Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for alumni associations.
A checklist built from how alumni associations work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Graduate directory and batches
- Life and annual membership
- Gifts and named funds
- Reunion registration
- Chapters and batch representatives
- Mentoring and career board
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For secretaries and office staff
- For treasurers
- For chapter secretaries
- For batch representatives
- For graduates
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Members by class, batch and chapter, with renewal dates
- Lapsed and unpaid dues by batch
- Gifts by named fund, with donor wishes
- Chapter statements against bank deposits
- Reunion registrations, guests and check-in
- Mentor matches open and closed
- Event budget against actual spend
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- SMS
- WhatsApp or other messaging
- Payment gateway
- Accounting export
- Institution student records
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Can it hold both life and annual members?
- Can a donor say which fund the money is for?
- How do chapters send their money statements?
- Can graduates register for a reunion without calling the office?
- Can we move the batch sheets we already have?
- Can we see how much each batch has given?
- Do graduates see each other’s phone numbers?
- What shapes the quote for an association our size?
- Whose records are they if we leave?
- How long until the office is using it for dues and reunions?
- What does the committee prepare in advance?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- The directory exists in many copies
- Life and annual dues are mixed together
- Chapter money is held far away
- Reunion registrations come from every channel
- Donor gifts lose their intended fund
Prefer to talk it through? See the alumni associations page.