A number of institutions are now transitioning their Alumni Relations Management department from the traditional forms of Excel Sheets, Google Forms and MailChimp to more advanced forms of training. Alumni management software Solutions. why? For any organization with a small alumni association, alumni relations can be managed with the help of common tools. However, as the community expands, it becomes increasingly difficult to do the following.
- Ensure centralized alumni database management
- Monitoring the progress of alumni relations
- Integrate various tools for seamless communication and alumni outreach.
With the help of a revolutionary alumni management software solution or platform, institutions can find it much more effortless and convenient to build and grow relevant alumni relationships.
Photo by Pavel Danilyuk
What is Alumni Management Software?
Alumni management software helps you serve and connect a large network of alumni—often graduates of a university or college—into a dedicated virtual community network, collaborating and working effortlessly.
With a secure alumni management software solution, organizations—typically colleges and universities—can stay in touch with large alumni through events and content, as well as by soliciting donations.
Top Reasons to Use Alumni Management Software
When choosing the best alumni management software solution for your organization, you will have unique requirements based on your organization’s requirements. Some of the main reasons for using a specific alumni management software solution are:
- Building an Alumni Database: If your organization wants to develop an independent database of alumni, the right alumni management software solution will allow you to do so. Relevant information can be collected on the various industries the graduates have worked in and the overall seniority level. It is also a great option if you can identify where you are located geographically. It is useful for organizing meetings and local events.
The best part is that alumni can use the database to search and connect with each other. You can take the initiative to connect with alumni in a specific area. Ideally, whichever alumni management software you choose, it will allow you to dive deeper into an organization’s alumni.
- Knowledge sharing, job placement, networking: Another important benefit of a dedicated alumni community platform is the ultimate ability to ensure strong relationships. Alumni who graduated 10-20 years apart don’t always keep in touch. With the help of a secure alumni management software solution, activities such as knowledge sharing, networking and facilitating valuable interactions within the alumni network can be extended.
When you have the right alumni management software, attendees can look forward to actually meeting, collaborating, and even networking. Alumni who are highly established in the professions can provide mentorship or advice. What’s more, recent graduates can easily learn about potential career opportunities by finding jobs they might not otherwise have heard of. All this is possible with our feature-rich alumni management software solution.
- Organizing virtual events: Let’s be real – some graduates are going to be more financially settled than others. Not everyone can go back and forth to every event or reunion. A reliable alumni management software system understands the reality and provides the most convenient way to engage the entire community in virtual events or meetings.
With the help of a robust alumni management system or platform, organizations can expand their network of actively engaged alumni. By casting a wider net, organizations can reach a larger and more diverse group of people—each of whom adds value to the other.
- Ease of Fundraising: Most organizations or institutions rely heavily on sponsors, fancy galas, fundraisers and other events. Claiming matching contributions is not an easy process. With an active community system or platform, you offer a lot of value to motivate members to donate. In addition, the software can provide participants with multiple ways to achieve the same result.
Key features required in an alumni management software system
- Interactive, Searchable Member Directory: The Member Directory is where you store all your important information – including name, location, alma mater, contact information and more. The directory you create should be searchable while providing filters so participants can easily find others and connect with existing community members.
The best directories in the alumni management software or platform provide access to a virtual map that displays unique member profiles based on location and other critical factors. It is important to update the directory at any time.
- Virtual event management: Alumni-based events are critical to ensure graduate student engagement. The alumni management platform you choose should be able to offer a complete range of event management solutions, including:
- Ticket options
- Reminder and invitation emails
- Calendar of events
- Social network integration for event promotion
- Online payment
A modern alumni management platform must be able to support the transition from offline to online—especially during a pandemic.
- Fundraising Management: In addition to bringing in cash, relevant fundraisers also help build strong relationships between influencers and key stakeholders and the organization or institution. Additionally, successful fundraisers help boost morale within the organization.
An innovative alumni management platform saves your team a lot of time when it comes to administrative tasks. This means they will have more time to focus on fundraising strategies that deliver tangible results.
- Job Boards: An updated job board is a valuable resource for any alumni network. The software should allow organizations to share related jobs, include external job feeds, and even allow other alumni to post relevant job opportunities.
Summary
With FutureSolve, you can find the best-in-class alumni management software solution for your organization.
