In Memoriam
Remembered with care
A notice goes live only after the family agrees. No confetti here, ever.
DR
Dr. R. MenonTeacher, 1971 to 2004
Compare · Almabase
AlumDeck vs Almabase
Almabase is hosted engagement and fundraising software for university and school advancement teams, often run beside Raiser's Edge. AlumDeck is an alumni site that a volunteer committee installs itself for $49 a year. They are good at different jobs.
AlumDeck
- $49 a year, published, the same for every association
- Installs on your own hosting in an afternoon
- Classmates vouch for applicants, and your old register is matched
- History, In Memoriam and a hall of fame, built in
vsA published $49 a year, or a quote priced by your emailable contacts
Almabase
- A custom quote, plus a one-time setup and training fee
- Hosted for you; typically live in 8 to 12 weeks
- Two-way sync with Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT
- Online giving days, ticketed events, auctions and memberships
The short answer
A fundraising platform, or an alumni association site.
If your advancement office raises money online and lives in Raiser's Edge, look hard at Almabase. If a committee runs your association and wants the directory, reunions, records and history on its own site, AlumDeck costs less than a dinner.
- $49AlumDeck per year, published
- QuoteAlmabase, priced by emailable contacts
- Same dayto install AlumDeck, once hosting is ready
- 8 to 12weeks for a typical Almabase launch, by its own account
Almabase figures: plans page and migration page, checked September 2026.
Side by side
Nineteen questions, both answers
Every Almabase answer links to the Almabase page it comes from.
| Feature | AlumDeck | Almabase |
|---|---|---|
| Price you can read before talking to sales | Yes. $49 a year, on the pricing page | No. Custom quote; the plans shown are marked not current |
| What the price covers | Yes. Every feature, unlimited members and admins | Partly. Setup fee extra; API access and text messaging cost more |
| Hosted and looked after for you | No. No. You install it on your own cPanel hosting and apply updates yourself | Yes. Yes, on AWS and Azure |
| Runs on your own server | Yes. Yes. Your database, on your host, in the country you choose | No. No, hosted only |
| Try it without a sales call | Yes. The live demo: no form, reset every night | Partly. A demo, on request |
| Checks that applicants really are alumni | Yes. Classmates vouch; applicants are matched against your old register | Partly. Registration with admin approval |
| Members-only directory with privacy | Partly. Members-only, with 10 privacy fields. Search by name, city, job, employer and class year | Yes. Filters and three privacy levels per field |
| Groups beyond class years | Partly. One private room per class year, made automatically. No other groups yet | Yes. Affinity groups |
| Events with RSVP and QR check-in | Yes. RSVP, capacity, free QR tickets and check-in on any phone | Yes. Yes, with sub-events, guests and a check-in app |
| Online donations and giving days | No. Not yet. Gifts are recorded with numbered receipts; the money moves elsewhere | Yes. Giving days and forms with cards, ACH, Apple Pay and more |
| Paid memberships | No. Not yet. Planned for release 1.3 | Yes. Tiered paid memberships |
| Email to segments of your members | Partly. Segmented email with opens counted. No unsubscribe link, scheduling or click tracking yet | Yes. Email with segments; text messages as an add-on |
| Mentoring | Partly. Mentor profiles, requests and a monthly limit per mentor. No matching | Yes. Mentoring with matching |
| Job board | Partly. Member job board with moderation. Posts expire after 60 days | Yes. Yes |
| CRM sync | No. No. CSV import and export only | Yes. Two-way Raiser's Edge NXT sync; Blackbaud CRM too |
| History, In Memoriam and hall of fame pages | Yes. History timeline, In Memoriam with family consent, hall of fame | No. Not in its feature list |
| Independent security certification | No. No. Your host runs the server; admin two-factor sign-in and an audit log are built in | Yes. SOC 2, audited yearly |
| Support | Partly. Email, from the people who build it | Yes. Phone, email and chat, around the clock |
| Setup help and migration | Partly. Six-screen installer, a CSV import wizard and email support. No migration service | Yes. Migration run with you; 8 to 12 weeks typical |
Sources: Almabase plans (checked Sep 2026); Almabase Raiser's Edge integration (checked Sep 2026); Almabase events (checked Sep 2026); Almabase giving days (checked Sep 2026); Almabase vs iModules (security) (checked Sep 2026); Almabase migration (checked Sep 2026)
The fair part
What Almabase does better
Each of these is something Almabase offers and AlumDeck does not, today. Where our roadmap covers it, the planned release is shown.
- Two-way sync with Raiser's Edge NXT: profiles, gifts and events flow both ways. AlumDeck exports CSV files.
- Online donation forms with cards, ACH, Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal. Planned: release 1.2
- Ticketed events with accompanying guests and a check-in app. Planned: release 1.3
- Paid memberships with tiers and renewals. Planned: release 1.3
- Giving days with countdowns, live donor feeds and class challenges. Planned: release 1.6
- Affinity groups beyond the class year. Planned: release 1.5
- A SOC 2 report and a ready HECVAT for your IT review.
- Round-the-clock support by phone, email and chat, and a success manager.
Remember · only in AlumDeck
The part Almabase leaves out.
Almabase is built to raise money and fill events. AlumDeck also keeps your story: a history timeline, memorials published only with the family's consent, a hall of fame and a photo archive your members add to. The timeline below is sample data.
- 1966
The doors open
140 students and eleven teachers in a converted grain mill.
- 1974
Riverside Hall
Finished after a four-year appeal to local families.
- 2009
A class of 142
Still the biggest reunion turnout.
- 2026
The next entry
Written by your committee, with photos members send in.
Hall of fame
12 inductees
Notable alumni with a short biography, nominated by members and chosen by your committee.
AKLMTS+9
Photo archive
Members add the memories
Old photos wait for a moderator before they appear.
Where AlumDeck is different
Two things Almabase does not do the same way.
Connect
Only real alumni get in
Every application waits for a person. Classmates within three years either side can vouch for an applicant, and AlumDeck matches the name and roll number against the old student register you import. The committee approves with the evidence on one screen.
- Four separate consents, each stored with its wording version and time
- A membership number for every approved member
- Rejections go out with a reason
Riverside Alumni
Application review
Email verifiedYes
Vouches2 classmates
Register matchRoll 1142, 2009
Consents4 of 4 recorded
Give
Receipts your treasurer can trust
Almabase takes the payment. AlumDeck records it, wherever it was taken, and sends the donor a numbered receipt with your charity number in the footer. For many associations that is the part that was missing.
- Any currency, shown with its code
- Totals per appeal and per year
- Exports for the treasurer
Decide
Which one fits you
Choose AlumDeck if
- A committee of volunteers runs your association, not a paid office
- You want one site for the directory, reunions, giving records and history
- You need a price you can put in a budget today
- You can collect money elsewhere and only need the records
Choose Almabase if
- Your advancement office runs on Raiser's Edge and needs two-way sync
- You raise money online through giving days and donation forms
- You sell event tickets or paid memberships
- Your IT review asks for a SOC 2 report and a HECVAT
Questions
AlumDeck and Almabase, asked plainly
Does Almabase publish its prices?
No. Its plans page shows older Launch, Grow and Optimize tiers marked as not current, and asks you to contact sales (Almabase plans, checked September 2026). It says it prices by your number of emailable contacts, with a one-time setup and training fee. AlumDeck is $49 a year, published, for every association.
We use Raiser's Edge. Should we choose Almabase?
If you need profiles, gifts and event attendance to sync both ways with Raiser's Edge NXT, Almabase is built for exactly that, and AlumDeck has no CRM sync. AlumDeck exports members, gifts and attendance as CSV files, which Raiser's Edge can import, but a person has to do it.
Can AlumDeck run a giving day?
Not the way Almabase can. AlumDeck runs appeals with a goal, a running total and a donor wall, and records each gift with a numbered receipt. It has no online donation form (planned for release 1.2) and no giving-day countdown or class leaderboard (planned for release 1.6).
How long does each one take to launch?
Almabase says a migrating customer can go live in 45 days, with 8 to 12 weeks typical, and it runs the migration with you (Almabase). AlumDeck installs through six browser screens in an afternoon, if someone is comfortable with cPanel. Importing members and writing your pages takes longer, and that part is yours to do.
Is there a free trial of either?
AlumDeck has a public live demo you can sign in to tonight, and a 14-day money-back guarantee. Almabase offers demos on request.
Keep reading
Related comparisons
Almabase alternatives
Six options for associations that find Almabase too big, with prices where they exist.
Five-year cost calculator
AlumDeck against every rival that publishes a price, with the source for each figure.
The public roadmap
What each planned release adds, and what we have decided not to build.
All seven comparisons
Six hosted alumni platforms and the marketplace scripts, side by side.
See it running before you spend a thing.
Open the live demo, sign in, click anything. It puts itself back every night.