Campus Partner Alumni Engagement Toolkit
Preparing students to graduate career ready is an important part of UNC's commitment to being a students-first university. And when we put students first, we graduate alumni with strong career placement rates, enhanced social mobility, and positive career trajectories.
Because UNC alumni graduate career-ready, they remain committed to supporting a high quality current student experience. They help recruit future Bears, volunteer on campus, provide career and industry insight, and open doors of opportunity in their places of work.
In order to aid academic and student support programs in effectively working with alumni, University Advancement's alumni relations team is strategically organized to communicate, engage and build the capacity of 136,000 living alumni UNC Bear Network. Let us help you put this network to work.
Communicate with Alumni
Working on behalf of all university programs and offices, University Advancement is responsible for managing alumni communication and associated data including contact information and communication preferences using a constituent relationship management (CRM) tool and coordinated alumni communication calendar. Central coordination enables UNC to be thoughtful regarding the time and method of communication, especially when alumni maintain interest and relationships with multiple areas of the university.
To Request Alumni Communication Support
Typically most university programs and offices prefer to communicate with alumni via email although other options of communication and outreach may be available depending on the need and purpose of the request. University Advancement uses Blackbaud NetCommunity to communicate electronically with alumni and external constituents rather than Emma because of the CRM integration.
Request Support
Call 351-2551 or email alumni relations alumni@unco.edu six weeks prior to desired email distribution. Please include a general summary of your request and information regarding the alumni population you wish to reach (example: email all HSS undergraduate alumni).
Please factor in additional time if your request is connected to an event or marketing project.
Review and Approve
If your message is approved, it will be scheduled in the central communication calendar. You will receive confirmation of the distribution date and alumni population.
The content of your message will be reviewed for brand consistency and if you requested an email you will receive a digitally designed draft of your message to review and approve.
Returns and Reports
Alumni email bounce backs and returned mail are funneled to Advancement Operations to track and update alumni data and communication preferences.
Additionally, open, click-thru and transactions rates are tracked back to individual alumni and you may request a related report for your project.
All requests for alumni communication must be associated to a legitimate university business purpose. While some requests for stand-alone alumni communication will not be approved, alumni relations staff will work with the requestor to identify and or leverage other communication channels. This may include content inclusion in UNC Monthly (sent to ~80,000 constituents), promotion on Alumni Social Media, or promotion through alumni and university calendars.
Alumni Volunteers
Alumni relations manages and continually grows an established network of alumni volunteers who are interested and ready to support student and campus programs. We are here to help you put that network to work.
Recruit or Find a Volunteer:
Alumni regularly volunteer as class speakers, career advisors, admissions ambassadors, event support and several other activities. To recruit alumni for your opportunity, please send volunteer activity details to alumni@unco.edu with subject line "Request: Alumni Volunteer Support".
Please include the following information and your request will be shared with the volunteer network within three business days. Depending on the nature of the activity, alumni relations staff may also actively recruit volunteers to fulfill your need.
- Opportunity title/topic and point of contact
- Date/Time/Duration (one time vs. long term commitment)
- Format and/or activity details including any information links
Engagement Ideas: Alumni relations staff are always looking for meaningful alumni engagement opportunities. If you have an idea or potential opportunity, feel free to email the office and schedule a preliminary conversation.
Thanking Volunteers:
Alumni volunteer on campus nearly every day and it is important to thank them for their service. Alumni relations can provide a thank you gift and card that you may share with the volunteers who work alongside you.
Email alumni@unco.edu with the subject line "Alumni Volunteer Recognition" to let us know that alumni are volunteering and we will follow up with recognition and stewardship opportunities.
Alumni Guests
Visiting alumni are a high priority and our goal is to help you provide a meaningful experience - whether in person or virtually.
Preparing for the Visit
Contact alumni relations at 351-2551 or alumni@unco.edu for the following pre-visit services and support:
- Confirm alumni name, class year, academic and professional information
- Complimentary parking pass
- Complimentary thank you gift
- Advertise the visit (when appropriate)
- Organize a campus tour
- Provide a meeting location and hospitality services in Carter Hall
Your Role as Host
You serve an important role as the host and University Advancement campus partner.
- Please let us know about alumni visits in advance
- Include alumni class years in advertisements and promotional materials
- Send collected information, including participation details updated contact information, current employment, etc. to alumni@unco.edu
- Send the alumni office copies of photos or content from the visit to add to alumni records
- Personally thank alumni for their participation and visit
Alumni Events
Alumni relations is responsible for creating and implementing the university's alumni engagement strategy and associated engagement efforts for colleges and programs.
If you have an idea for a unit-level alumni event, please reach out to alumni@unco.edu the semester prior to the event to review alignment with existing engagement efforts and to initiate support. Support includes: event planning, promotion and outreach, and registration management. Depending on the nature of the event and its alignment with university priorities, support may also include budget assistance.
To initiative support, please email alumni@unco.edu and adding the subject line "Alumni Event Collaboration." If you have a list of alumni that you would like included, please add that to your message. At the conclusion of the event, please send a final list of attendees back to alumni@unco.edu. We will update alumni constituent records, which is useful for your future events and the university's alumni engagement and stewardship priorities.
Recognition
UNC seeks to recognize alumni for their success and express gratitude for their generosity. Therefore, coordinated alumni recognition is an important role of alumni relations team. Reach out to learn more about how you may:
- Submit an Honored Alumni nomination each fall.
- Share alumni success stories on your unit-level website.
- Highlight alumni achievements through your unit-level social media
Updates and Alumni Data
Accurate alumni records are important for many of UNC's operational priorities. University Advancement is responsible for the management and stewardship of alumni data and relies on a variety of data acquisition, health and management practices to ensure alumni data is available and useful for purposes ranging from accreditation to fundraising. Campus partners serve an important role too by sharing updated information for inclusion in the university's alumni database.
The result: Strong alumni relations provide authentic learning experiences and reciprocal partnerships and collaborations. UNC sets the standard for how engaged universities enrich the lives of those on campus, throughout Colorado, and beyond.
How to Share an Update:
All alumni contact information collected by a department, sports team, student club, Greek group, etc., should routinely be emailed to alumni@unco.edu for processing with the subject line "Alumni Information Update".
Individual update form: If you communicate to alumni throughout the year, remember to incorporate the self-service alumni information update form.
How to Request Data:
If you need alumni data for program, accreditation or other university business purposes, please submit a Data Request form to Advancement Operations. Data Request Form
Career Data: University Advancement is currently working on an alumni career PowerBI dashboard. Please send an email to Lyndsey.Crum@unco.edu for additional information.
