Alumni management & engagement software

Hivebrite provides extensive customization options to ensure the platform becomes a natural extension of your institution’s brand. The visual interface can be fully customized with your colors, fonts, logos, and imagery through an intuitive design system that requires no coding knowledge. Custom domain options allow you to host the platform under your institution’s web address. Beyond aesthetics, you can customize terminology throughout the platform to match your institution’s vocabulary—for example, changing “groups” to “clubs” or “houses.” Email templates, notification messages, and system communications can all reflect your brand voice and style. These customization capabilities ensure a cohesive brand experience that strengthens institutional identity while providing a familiar environment for your alumni.

Yes, Hivebrite’s Groups feature provides an ideal structure for creating distinct sub-communities for different schools, departments, or programs within your institution. Each group can have its own administrators, custom pages, event calendars, discussion forums, and resource libraries while remaining part of the larger institutional community. Groups can be organized hierarchically to reflect your organizational structure—for example, a Business School group might contain sub-groups for MBA, undergraduate, and executive education programs. Alumni can join multiple groups based on their affiliations and interests. This structure allows for targeted engagement at the departmental level while maintaining a unified alumni experience, striking the perfect balance between specialized content and institutional cohesion.

Yes, Hivebrite’s powerful directory search functionality gives alumni the ability to find and connect with peers using multiple criteria. Alumni can search by traditional parameters such as graduation year, major, or degree program, as well as professional criteria including industry, company, job title, and skills. Location-based searches allow alumni to find peers in specific cities, states, or countries—perfect for networking when relocating or traveling. All search parameters can be combined to create highly specific queries, such as “marketing professionals who graduated between 2010-2015 currently working in Boston.” Institutions can customize which search fields are available and visible based on privacy preferences and strategic goals, ensuring the right balance between connectivity and data protection.

Yes, Hivebrite supports giving campaigns through our dedicated Donations and Fundraising module. Institutions can create and manage multiple campaigns simultaneously, from annual funds to specific initiatives like scholarship drives or capital campaigns. The platform supports campaign pages with compelling visuals, progress thermometers, donor recognition, and impact stories. Peer-to-peer fundraising capabilities allow alumni to create personal fundraising pages to support your institution’s causes, extending your reach through their networks. Time-sensitive campaigns like Giving Days benefit from real-time donation tracking, countdown timers, and matching gift displays. The platform also supports recurring giving programs, tribute gifts, and class giving challenges to drive participation and cultivate a culture of philanthropy among your alumni community.

Hivebrite offers extensive integration capabilities with higher education systems through both native connectors and our comprehensive API. We maintain direct integrations with popular advancement CRMs including Blackbaud (Raiser’s Edge NXT), Salesforce, and Ellucian, allowing for bidirectional data synchronization. For student information systems, we support data imports from Banner, Workday Student, and PeopleSoft. Our open API provides custom integration options for institutions with unique tech stacks or proprietary systems. These integrations ensure alumni data remains consistent across platforms, advancement efforts are coordinated, and the user experience is seamless. Our integration specialists work closely with your IT team during implementation to establish secure data flows that meet your institution’s specific requirements.

Hivebrite’s segmentation capabilities allow institutions to create highly targeted communications based on virtually any alumni data point. You can segment by traditional demographics like graduation year, degree, or geographic location, as well as by engagement behaviors such as event attendance, donation history, or content interaction. Our dynamic segmentation tools automatically update groups as alumni data changes, ensuring your communications always reach the right audience. The platform supports nested segments for complex targeting and the ability to save segments for repeated use. These powerful segmentation tools enable personalized outreach for everything from class reunion invitations to career opportunities in specific industries, dramatically increasing relevance and response rates compared to broad communications.

Focus on features that drive meaningful connections and streamline administration. Modern platforms should offer a robust member directory with advanced search capabilities, allowing alumni to find peers by graduation year, industry, location, or shared interests.

The software should provide powerful communication tools, including email campaign management and automated messaging workflows. Look for platforms that support both mass communications and personalized outreach to keep your alumni network informed and engaged.

Event management capabilities are crucial. Your platform should handle registration, ticketing, and check-in for both virtual and in-person gatherings. Advanced features like agenda builders, attendee networking, and post-event surveys help maximize the impact of your alumni programming.

Career development tools set leading platforms apart. Seek software that includes job boards, mentoring program management, and professional networking features. These tools help alumni advance their careers while strengthening their connection to your institution.

Fundraising and giving features are essential for advancement teams. Look for platforms offering online donation processing, campaign management, and detailed donor tracking. The ability to recognize and engage donors within the platform helps drive sustained support.

Finally, ensure your chosen platform provides comprehensive analytics and reporting. Understanding how alumni engage with your community guides strategic decisions and demonstrates program value to stakeholders.

Selecting the right alumni management software requires careful evaluation of your institution’s specific needs and goals. Start by assessing your current alumni engagement challenges and identifying which features would most effectively address them.

Consider your technical requirements, including integration capabilities with existing systems like your student information system or advancement CRM. The platform should enhance your current workflows rather than create additional complexity.

Evaluate the user experience from both the administrative and alumni perspectives. The interface should be intuitive and accessible, encouraging regular engagement from your community. Mobile accessibility is particularly important for reaching younger alumni.

Security and data privacy cannot be overlooked. Choose a platform that maintains high security standards and complies with relevant regulations. This protects both your institution and your alumni’s information.

Support and training resources significantly impact implementation success. Look for vendors offering comprehensive onboarding, ongoing support, and regular platform updates.

As more organizations recognize the value of dedicated community platforms, we’ve noticed a common theme among our customers: they appreciate guidance on creating and managing Request for Proposals (RFPs). We’ve helped put together a template and information on this process for you. For a detailed comparison of available options, explore our guide to the best online community platforms.

Alumni CRMs and general CRMs serve fundamentally different purposes, though they share some basic functionality. Alumni CRMs focus on relationship building and engagement within an educational context, while general CRMs typically center on sales and business relationships.

Alumni CRMs track education-specific data points like graduation years, degrees earned, campus involvement, and giving history. They emphasize relationship nurturing through features like event participation tracking, volunteer management, and mentorship program coordination.

These specialized platforms help institutions maintain lifelong connections with graduates, supporting both engagement and advancement goals. They often include tools for managing class reunions, coordinating alumni chapters, and organizing mentoring programs.

General CRMs, by contrast, focus on managing customer relationships through the sales cycle. They track leads, sales opportunities, and customer service interactions. While they excel at managing business relationships, they lack the specific features needed for alumni engagement.

Measuring alumni engagement requires tracking multiple metrics that together paint a picture of community health and participation. Start by establishing baseline metrics in key areas like platform adoption, event participation, and giving patterns.

Track user engagement through metrics like login frequency, profile completion rates, and feature utilization. Monitor how alumni interact with content, participate in discussions, and connect with fellow graduates. These indicators help gauge the community’s vibrancy.

Event participation provides valuable engagement insights. Beyond attendance numbers, analyze metrics like repeat attendance, registration patterns, and post-event survey responses. This data helps optimize future programming.

Giving metrics remain crucial but should be viewed alongside other engagement indicators. Track not just donation amounts but patterns of giving, volunteer participation, and mentor program involvement. These activities often correlate with long-term institutional support.

For detailed guidance on measuring community engagement, including templates and frameworks, download our comprehensive guide to measuring community engagement.

Remember to regularly review and adjust your measurement approach based on your institution’s evolving goals and community feedback. Successful engagement strategies require ongoing refinement informed by data.