Email Resources

Content strategy

We encourage the use social media and your web page to reduce the burden of telling your story through email exclusively.

University Advancement emails will announce a save-the-date, create momentum with two teaser emails before Giving Day, start and end of the day with encouragement to give and finally, provide a recap.
College and program emails should aim to motivate. Share giving stories and prioritize connection and stewardship. College and program emails will be sent on March 18 as well as throughout Giving Day.

We are asking colleges and programs to submit their content to University Advancement by Friday, February 13. Submitted content should reflect the unique communication strategy of the college or program.

Communications timeline

Marketing for Giving Day is short, bold, and intense. This two-week sprint generates urgency and sparks momentum. When communication begins, we hope to see a mix of WMU and peer-driven messaging.

Each of the following communication phases will include a marketing mix of website updates, emails, social media, video, and news posts.

Segment definitions

University Advancement messaging hierarchy:

VIP*
Giving Day donors (Past 3 years)
All other donors and non-donors

_{VIP* ($5K gift in the past 3 years or $50K lifetime, + others as assigned}

Other segments:

International (international residents)
Give Campus recruits
Campus partner segments (To be determined by the partner)

College and unit email schedule

Content submitted through the email opt-in form will be used by University Advancement to draft and edit Giving Day email messaging. Campus partners are encouraged to share ideas, themes, priorities, and any relevant details to help shape the emails. Draft messages will be shared for review and approval prior to sending.

Email liaisons

Please utilize the Email Opt-In Form for all Giving Day email submissions, including content ideas, audience criteria, and segmentation details. This information will be used to draft messages and begin pulling your lists. All emails will be created and sent by University Advancement through Salesforce Marketing Cloud.

Form submissions are due by February 13. Colleges and programs should be prepared to review and approve all email drafts no later than February 27.

For questions regarding Giving Day communications please reach out to Melissa Beck (melissa.s.beck@wmich.edu).

Preparing email assets and requests

Email banners will be created for every college and unit in Marketing Cloud. Please contact University Advancement directly if you need to update your banner. Attach your photographs for your email messages to the email opt-in form*

*Photos are not required for Giving Day emails

Giving Day links

Colleges and programs should submit the desired link for each email on the email request form. Emails being sent before Giving Day on March 18 should not include giving links.

Email scheduling – mid March

We will review all submitted emails to identify send-time overlaps in mid-February and be in communication with colleges and programs if needed to coordinate sends.

The overall goals:
– spread out emails to avoid a bottleneck in Marketing Cloud
– schedule hourly challenge emails appropriately

Questions about emails? Contact:

Melissa Beck (melissa.s.beck@wmich.edu) or Rosie Geib (rosemary.c.orchanian@wmich.edu)