Graduway vs. Almabase vs. Hivebrite: Choosing the right alumni engagement software
Why choosing the right alumni engagement platform matters
Alumni and community engagement is central to institutional growth, lifelong relationships, and ongoing support.
Graduway, Almabase, and Hivebrite each offer distinct approaches to alumni engagement, supporting event promotion, branded online communities, and ongoing communication. Each platform offers a variety of digital tools that support both modern engagement and more traditional alumni outreach, and they are widely used by institutions working to strengthen alumni relationships.
Understanding how each platform approaches engagement, community-building, and institutional support can help alumni relations and advancement teams assess core capabilities, weigh strengths and limitations, and choose the solution that best fits their long-term goals.
Platform overviews
Graduway from Gravyty
Graduway is Gravyty’s alumni engagement platform. It’s designed to empower institutions to build lifelong alumni relationships through branded digital communities, structured and flash mentorship programs, and personalized outreach.
Gravyty’s ecosystem of solutions is designed to support every phase of the student and alumni journey—from first contact to ongoing engagement—by bringing together social connection, communication, and giving tools in one place.
- Graduway: Branded alumni portals with directories, social integration, and personalization
- Gratavid: Personalized video messaging and storytelling
- Ivy & Ocelot: AI-powered student and alumni support across SMS, email, chat, and WhatsApp
- Advance: Online giving day and year-round giving platform
- PeerPal: Enable peer-to-peer mentorship and referral engagement
- Raise: AI-powered outreach and pipeline development for frontline engagement
Graduway integrates with major CRMs, and meets FERPA, HIPAA, and GDPR compliance standards. It’s a strong choice for teams seeking a unified alumni platform that supports long-term engagement, strategic outreach, and institutional trust.
Almabase
Almabase is designed to help institutions boost digital engagement by making it easier to connect with alumni through events, directories, and email campaigns. Its core features focus on helping teams promote giving, manage alumni data, and organize virtual or in-person events with minimal lift.
- Mobile-optimized donation pages and fundraising microsites
- Event ticketing, RSVPs, and registration tracking
- Integrated email marketing tools for outreach and campaign follow-up
Almabase does not offer a dedicated mobile app; users are instead encouraged to save the web experience to their phone’s home screen. Branding options are limited to template-based customization.
For teams seeking lightweight alumni engagement tools and quick digital setup, Almabase can be a practical, entry-level solution.
Hivebrite
Hivebrite offers a flexible platform built for community-driven organizations, including alumni networks, professional associations, and member-based groups. It supports events, forums, directories, and online memberships, with a strong emphasis on visual branding and user interface control.
- Event creation, registration, and RSVP management
- Customizable member directories, job boards, and forums
- Support for online donations and paid memberships
- Branding tools, visual customization options, and custom domains
While Hivebrite provides broad configuration options, some customization features may require technical skills, and the platform lacks built-in mentorship tools or advanced analytics exports.
It’s a fit for teams prioritizing community space and branding flexibility over structured engagement workflows.
How Graduway, Almabase & Hivebrite stack up
Up to this point, we have focused on the big picture. Now, we will take a closer look at how each platform’s specific features, strengths, and strategies shape alumni engagement at every stage. This deeper view will highlight not just what each solution offers, but how they help institutions build and sustain long-term relationships.
|
Feature |
Graduway |
Almabase |
Hivebrite |
|
User-customized homepage |
✅ |
❌ |
❌ |
|
Automated video messaging |
✅ |
❌ |
❌ |
|
Video meetings |
✅ |
❌ |
❌ |
|
Surveys |
✅ |
✅ |
❌ |
|
Automated email |
✅ |
✅ |
❌ |
|
Personalized feed |
✅ |
✅ |
✅ |
|
Interactive directory |
✅ |
✅ |
✅ |
|
Mentoring programs |
✅ |
✅ |
✅ |
|
Groups |
✅ |
✅ |
✅ |
|
Mobile app or PWA |
✅ |
❌ |
✅ |
|
Data ownership |
✅ |
❌ |
✅ |
|
CRM integrations |
✅ |
✅ |
✅ |
Comparison areas
Alumni relationship management
Building long-term relationships with alumni requires more than one-time campaigns. Great alumni engagement needs consistent touch points, journey-based planning, and tools that support meaningful engagement over time.
Graduway
Graduway helps institutions engage alumni communities through an interactive feed, affinity groups, robust mentoring, and integrated video messaging. It’s built within the Gravyty platform to give institutions an end-to-end solution for educational lifecycle engagement. Personalized video messages, giving day tools, and lifecycle-based automation create a seamless alumni journey.
Alex Beard
Associate Director of Alumni Careers & Professional Engagement, William & Mary
Almabase
Offers email campaigns, event invites, and alumni directories, but lacks tools for mapping or automating engagement across key alumni lifecycle stages.
Hivebrite
Supports member directories and forums, but doesn’t offer tailored lifecycle tracking or journey-based engagement workflows.
Integrated engagement & giving tools
Successful alumni engagement often requires more than a single feature on a platform. It depends on how well those tools bring together communication, giving, and outreach tools in one cohesive experience as well as the strategic partnership that comes with a strong vendor relationship.
Graduway
Graduway combines video messaging through Gratavid, embedded payment processing, giving day, and donation tools via Advance and omnichannel outreach through Ivy & Ocelot from Gravyty which support SMS, WhatsApp, email, and chatbot messaging. It also integrates with CRMs and recommends next steps based on campaign performance.
Almabase
Provides mobile-optimized giving forms, donation microsites, and basic email campaign analytics, but does not offer advanced CRM syncing or AI-driven engagement tools.
Hivebrite
Supports basic donation and membership payments, but these features are not tightly integrated with event or communication workflows.
Mentorship, events & community building
For many institutions, the most valuable alumni platforms are those that go beyond transactions; facilitating meaningful connections, mentorship, and opportunities to gather in-person or online.
Graduway
Graduway offers branded alumni portals with built-in flash and structured mentorship programs featuring smart matching algorithms and milestone tracking. Features also include community groups, and event management tools, resource libraries, opportunity boards, and community feeds to support virtual and in-person connections.
Almabase
Includes directories, event registration tools, and interactive alumni maps. While users can connect through profiles, the platform lacks structured mentorship workflows.
Hivebrite
Supports event creation, job boards, forums, and member groups, but does not offer built-in mentorship functionality. Any mentoring features require manual configuration or third-party workarounds.
Branding & customization
Alumni platforms don’t just need to work—they need to reflect your institution’s identity and create a safe, engaging community for your members. Customization and branding capabilities can make the difference between a generic user experience and a strong sense of community.
Graduway
Graduway enables branded digital communities with flexible design elements, customizable alumni portals, and embedded video tools for personalized storytelling.
Almabase
Offers only limited visual customization through standard templates, with few layout or design options beyond basic color and logo adjustments.
Hivebrite
Supports custom domains and deep visual branding, including color schemes, logos, and layout personalization. However, users without technical skills may run into challenges when editing templates or configuring more advanced layouts.
User experience & support
A platform’s features only matter if your team can use them effectively. That’s where setup, onboarding, and day-to-day support play a critical role in long-term success.
Graduway
Designed with advancement and alumni relations professionals in mind, Graduway offers responsive onboarding and access to strategic support resources throughout implementation and ongoing use.
Almabase
Some users report slower onboarding timelines and more limited support once the platform is live, which may present challenges for lean or first-time alumni teams.
Hivebrite
Built with a broader community admin audience in mind, Hivebrite provides general implementation help but lacks donor- or alumni-specific onboarding guidance.
How to find the right alumni engagement platform for your school
Each platform has a slightly different focus, which makes them better suited for different types of institutions and engagement strategies. Here’s a quick look at how they align.
Choosing the platform that grows with you
With so many features across alumni platforms, the real differentiators often come down to long-term fit: how well a platform can scale, support your engagement goals, and adapt to your organization’s evolving needs. While each option has its strengths, the right choice depends on your institution’s strategy, resources, and priorities.
Almabase is a practical choice for teams that want to get up and running quickly with digital events and giving campaigns, but it may fall short for institutions seeking long-term alumni engagement strategies.
Standing out for its community features and design flexibility, Hivebrite is an excellent choice for organizations that prioritize visual branding and forums. However, it lacks purpose-built tools for mentorship and alumni lifecycle management.
Graduway delivers the most complete platform for institutions focused on building meaningful alumni relationships—from mentorship and exclusive communities to omnichannel outreach and giving day amplification. Its deep feature set, lifecycle approach, and strong support make it the best fit for growth-minded advancement and alumni teams.
Ready to transform your alumni engagement? Book a demo to talk to our sales team today.
