Whether you are just starting to modernize your alumni program or are looking to change your approach, a persistent (but healthy) question to have in your strategizing process is what to choose between a single highly integrated and modular platform or a bunch of best-in-class tools that each do a specific function well.

There are a lot of things to consider and the answer will not be the same for every institution. Today, we would like to help you make that decision by going over each approach and letting you know what you need to consider before making a decision.

Integrated tools

A well-integrated tool is often the choice of many, and for good reason. As an institution, you want to have an efficient but simple data management process, and a single integrated tool for fundraising and alumni engagement works great as it makes it easy to centralize your data management process. This approach naturally leads to more streamlined workflows and similar user experiences across your whole team as you all work on various parts within the same platform.

Depending on how well you use the various features of these tools, they can also be relatively inexpensive to implement. On the flip side, if you are after only a certain feature, that same feature may not be as personalized for you as a specialized tool. Depending on the platform and the features you need, they might also have a steep learning curve. Finally, these integrated tools usually involve a long-term relationship with their customer institutions, where they improve each other over time. Depending on your need, this can be just what you need or a dealbreaker, as it is slightly more difficult to switch to another tool after having everything set up.

Multiple best-in-class tools

On the other hand, many institutions also opt to utilize multiple tools that each serve a specialized feature. This provides them the opportunity to choose the best tool for each needed feature. It allows them to flexibly scale their selections depending on their budget or team size. It’s also a more comfortable option for institutions that are just starting out and don’t have the expertise or experience to work with an all-encompassing tool just yet.

However, this approach can be expensive if you need a lot of features and have a lot of alumni. It also requires staff to manage multiple systems and integrations from different sources, which may all have unique quirks. Data management needs to be closely monitored, as data inconsistency between any of the employed tools is a real possibility. If you choose to go with multiple tools, it is crucial to eliminate data silos. If you do choose to use multiple tools, it’s important that your tools talk to each other and data flows seamlessly.

Factors to consider

Now that we’ve had a brief look at the pros and cons of each approach, it’s time to go over some of the things you need to consider so that whichever approach you choose will fit your institution perfectly:

➼ Institution size: For mid-sized sized institutions (5000 annual students and above) that may have a diverse alumni population, an integrated approach would fit their needs better. Meanwhile,  institutions that have smaller alumni populations and databases may prefer to start with a small set of specialized tools and see how it aligns with their goals down the line.

➼ Budget: With less administration and vendor management required from the institution, integrated tools can usually be more cost-efficient in the long run. Integrated tools also have the distinct advantage of all their features feeding into a centralized database, which reduces operational costs for both sides. However, some of these integrated platforms may incur upgrade or extra feature fees and be more expensive to move on from. We highly recommend you do your research on these factors and align them with your budget.

➼ Staff volume and expertise: Consider how much staff will be needed for each approach and how much expertise will be needed. An integrated tool will be easier to manage as everyone works on the same tool, and communication channels with vendors are more streamlined. However, if you are a small team with little experience with these tools and are not looking to hire more soon, sticking to one or two specialized tools might be better. Do also consider any platforms your staff members might have experience with or have heard of. Finally, keep your data flows in mind. Even if your staff would prefer multiple specialized tools, check how the data can possibly be centralized between them and if so, how it can be optimized for scale.

➼ Alumni engagement goals: It really should go without saying, but your alumni engagement goals should always be the main factor when deciding which way to go. Consider your past engagement metrics, where you’d like to see improvements, which events and initiatives you are planning to integrate to make that happen, and finally, which approach or tool will be able to not just accomplish that goal but make it scalable in the future.

➼ Data capabilities of the team: Do consider your staff’s capabilities to manage alumni data. If you have a small team but are using a variety of tools, will the team be able to integrate data from multiple sources? In that case, will switching to an integrated tool to streamline your data integration process be better? How is your database set up in the first place, and will it be time-consuming to have it work with the tool you want? If you are choosing to adopt multiple best-in-class tools, will you have issues with data silos? These are just a few questions regarding database management and integration that you should consider.

➼ Scalability: Consider how many staff members, alumni, donors, and donations you may need to manage a few years from now and how you want to scale up to that level. The first step is to consider the tools you are currently using and how scalable they are. Next, consider alternative tools available that match your future goals and whether they can be aligned with your staff, existing programs, and budget to hone down on which tool you want to scale with. Who knows, maybe the tool you already have fits the bill, or you might just find the perfect alternative to take you to the next level!

Tying It All Together

Hopefully, we’ve given you plenty of food for thought to help you decide your strategy moving forward. We know that these are difficult but crucial questions that are necessary to answer. That’s why we are ending this blog with some actionable questions to consider if you are currently undecided on which approach is better. They are:

• What are your primary goals for alumni engagement?
• What is your current technology stack?
• What is your budget for this project?
• What is the level of technical expertise within your team?
• How do you picture your alumni strategy in 3 years and what kind of tool do you picture using when that time comes?
• Will the different features or tools you use be able to communicate with each other effectively?