your mission forward.

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5 Creative Ideas for Your Hospital Fundraising Events

5 Creative Ideas for Your Hospital Fundraising Events

We're bringing you five fantastic hospital fundraising ideas to help you visualize your next event or campaign and kickstart your fundraiser planning process.

Healthcare

Wendy Johnson

November 27, 2025

12 minutes

Read

Giving Days have quietly become one of the most exciting traditions on campus calendars. A single day when alumni, students, and staff come together to show what their community can do. It’s not just about the total dollars raised anymore; it’s about the energy, the storytelling, and the sense of belonging that comes with it.

That same mix of spirit and strategy is what this blog explores. We’ve gathered ten Giving Days that stood out in 2025 and the trends shaping how institutions approach them, along with ideas and insights to help you plan your next one.

What is a giving day?

Simply put, a giving day is a 24-hour digital fundraising campaign run by a university, school, or alumni association to rally its community. The main goal is to get alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends to come together and make small gifts that add up to a big impact.

Over the years, giving days have become a key part of fundraising. Alumni teams run class challenges, track live leaderboards, and social feeds light up with campus pride.  Most institutions use this one-day format to bring their networks to life. According to CASE’s Giving Day Insights 2025 Report, nearly 40% of institutions said their giving day helped them engage more alumni, boost donor participation, and almost 25% reported that these campaigns contributed between 11% - 25% of their total annual fundraising, proving how these short, high-energy campaigns can move the needle in total annual fundraising goals and community engagement. 

Almabase CASE Giving Day Insights

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Top 10 University Giving Days That Stood Out in 2025

From creative campaign themes to all-out campus celebrations, these ten Giving Days show how universities are redefining community spirit in 2025- 

1. University of Oklahoma – Giving Day 2025

OU Giving Day 2025
  • Raised: On April 8, 2025, OU’s Giving Day broke records raising over $30 million from nearly 7,000 gifts, with donors spanning all 50 states and 21 countries.
  • Theme: “Bring It Bigger” a call for the Sooner community to unite and amplify their collective impact through one powerful day of giving.
  • Creative strategies: Leadership gifts ignited early momentum, while global #OUGivingDay stories and a seamless, mobile-first GiveSooner.org experience made it easy for donors worldwide to participate and contribute.‍
  • Why it worked: An ambitious theme, diverse donor participation, and visible large gifts inspired a powerful sense of shared purpose across the Sooner family.

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2. Vanderbilt University – Giving Day 2025

Venderbilt Giving Day 2025
  • Raised:  VU giving day (April 7-11) raised a record-breaking $12.21 million from more than 6,900 donors.
  • Theme: “Every Gift, A Step Forward”  showcased during the inaugural VU Week and built around #VUGivingDay.
  • Creative strategies: A week-long campus build-up with events and giveaways set the tone, while real-time maps, leaderboards, and 35+ matching challenges drove engagement and global participation from all 50 states and 23 countries.
  • Why it worked: The campaign combined high-visibility campus energy with clear metrics and a global alumni reach, making giving feel immediate, communal, and impactful.

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3. Lawrence University – Giving Day 2025

Lawrence University Giving Day 2025
  • Raised: Lawrence’s 12th annual Giving Day on 28th October 2025 broke records, raising $2.08M from 1,819 donors across 74 class years.
  • Theme: “Celebrate all things Lawrence” under the campaign hashtag #LUGives, spotlighting the power of collective giving to the Lawrence Fund.
  • Creative strategies: Dollar-for-dollar and class-based matching gifts, lively on-campus activities like gratitude walls and Blue & White Bingo, and strong online engagement through donor maps, toolkits, and leaderboards kept the #LUGives momentum high throughout the day.
  • Why it worked: Unified online–offline energy, strong visual storytelling, and exciting matching incentives. 

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4. Texas Lutheran University – Day of Giving 2025

Texas Lutheran University Giving Day 2025
  • Raised: $169,466, successfully unlocking the full $50,000 challenge gift.
  • Theme: “Be the Difference. Build the Future.” under the campaign hashtag #TLUDayofGiving, rallying the community around supporting students and programs.
  • Creative strategies: Unlock challenges tied to donor milestones, a clean mobile-friendly giving page with clear fund options, and a strong social push with hashtags, countdowns, and last-call messages all worked together to drive urgency and maximize participation.
  • Why it worked: The campaign combined a clear, compelling message with match-based incentives, streamlined giving experience, and strong social momentum, making it easy, fast, and engaging for donors.

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5. University of Utah – Giving Day 2025

University of Utah Giving Day 2025
  • ‍Raised: On April 8–9, 2025, the U surpassed its goal by raising $2.1 million from 4,723 donors during a 1,850-minute campaign celebrating its 175th anniversary.‍
  • Theme: “1850 Minutes for the U” honoring the university’s founding year and inspiring the community to give back to the programs and people shaping its future.‍
  • Creative strategies: Donors chose from 100+ campus projects, with live leaderboards, donor maps, and themed incentives like the limited-edition “Brick-It Block U” for gifts above $175, blending personalization, celebration, and urgency.‍
  • Why it worked: The anniversary theme, strong visual storytelling, and engaging donor rewards made participation exciting and meaningful.

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6. Lamar University – Red Day 2025

Lamar University Red Day 2025
  • Raised: The fifth annual Red Day campaign (Sept 18-19, 2025) brought in over $110,000 from 610 donors and 727 gifts, surpassing the 500-donor goal.
  • Theme: “Raise the RED,”  a 24-hour push inviting alumni, students, faculty, and community to give to the areas that mean most to them.
  • Creative strategies: Real-time leaderboards and donor maps showcased progress, while matching gifts and donor challenges boosted participation, all amplified through coordinated social media, countdowns, and campus-wide reminders that kept momentum strong throughout the 24-hour campaign. 
  • Why it worked: donor-friendly tools and visible progress delivered transparency, and the campaign’s inclusive “everyone counts” message rallied a broad base of alumni and university supporters. This shows how even mid-sized institutions are scaling giving-day models. 

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7. North Carolina State University – Day of Giving 2025

North Carolina State University Giving Day 2025
  • Raised: On March 26, 2025, the campaign pulled in over $50.56 million from 18,565 gifts, exceeding the previous year’s total by ~9%.
  • Theme: Under the hashtag #GivingPack, the event mobilised alumni, students, parents, and friends in a unified 24-hour push to support the “Pack” and its key priorities.
  • Creative strategies: Hourly challenges and matching funds fueled friendly competition, while a network of “Pack Leader” ambassadors used shareable toolkits and tracking links to boost participation and expand reach across the Wolfpack community.‍
  • Why it worked: A clear call to action in a defined time window, combined with storytelling, peer sharing, and visible metrics, made giving feel immediate, communal, and impactful.

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8. Kentucky Community & Technical College System (KCTCS) – Giving Day 2025

KCTCS Giving Day 2025
  • Raised: On April 16, 2025, KCTCS held its second annual Giving Day, with more than 1,100 donors from 28 states and 91 Kentucky counties coming together to raise over $350,000.
  • Theme: Unified across the system, the campaign encouraged donors to “Join us … for the community to make a difference” by supporting any of the 16 colleges under the KCTCS umbrella.
  • Creative strategies: A system-wide campaign site with campus-specific pages, live leaderboards, and match/challenge incentives (e.g., scholarships triggered by donor participation) made individual campuses feel local while leveraging system-scale momentum.
  • Why it worked: Combining system-wide infrastructure and localized college identity allowed for both broad reach and personalized giving. The matching funds and visible progress helped convert support from a wide donor base across Kentucky and beyond.

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9. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville – One Day, One SIUE 2025

SIUE Giving Day 2025
  • Raised: On April 24, 2025, the campaign raised $2,882,965, exceeding its $2 million goal. 
  • Theme: A raceway-themed celebration that unified alumni, students, staff, and local partners to support student-centred priorities across the university.
  • Creative strategies: A campus-festival format with live entertainment (INDYCAR showcase), major gift presentations, and real-time progress updates to drive excitement and give visibility to impact.
  • Why it worked: The energetic, themed event format turned giving into a community experience, visible milestones built momentum, and strong engagement from donors, students, and local partners helped amplify both participation and total gifts.

10. La Salle University – Day of Giving 2025

La Salle University Giving Day 2025
  • Raised: La Salle’s 12th Annual Day of Giving on April 9, 2025, made history, raising $1.9 million through 1,500+ gifts.
  • Theme: “Be Known for supporting students,” celebrating La Salle’s Lasallian mission and the collective power of its community to shape student success.
  • Creative strategies: Unlock challenges that rewarded early gifts and alumni milestones, on-campus events like scavenger hunts and lawn games that kept energy high, and a coordinated digital push with toolkits, graphics, and countdown posts that sustained momentum throughout the day.
  • Why it worked: A clear mission-driven message, fun participation challenges, and seamless coordination between campus activities and digital storytelling.

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What makes a university giving day successful

The best giving days feel well-planned, personal, and full of energy. Success usually comes down to a mix of clear goals, good storytelling, and an experience that makes giving easy and enjoyable. When Germanna Community College, along with Almabase, hosted its first 24-hour campaign, it raised $503,855 and hit 168% of its goal because the message was clear and the experience was simple. Similarly, when Boyd‑Buchanan School launched its first-ever Giving Day using Almabase, they surpassed their goal by 201%; thanks to strong peer-to-peer networks, streamlined giving tools, and an outward-looking social campaign. Successful campaigns like these usually share a few traits:

  • Clear goals and storytelling that connect people to a cause
  • A user-friendly giving page that works smoothly on any device
  • Real-time updates that keep energy high throughout the day
  • Alumni and student ambassadors who help spread the word
  • Quick, thoughtful follow-ups that make donors feel valued

To dig deeper into the features and setup that help campaigns perform this well, check out the Almabase blog about giving day platforms and features.

Common Trends Across 2025 Giving Days

So far, Giving Days in 2025 have revealed a few clear patterns in how universities are rallying their communities and breaking records. Here are some common threads that stood out across campuses this year:

  • Greater reliance on matching gifts and unlock challenges to drive momentum
  • Ready-to-use social media toolkits empowering ambassadors to spread the word
  • Clean, mobile-first giving pages that make donating fast and intuitive
  • Live leaderboards and donor maps add a fun, competitive edge
  • Global participation celebrated through interactive dashboards and shoutouts
  • Blended approach of digital campaigns with on-campus celebrations
  • Clear storytelling that highlights student voices and real impact

How to plan your own successful giving day

The successful campaigns are the ones that plan, use data wisely, and make participation effortless. Here’s a checklist to help you build one that actually delivers- 

  • Plan in reverse: Start from your launch date and build backward. A six-to-eight-week prep timeline gives enough room to design content, onboard ambassadors, and finalize tech. The Almabase Giving Day Toolkit includes editable timelines and task lists you can plug right in.
  • Set layered goals: Go beyond a dollar target. Track participation, first-time donors, and returning givers to see how your community is engaging, not just how much it’s giving.
  • Craft a strong story: Choose a clear, human-centered cause and stay consistent across every channel. All your visuals, emails, and posts should tie back to that single message. The Guide for a Successful Giving Day outlines how institutions build narratives that convert.
  • Segment your outreach: Use data from your CRM to group donors by affinity or recency. Tailor content and timing for alumni, parents, and faculty instead of relying on one broad appeal. Segmentation boosts both open rates and conversion.
  • Build a reliable tech stack: Your giving day platform should be fast, mobile-optimized, and integrated with your CRM for real-time reporting. Use the Giving Day Platform Features Checklist to audit your setup before launch.
  • Train and empower ambassadors: Bring in alumni and student leaders early, set measurable outreach targets, and give them pre-approved assets. A small, well-coordinated group often drives the biggest reach.
  • Keep momentum alive: Use dashboards, real-time updates, and milestone shoutouts throughout the day. Energy and visibility are what sustain participation during slower hours.
  • Respond fast and personally: Send thank-yous within 24 hours, short, personalized notes, or quick videos work best. Follow up later with a concise impact summary to keep donors connected.

Looking Ahead

2025 has marked a real shift in how higher ed approaches giving days. What started as 24-hour fundraisers has become powerful engagement platforms uniting alumni, students, and staff around shared goals that outlast the campaign itself. Across the country, institutions have broken participation records, grown first-time donor counts, and used these short, high-energy events to strengthen long-term loyalty.

The common thread has been smarter storytelling backed by data. The best campaigns this year didn’t rely on chance; they understood their audience, shaped messages that resonated, and used real-time insights to adjust on the fly. That’s where higher-ed fundraising is heading: intentional, personal, and measurable.

If you’re looking to make your next giving day easier to manage and more effective, book a personalized demo with Almabase and see how you can turn your campaign into something that truly moves the needle.

Top 10 University Giving Days That Stood Out in 2025

Top 10 University Giving Days That Stood Out in 2025

Giving Days are a huge part of any advancement fundraising calendar. We picked out 10 inspiring giving days that happened in 2025 to see what we can learn.

Fundraising

Sharada Koti

November 27, 2025

12 minutes

Read

Donor behavior shifts throughout the year, but the weeks leading into the holidays always bring a noticeable rise in generosity. It’s also the moment when many institutions start thinking about how Giving Tuesday matching donations can amplify that momentum and help reconnect with supporters who are ready to make a meaningful year-end contribution and gently encourage renewed engagement to turn one-time donors into long-term supporters.

This is also when the value of a matching donation becomes clearer to donors. GivingTuesday gives you a natural opening to talk about GivingTuesday matching funds, show how they work, and offer easy ways for supporters to submit a GivingTuesday donation match. With some early planning, budget reviews, message alignment, and timing, you can plan your GivingTuesday finances wisely and make the process feel organized rather than rushed.

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Today, we’ll explore how to maximise matching donations by setting up a workflow that’s simple for both your team and your donors. You’ll learn how to surface matching opportunities earlier, communicate them more clearly, and remove small barriers that often stop donors from completing a match. With the right steps in place, you can double alumni impact and ensure that every match-eligible gift has a better chance of being completed on GivingTuesday.

When is Giving Tuesday 2025?

GivingTuesday typically falls on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving, marking the start of the year-end giving rush. This year, it falls on December 2, 2025. Over the years, participation has continued to grow globally, with more institutions using the day to highlight community impact, broaden donor engagement, and strengthen year-end fundraising efforts. 

What Are Matching Donations (and Why They Matter)

Corporate matching donations are programs where an employer matches the charitable gifts their employees make. The mechanics are simple-  an employee donates, and the company contributes a second gift. In most cases, companies offer a 1:1 match, but many go further with 2:1 or even 3:1 programs, volunteer hour matches, or special giving-day matches for causes their workforce cares about. But despite how simple the process can be, it’s still one of the most overlooked opportunities in fundraising. Each year, an estimated $4–7 billion in matching gift funds goes unclaimed because many donors either don’t know they’re eligible or never complete the match request.

Educational institutions are especially well-positioned to benefit from these programs. Alumni networks span a wide range of industries, including many companies with strong matching-gift policies. Colleges and universities also tend to have clearer communication channels like email, advancement portals, reunions, and GivingTuesday campaigns, where they can regularly surface reminders about matching. Because alumni already feel a connection to their institution, they’re more likely to take the extra step of submitting a match when the process is explained clearly. All of this makes matching gifts a natural fit for education-based fundraising.

How to Maximize Matching Gifts on GivingTuesday ( Step-by-Step)

Here’s a step-by-step guide based on what we’ve seen work consistently well for institutions of all sizes- 

1. Start by laying out a clear blueprint for this year’s campaign

Before anything else, map out how you want this year’s GivingTuesday matching-gift plan to run. Outline your core messages, identify which donor groups you’ll focus on, plan your pre-launch timeline, and decide where matching gifts will appear across your channels. A simple shared document helps everyone stay aligned and reduces last-minute stress.

2. Get your data in order and match-eligible donors early

A strong GivingTuesday plan always begins with clean, usable data. Update employer information, fix old records, and tag donors who have submitted matches in the past. Using a CRM like Raiser’s Edge NXT or an integrated platform like Almabase makes this much easier. These tools help you automate employment updates, segment donors based on match-friendly employers, and quickly build lists of supporters who are most likely to complete a match. When you’ve identified these groups in advance, your outreach becomes more focused and more effective.

3. Focus on compelling storytelling

In every successful GivingTuesday campaign I’ve worked on, the turning point has been a strong story. Donors respond when they can see a real person, a real moment, or a real outcome tied to their gift. Instead of trying to communicate multiple impact areas at once, choose one powerful story to carry the message.

This could be a student whose scholarship eased a financial burden, a family supported through an emergency fund, or a program that grew because donors stepped in at the right time. Keep the format simple: a short video filmed on a phone, a quote that feels honest, or a before-and-after snapshot that shows progress.

The goal is to help donors understand why their matched gift matters. When they can clearly imagine the difference their support makes and how matching gifts amplify that impact, they feel more connected to the cause and are more likely to take the extra step to complete a match request.

4. Set a clear, attainable goal 

A well-defined goal gives your GivingTuesday plan structure and helps donors understand what they’re contributing to. Instead of announcing a broad target like “Help us raise more this year,” break it down into something achievable and measurable: a certain number of matched gifts, unlocking a board-sponsored match pool, or reaching a milestone within a specific time window.

You can also design smaller “momentum goals” throughout the day, such as unlocking a departmental match during a two-hour window or hitting 50 matched gifts before noon. These micro-milestones work incredibly well because they keep the energy steady instead of saving all excitement for the final hour.

As the day progresses, share updates through email, social media, and your campaign page. Even simple posts like “30 more matched gifts will unlock the next $5,000 in matching funds” help supporters feel like they’re part of something active and time-sensitive.

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5. Create one reliable spot that explains matching gifts and encourages participation

Donors are more likely to act when information is easy to find and easy to understand. A dedicated matching-gift section on your GivingTuesday page removes friction and keeps instructions consistent across channels.

This section should include:

  • a searchable employer tool or a list of major employers known to match
  • 2–3 simple steps to submit a match request
  • a short video or visual explaining how matching works
  • FAQs addressing common concerns (processing times, deadlines, documentation)
  • a brief reminder about why matching matters to your institution

You can also highlight examples from previous years, like “120 donors submitted match requests last year,” or “Top matching companies from our alumni community.”

When this page becomes the single source of truth, your team doesn’t have to answer the same questions repeatedly, and donors feel more confident engaging with the process.

6. Involve your board, ambassadors, and volunteers to widen your reach

From experience, some of the most successful campaigns come from institutions that treat their board, ambassadors, and volunteers as active partners instead of passive supporters.

Here’s how they can meaningfully support your matching-gift efforts:

  • Board members can help by lending their voice and networks. A short message from a board member adds credibility and reaches audiences your regular communication may not. 
  • Alumni ambassadors can share personal social media posts explaining why they give and encourage coworkers, especially those at match-active companies, to get involved.
  • Volunteers can help with behind-the-scenes tasks like responding to comments, directing donors to your matching-gift page, or posting reminders in campus groups.
  • Student groups can record quick videos or host a short livestream talking about the impact of GivingTuesday, making the campaign feel more community-driven.

Personal voices create credibility that institutional messaging alone can’t match. When donors see familiar names cheering on the campaign, engagement rises naturally, and match questions get answered faster because the information circulates more widely. 

7. Use social media intentionally to keep the campaign active

Social works best when updates feel real and in-the-moment. Institutions that maintain steady visibility tend to see higher engagement and more match participation. A few simple tactics go a long way:

  • Go live for quick updates
     A short livestream of two to five minutes is enough. Show progress, introduce a student ambassador, or give a behind-the-scenes look at your campaign hub. These moments make the day feel real, not scheduled.
  • ‍Use Facebook and Instagram stories to build momentum
    Stories are great for hourly check-ins, quick shoutouts, and reminders to check employer match eligibility. Post short updates like “25 matched gifts unlocked this hour” or “We’re halfway to our goal.” Visuals help donors understand where you stand without reading long captions.‍
  • Use LinkedIn for employer-focused messaging
    Highlight companies that are known for matching gifts, tag alumni who work there, or share a short post about how matching programs multiply impact. LinkedIn audiences expect professional, workplace-related content, so this fits naturally.‍
  • Post short student or staff videos
    A 20–30 second clip of a student saying why GivingTuesday matters to them feels personal and encourages donors to participate in a match. It doesn’t need to be overly produced; sincerity is more effective.‍
  • Respond to comments and questions quickly
    When donors ask about match eligibility or where to give, a fast response helps remove hesitation. Real-time support on Facebook or Instagram can move someone from “I’ll do it later” to giving immediately.‍
  • Spotlight supporters throughout the day
    Celebrate when a donor submits a match or when an employer has multiple matched gifts. These acknowledgements help others feel encouraged to act.

These light-touch moments help donors feel connected and remind them to check their match eligibility throughout the day.

8. Make giving simple and quick

A smooth donation experience makes a big difference. Make sure your donation page is mobile-friendly, quick to load, and simple to complete. Add a small reminder like “See if your employer matches your gift” and, if possible, include a searchable employer field right on the page. When giving feels easy, match participation naturally increases.

9. Automate follow-ups to help donors complete their matching gift

A well-timed follow-up is one of the easiest ways to increase completed match requests, and automation makes this effortless. After someone gives, set up an automatic email that reminds them to check their employer’s matching-gift program and submit the required form. When platforms like Almabase sync donor and employment data from NXT, these reminders can be personalized so donors only receive the guidance that’s relevant to them.

This small automation helps capture match dollars that often get forgotten, and it saves your team the time they would otherwise spend sending reminders manually.

10. Acknowledge your donors 

A prompt, sincere thank-you helps donors feel seen. Whether it’s a short email, a quick video, or a note from a student, appreciation that feels personal goes a long way. Keep communication clear and transparent so donors know how their gifts are being stewarded.  Recognizing the impact of their gift and the potential match sets a positive tone for future engagement. When people feel valued and see the outcomes of their generosity, they stay engaged, trust your institution more deeply, and are far more likely to give again.

Tools to Simplify Matching Gift Management

If you’re looking to simplify how your team tracks and manages matching gifts, the right tools make a noticeable difference. Integrations with platforms you already use can automate much of the work that would otherwise take hours.

When you connect Blackbaud with Almabase, donor identification and segmentation become much easier. Almabase can pull donor data directly from Blackbaud NXT, keep it up to date, and automatically group donors based on factors such as employment information, past giving, or potential match eligibility.

This means your team isn’t digging through spreadsheets or sending generic reminders. You can reach the right donors with clear, timely communication while letting the systems handle the heavy lifting in the background. A small investment in the right software often results in more completed matches and a much smoother experience for both staff and supporters.

Tying it together

A strong matching-gift strategy can make your GivingTuesday campaign more organized, more predictable, and easier for your team to manage. Institutions that plan well usually begin by getting their data in order, identifying where matches are most likely to come from, and making the steps clear for donors from the start. Keeping matching gifts visible throughout the campaign also helps maintain momentum and reduces confusion later.

What often gets overlooked is how much these campaigns teach you. GivingTuesday reveals patterns, who engages early, who responds to match prompts, where communication feels strong, and where your team might need better tools. Treating the campaign as a learning moment helps you shape a smarter, more donor-friendly approach for the future.

If you’re looking to make matching gifts easier to manage, give us a shout or book a demo with us and  our team can help you figure out the best way to use Almabase for your goals.

How to Maximize Matching Donations for GivingTuesday

How to Maximize Matching Donations for GivingTuesday

Matching gifts have become a staple of modern fundraising. Learn how you can maximize your gifts by integrating matching gifts into your GivingTuesday and Giving day campaigns

Fundraising

Sharada Koti

November 25, 2025

12 minutes

Read

Texting has quietly become one of the most effective ways to reach donors. In this blog, you’ll see real examples of fundraising texts, understand what makes them effective, see sample fundraising text message templates that work and learn simple ways to use them in your next campaign.

Why Text Messaging Works for Fundraising

Text messages have an open rate of about 98%, while email averages only 20–28%. Even better, nine out of ten texts are read within three minutes of landing on someone’s phone.

SMS also drives faster action. The average response time for a text is 90 seconds, while emails take 90 minutes on average. For time-sensitive campaigns like Giving Tuesday, Fundraising Galas or end-of-year appeals, that speed matters.

SMS also outperforms email when it comes to conversions. Depending on the campaign, texts convert between 21–30%, while email responses stay closer to 2–3%. On Giving Tuesday, organizations that used texting saw 84% higher conversion rates than those that relied only on email.

For institutions using RE NXT or similar CRMs, text messaging can work alongside your existing donor segmentation. You can reach people based on giving history, event participation, or engagement level, through the channel they’re most likely to open.

💡Learn how to use text messaging for donor engagement and fundraising

Fundraising Text Message Examples by Use Case

1. Asking for Donations: General Fundraising Text Message Examples

These examples work well for ongoing or all-year fundraising campaigns when you want to make a simple, heartfelt ask.

Template 1:

Hi [Name], it’s [Organization]. We’re $5,000 away from our goal for [specific program]. Can you chip in $25 today? [Link]

Template 2:

Hi [Name], your gift can make a real difference for [specific cause]. Every contribution helps us keep [impact statement, such as “meals on the table for families in need”]. Donate here: [Link]

Template 3:

Quick question, [Name]. Would you consider giving $50 to help [specific outcome]? Every bit of support brings us closer to our goal. [Link]

Template 4:

Hi [Name]. We’re reaching out to our most engaged supporters first. Can you make an early gift of [amount] to [campaign name]? [Link]

Template 5:

[Name], we have a shortfall in funding for [program]. Your gift of any amount today will help us close the gap. Give here: [Link]

‍

A clear and urgent fundraising text asking supporters to help build safe homes for families in need.

2. Creating Urgency: Sample Fundraising Text Messages That Inspire Action

Urgency can be one of the strongest motivators for giving. When your donors know there’s a deadline or a goal within reach, they’re more likely to take action right away. Short, time-bound messages like these can help you make the most of that window of attention.

Template 1:

Hi [Name], we have 48 hours left to reach our goal. We’re still $3,000 short. Can you give $25 right now? [Link]

Template 2:

Only 6 hours remain! We need 50 more donors to unlock our challenge grant. Be one of them: [Link]

Template 3:

Deadline tonight at midnight. Your gift will be matched dollar for dollar, but only if you give before [time]. [Link]

Template 4: 

[Name], we're 80% to our goal with just 12 hours left. Can you help us finish strong? [Link]
Examples of time-sensitive texts that create urgency and inspire quick donor action.

3. Event Promotion Text Templates

Events give you a chance to bring donors together, celebrate milestones, and raise additional support. A well-timed text can boost attendance and remind supporters why their presence, and their gifts, matter.

Template 1:

Hi [Name], join us for [event name] on [date]. Your participation helps raise funds for [cause or program]. Save your spot: [Link]

Template 2:

Only 20 seats left for [event name] this [day]. Every ticket supports [specific goal or program]. Register now before they’re gone: [Link]

Template 3:

[Name], [event name] happens tomorrow at [time]! Your attendance helps us reach our fundraising goal for [cause]. Here’s a key detail before you arrive: [Key detail]. See you there!

Template 4:

Last call for [event name]! Doors open in two hours. Join us and help make a difference for [cause]. RSVP now: [Link]
A friendly reminder text encouraging supporters to register for a community fundraising event.

4. Matching Gift Fundraising Texts

Few messages spark action faster than one that says, “Your gift counts twice.” Matching gift campaigns work because donors can immediately see the bigger impact of their support. A short, clear text that highlights the multiplier effect often drives quick responses.

Template 1:

Great news, [Name]! Every gift made today will be matched two to one. Your $50 turns into $150 for [cause or program]. Give now: [Link]

Template 2:

[Name], a generous supporter is matching all donations up to $10,000. This is your chance to double your impact for [specific cause]. Donate here: [Link]

Template 3:

Your employer might match your gift to [Organization]. Check your eligibility and make your donation go twice as far: [Link]

Template 4:

[Name], we still have $5,000 left in matching funds, but only until [time]. Give today and see your contribution doubled instantly: [Link]
Children's Wisconsin uses gift matching and urgency to drive Giving Tuesday donations with a clear deadline.

5. Giving Tuesday Text Message Examples

Giving Tuesday has become one of the biggest global movements in philanthropy. In 2024 alone, supporters contributed more than $3.6 billion, and text messaging played a huge part in that momentum. The immediacy of SMS helps organizations reach donors throughout the day, keeping the energy and generosity flowing.

Here are a few text ideas you can adapt for your next Giving Tuesday campaign.

Template 1:

It’s Giving Tuesday! Join [number] supporters who’ve already given today. Your gift of any amount makes a difference: [Link]

Template 2:

[Name], all Giving Tuesday donations are being matched. Your $25 becomes $50, and your $100 becomes $200. Give before midnight: [Link]

Template 3:

We’re halfway through Giving Tuesday and $8,000 short of our goal. Can you help us close the gap? [Link]

Template 4:

Only four hours left on Giving Tuesday! We need 75 more donors to reach our target. Be one of them: [Link]

Template 5:

[Name], thank you for considering a Giving Tuesday gift. Here’s what your donation supports: [specific outcome]. Give here: [Link]

Timing tips for Giving Tuesday:

  • Send your first text early in the morning (around 7-8 AM) to catch people before work.

  • Follow up at midday (12-1 PM) with a short update on progress.

  • Send one last push in the evening (6-8 PM), reminding donors how close you are to the goal.

  • Always mention the deadline clearly: “by midnight tonight” helps create a sense of urgency.

Once the campaign ends, send a brief thank-you message the next day. A quick note of gratitude keeps the connection warm and helps donors feel part of the success they made possible.

A thank-you text that keeps the door open for late donors with a direct link to the giving form.

6. Re-engagement Fundraising Texts for Past Donors

Your past donors are those who already believe in your mission. They just need a reminder of the difference they’ve made. Re-engagement texts work best when they sound personal, share a quick update, and show donors how their earlier support still creates impact.

Template 1: 

Hi [Name], we haven't heard from you in a while, but we'd love to have you back. Here's what we've been up to: [Brief update]. Interested in getting involved again? [Link]

Template 2: 

[Name], you gave to [campaign name] last year and it made a real difference. We're running a similar campaign now. Would you consider giving again? [Link]

Template 3: 

We miss you, [Name]! Your last gift helped [specific outcome]. We're working on [new project] and would love your support: [Link]

Template 4: 

[Name], your support in [year] helped us [achievement]. This year, we're trying to [new goal]. Will you help us again? [Link]

‍

Re-engagement text that acknowledges the gap in giving while inviting the donor back with a specific project.

7. Thank-you Fundraising Text Templates

Gratitude matters. Donors who feel seen and appreciated are far more likely to stay connected and give again. Send one of these right after someone gives:

Template 1: 

Thank you, [Name]! Your gift of [amount] just came through. You're making [specific impact]. We're grateful.

Template 2: 

[Name], your donation means [specific outcome, e.g., '3 students will get scholarships']. Thank you for believing in our mission.

Template 3: 

We got your gift of [amount], [Name]. Thank you! Here's your receipt: [Link]. Your support makes our work possible.

Template 4: 

[Name], you just became donor #[number] in our campaign! Thank you for joining [number] others who are making this possible.

Template 5: 

Your gift is already at work, [Name]. Thank you! Watch for updates on what we accomplish together.

‍

Tips for Writing Effective Fundraising Text Messages

  • Keep your fundraising sms messages under 160 characters when possible. If you need more space, aim for 300 characters maximum.

  • Personalize with the recipient's name and reference their past giving or involvement when you can. "You gave last year and it helped us..." works better than generic asks.

  • Include only one link per message, and use a link shortener to save characters. Make sure the link goes to a mobile-friendly donation page.

  • Be specific about what donations will accomplish. "Your $25 provides meals for a family" beats "Help us continue our mission." or “support our cause”.

  • Send messages at the right times. Avoid early mornings (before 8 AM) and late nights (after 9 PM). The best performance typically comes from mid-day (12-2 PM) and early evening (5-7 PM) sends.

  • Always provide an opt-out option. Include something like "Reply STOP to opt out" at the end of your messages.

  • Test different approaches. Try varying your message length, tone, and calls to action to see what resonates with your audience.

How to Automate Fundraising Texts Using Almabase

Text messaging works best when it's part of an integrated strategy. Here's how advancement teams can automate their fundraising sms campaigns:

  • Segment your audience using RE NXT data. Pull donor lists based on giving history, attendance at events, engagement scores, or any custom field in your CRM. This lets you send targeted messages to specific groups rather than blasting everyone with the same ask.
  • Personalize messages based on donor behavior. If someone attended your gala but hasn't given yet this year, that's a different message than someone who gives monthly. Almabase pulls in donor data so you can reference past gifts, event attendance, or volunteer history in your texts.
  • Track donations and sync responses automatically. When someone clicks your donation link and gives, that data flows back into your CRM. You don't have to manually update records or track who gave through which channel. The system handles it.
  • Set up triggered messages for specific actions. Send an automatic thank-you text when someone donates. Trigger a follow-up message to people who clicked your link but didn't complete their gift. Create a welcome series for new text subscribers.
  • Monitor campaign performance in real time. See how many people opened your message, clicked your link, and converted to donors. Use that data to adjust your strategy mid-campaign if needed.

The result is a text messaging program that runs efficiently without eating up your team's time on manual tasks.

Ready to Build Your Next Fundraising Campaign?

Text messaging can deliver results that other channels struggle to match, but only when you have the right tools and strategy in place.

Almabase helps advancement teams run text campaigns that convert, with built-in segmentation, personalization, and automated workflows that save time while raising more.

Request a demo to see how Almabase can power your next text messaging campaign.

Fundraising Text Message Examples

Fundraising Text Message Examples

We've collected a whole bunch of fundraising text message templates for you to use for your upcoming giving days, events, and fundraisers.

Fundraising

Anwesha Kiran

November 24, 2025

12 minutes

Read

With the dust settling from Anthology’s major corporate restructuring, your team might find themselves faced with the opportunity to re-evaluate what’s working and what isn’t. This is especially true if events sit at the absolute center of how you engage alumni and drive giving.

In this blog, we’ll walk through the top alternatives for your team with events in mind, what to look for in a modern system, and what a smooth transition away from Encompass (iModules) looked like in practice. Let’s dive in.

What to Look for in a New Platform

While most platforms will look similar on paper, you can look at how their features come together, especially around events.
Here's what to evaluate:

1. Real-time CRM sync

The CRM is where data comes together, and when someone registers for an event, makes a gift, or updates their information, you don't want that data sitting in a spreadsheet waiting to be imported later. With Encompass (iModules), event data reaches your CRM through manual exports or scheduled batch syncs, which means your team could be looking at outdated information. During a giving day, reunion, or fundraising gala, that delay can make it much harder to understand what's happening in real time and respond while engagement is at its peak. Your data should feed into your CRM in real time, giving your team an ideal, reliable view of what’s happening in your event.

TrueSync keeps Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT and Almabase in sync in real time, so gift and event data never sits in a queue waiting for a manual export.

2. Registration, ticketing, check-in built in

Because Encompass (iModules) was built on a legacy architecture, its event features can feel disconnected from the rest of the platform. In practice, that often means advancement teams have to step outside the system to handle things like ticketing, check-ins, or attendee management. Instead of running everything in one place, staff end up juggling multiple tools, switching between them during busy events, and piecing together attendee data afterwards. Your event platform should support the entire event lifecycle in one place, so your team spends less time wrestling with the technology and more time creating great alumni experiences.

3. Scales for multi-day/multi-session events

Planning a multi-day event like Homecoming or Reunion Weekend with Encompass (iModules) can become more complicated than it needs to be.
Things like creating individual sessions, setting capacity limits, or building different itineraries for guests often require manual workarounds because the registration forms aren't flexible enough to handle them easily.
Ideally, you should be able to build a single master event and organize sessions, tracks, and attendee schedules underneath it with just a few clicks. 

4. Ease of use for non-technical staff

Making a quick text edit, updating a logo, or adding a last-minute question to an Encompass (iModules) page can mean waiting on IT or burning a customer support ticket. Advancement teams rarely have dedicated web developers. The coordinators who run your campaigns should be able to create, brand, and modify pages confidently on their own, ideally with minimal to no coding required. 

Top 5 iModules Alternatives

Before we get into the details, here’s a summary of the top 5 Encompass (iModules) alternatives and all they have to offer:

Platform Best For Pros Cons
Almabase Advancement teams that run events year-round and want registration, ticketing, comms, and CRM sync in one place • TrueSync keeps RE NXT updated automatically, no manual imports
• Built for complex events: multi-day reunions, Homecoming weekends, sub-events, capacity limits
• No-code event page setup and edits
• Multichannel email and text from one platform		 • No prospect research or wealth screening tools built in
Cvent Institutions coordinating admissions fairs, conferences, athletic events, and campus-wide programs from one central system • Enterprise-grade security for institutional IT requirements
• AI-powered event page creation, automated badging, onsite check-in, kiosk tools
• Integrates with Salesforce and Blackbaud CRM at scale		 • General-purpose platform, not advancement-specific
• No alumni directories, mentorship programs, giving pages, or donor-focused workflows
• More complex than most advancement offices need if the focus is reunions, regional events, and giving days
Eventbrite Simple, standalone events where ticket sales and fast setup matter more than long-term constituent tracking • Free for free events, no platform fees
• Built-in event discovery through Eventbrite's marketplace
• Polished, mobile-friendly pages live in minutes		 • Doesn't recognize alumni or donor records
• No support for fundraising workflows like pledges or auctions
• No native CRM sync, requires manual export and matching after every event
Gravyty Advancement teams prioritizing digital fundraising, AI-assisted major gift work, and donor stewardship over complex event management • Raise uses AI to recommend outreach and draft personalized donor messages
• Advance offers giving day pages, live leaderboards, challenge gifts, integrated payments
• Gratavid enables personalized stewardship videos tied to donor records		 • Not a unified event management platform, event tools live only in Graduway and are lightweight
• Syncs to Blackbaud or Salesforce via scheduled updates, not continuous real-time
• Requires working across multiple separate products
Givebutter Individual campus departments, student organizations, or smaller advancement shops running standalone peer-to-peer campaigns and auctions on a tight budget • Core platform free, funded by optional donor tips rather than mandatory fees
• Built-in gamification: peer-to-peer tools, team tracking, live supporter feed
• QR-code check-in and native live/silent auction tools		 • Not built for higher ed, lacks alumni portals, directories, mentorship matching
• No native two-way advancement CRM integration
• Built for simple, single-form events, will outgrow multi-day Homecoming or Reunion Weekend schedules

1. Almabase

Almabase is a good fit if your team runs events year-round. Instead of piecing together separate tools for registration, ticketing, communications, and CRM updates, everything lives in one place. Event attendance and constituent information sync automatically with Raiser's Edge NXT, while giving data flows over in clean, organized batches. That means your team always has an up-to-date view of who's registering, attending, and giving, without spending hours cleaning up spreadsheets after every event.

Key strengths:

  • TrueSync Data Flow: Automatically keeps Raiser's Edge NXT up to date with constituent information and event attendance, eliminating manual imports and duplicate records.
  • Built for Complex Events: Easily manage multi-day reunions, Homecoming weekends, and other large events with sub-events, capacity limits, and customised attendee schedules, all within a single registration experience.
  • No-Code Events Set up: Create, brand, and update event pages with no coding required, so your team can make changes on the fly without relying on IT or submitting support tickets.
  • Built-in Multichannel Communications: Send targeted emails and real-time text messages from the same platform, without exporting contact lists or switching between tools.

After nearly a decade on iModules, the team at New England College found themselves spending more time managing technology than engaging alumni. Everyday tasks involved manual data entry, spreadsheet clean-up, and workflows that felt far more complicated than they needed to be.

Switching to Almabase gave them a much simpler way to work. Anna Twombly, Director of Annual Giving and Alumni Relations, said the migration was far smoother than expected, and her team quickly became self-sufficient. They could launch giving days, manage event registrations, and update pages themselves instead of waiting on technical support. For a lean advancement team, that meant less time wrestling with software and more time focused on building meaningful relationships with alumni. Check out the full conversation below! 👇

What it's not great at: Almabase does not include prospect research or wealth screening tools. If complex management for major gifts research is a priority, you'd need to layer in a separate platform.

Pricing: Custom pricing based on institution size and needs.

2. Cvent

Cvent is one of the most well-known event management platforms on the market. If your institution is coordinating admissions fairs, conferences, athletic events, and campus-wide programmes from one central system, Cvent makes a lot of sense.

Key strengths:

  • Enterprise-grade security: Cvent meets stringent institutional IT requirements for data privacy and security.
  • AI-powered event operations: Uses AI to speed up event page creation, while automated badging, onsite check-in, and kiosk tools help large events run more efficiently.
  • Built to scale: Integrates with enterprise systems like Salesforce and Blackbaud CRM, making it well suited for institutions managing thousands of events across multiple departments.

What it's not great at: Cvent is designed as a general event management platform, and not specifically for advancement. That means alumni engagement features like community directories, mentorship programmes, giving pages, and donor-focused workflows aren't part of the core experience.

Universities looking for a single platform to manage large, institution-wide event programmes across multiple departments will find Cvents to be a natural fit.
If your advancement office mainly runs reunions, regional events, giving days, and alumni programming, you may find Cvent more complex than you need.

Pricing: Custom quote, with the median at $19,500 a year.

3. Eventbrite

Eventbrite is one of the easiest ways to publish and sell tickets for an event. It's familiar, simple to use, and great for taking a registration page live quickly. If you're hosting an event where ticket sales are the priority, it's hard to beat for convenience.

Key strengths:

  • Free for free events: Publish unlimited free events without platform fees, making it an easy option for community gatherings and volunteer events.
  • Built-in event discovery: Events benefit from being listed on Eventbrite's marketplace, helping more people find your event organically.
  • Quick to launch: Create a polished, mobile-friendly registration page in minutes without needing technical expertise.

What it's not great at: Eventbrite was built for event ticketing, not advancement. It doesn't recognize alumni or donor records or support fundraising workflows like pledges and auctions. Because it doesn't natively sync with advancement CRMs, your team will likely end up exporting attendee lists and matching records manually after every event.

Smaller advancement teams or alumni clubs running simple, standalone events where collecting registrations is more important than tracking long-term constituent engagement will find this to be a good fit.

Pricing: Free for free events. For paid events, Eventbrite charges per-ticket fees. Verified nonprofits can receive discounts on some marketing plans, but those discounts don't apply to ticketing fees.

4. Gravyty

Gravyty takes a different approach: instead of offering one place to manage everything, it brings together a suite of products focused on fundraising, donor engagement, alumni networking, and AI-assisted outreach. If your biggest priority is growing digital giving and helping gift officers work more efficiently, it's a compelling option.

Key strengths:

  • AI-powered workflows: Raise analyses your donor data, recommends who to contact next, and even helps draft personalised outreach so gift officers can spend more time building relationships.
  • Great digital giving experiences: Advance includes giving day pages, live leaderboards, challenge gifts, and integrated payment processing designed to maximise online fundraising campaigns.
  • Video stewardship tools: Gratavid makes it easy to send personalized thank-you videos while keeping every interaction tied back to the donor's record.

What it's not great at: Gravyty isn't designed as a single, unified event management platform. Basic event registrations are available through Graduway, but the event functionality is relatively lightweight. Data also syncs back to CRMs like Blackbaud or Salesforce through scheduled updates rather than continuously in real time.

This option would be good for advancement teams that prioritize digital fundraising, AI-assisted major gift work, and donor stewardship over complex event management, and are comfortable working across multiple products instead of one integrated platform.

Pricing: Custom pricing based on your institution's size and requirements.

5. Givebutter

Givebutter is a highly popular, modern fundraising platform that bundles peer-to-peer campaigns, event ticketing, and auction tools into an incredibly user-friendly dashboard.

Key Strengths:

  • Zero Upfront Costs: The core platform is completely free to use, funded by an optional donor-tipping model at checkout rather than taking a mandatory cut of your budget.
  • Built-in Gamification: Native peer-to-peer tools, team tracking, and live supporter feeds make it incredibly easy to launch highly visual giving day style pages.
  • Engaging Event Extras: Streamlines basic ticket sales with mobile QR-code check-in, alongside native tools for running live or silent charity auctions.

What it's not great at:

It is not built for higher education. It lacks alumni portals, directories, or mentorship matching. More importantly, it features no native, two-way advancement CRM integrations (like a direct Raiser’s Edge NXT sync). Because it is designed for simple, single-form events, running complex university milestone schedules like a multi-day Homecoming or Reunion Weekend will quickly outgrow its functional limits.

Givebutter is a great fit for individual campus departments, student organizations, or smaller advancement shops running straightforward, standalone peer-to-peer campaigns and auctions on a tight budget.

Pricing: Core tools are free if donor tips are left on. Disabling tips triggers a flat 3% platform fee (plus standard credit card processing). Upgrading to Givebutter Plus for advanced automations uses contact-based pricing, starting at $29/month for under 250 contacts and scaling upward as your alumni list grows.

CRM Alternatives to Ecompass (iModules)

1. Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT

Many university advancement teams already rely on Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT to manage donor relationships and fundraising. It's excellent at tracking constituent history, gifts, and engagement over time, but it isn't designed to run events on its own. 

Things like event registration, attendee management, and on-site check-ins require a dedicated event platform. If you want that event data to flow into RE NXT without manual imports, you'll need a platform with a purpose-built integration, such as Almabase's TrueSync or Cvent's connector. For institutions already invested in the Blackbaud ecosystem, it's often the easiest way to modernise event management while keeping the same CRM at the centre of operations.

2. Ellucian 

Ellucian is designed for institutions that want advancement data closely connected to the rest of the university ecosystem, from student records to finance and ERP systems. It serves as a powerful back-end system for managing constituent and fundraising data, but it isn't built to power the day-to-day event experience. 

Features like branded registration pages, flexible event forms, and on-site check-in usually require a separate event platform. As a result, many advancement teams use Ellucian alongside a dedicated events solution that handles the public-facing side of registrations while keeping the underlying data connected. 

3. Salesforce 

Salesforce is flexible and works well as the central CRM for institutions with complex data needs. Institutions piece it together using offerings like Salesforce Education Cloud and Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud, depending on whether the priority is student lifecycle data or donor and fundraising management.

But when it comes to running events, its native capabilities are fairly limited. Most teams rely on dedicated event platforms like Almabase or Cvent to handle registrations, event websites, and attendee management. Those integrations then feed event data back into Salesforce, allowing institutions to keep the CRM as their single source of truth without asking it to do everything on its own. 

Whichever CRM you use to hold your donor data, the event layer you place on top of it is what determines how much overhead your team can expect in terms of data reconciliation. 

Wrapping it up

At the end of the day, it is up to you and your team’s unique needs that will determine your platform of choice for 2026 and beyond. But we hope we’ve been able to give you a good starting point to find the right fit for you.

If you’d like to learn more about Almabase and how we help institutions and organizations for advancement needs, feel free to book a personalized demo call with us below! ⬇️

Frequently asked questions

How seamless is the transition from iModules to Almabase? What support is available during migration?

Almabase provides dedicated personnel for your onboarding and training as you or your team gets used to Almabase. We also provide readily available live chat, email, and on-call support in case you run into any hiccups.

Is Almabase built only for higher education?

Almabase also supports K-12 schools and healthcare foundations managing donor and alumni communities.

Does Almabase have reporting and analytics tools?

Almabase comes with its own set of reporting and analytics tools for giving, engagement, and donor pipeline data.

Is Almabase built to handle multi-day events?

Yes. Almabase supports multi-day and multi-session events natively, including separate registration and check-in for each session under one parent event, so reunions, homecoming weekends, and multi-track galas don't require a spreadsheet workaround or a second tool.

Best iModules Alternatives for Events-Forward Advancement Teams (2026)

Best iModules Alternatives for Events-Forward Advancement Teams (2026)

Looking for imodules (Encompass) alternatives available for advancement and alumni relations teams? We've picked out some of the popular options that you can consider.

Fundraising

Almabase

November 21, 2025

12 minutes

Read

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