Launching an Alumni Community Online: A Guide for K-12 SchoolsPRESENTED BY ANGELA MAY

Welcome!

Angela K May, bCREDatabase AdministratorDenver Academyamay@denveracademy.org

Twitter: @AngelaKMayLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/angelakmay

Session Takeaways:- Learn tips for organizing your project- Understand how your database interacts with BBNC- Discover great things you can include in your online community- Know where to access additional resources

Whose idea is this, anyway?

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Whose idea is this, anyway?

Who wants an alumni online community? Where is your buy-in?

• Board of Trustees• Management• Alumni Association • Alumni• Alumni parents and grandparents• Development Office• Faculty and Staff

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Whose idea is this, anyway?

Why do they (you) want an alumni online community?• Connections with other alumni• Connections with former teachers• A way to find out about alumni events, or be involved in the

planning of events• A medium for soliciting alumni to donate• A way to build community

Whose idea is this, anyway?

What resources will you use to make this happen?• Time• People

• Internal employees• Blackbaud consultants• External focus group• External beta testers

• Software• Raiser’s Edge• Blackbaud NetCommunity

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Whose idea is this, anyway?

Your Plan:• Research:

• Conduct focus groups, what do your alumni want?• Determine what resources you have available for the project

• Organize:• Bring together all the major players to strategize and set goals• Elect a Project Manager • Construct a timeline based on your proposed launch date• Delegate duties• Gather team members regularly to report on progress

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5 things you never knew you would need to know…

5 Things… the countdown# 5: Do you use the Education relationship record in Raiser’s Edge?

5 Things… the countdown

# 4: How does your school define an “alumnus”? Better yet, how is this defined in your database?

5 Things… the countdown

# 3: Do you want your online community accessible to minors? How will you manage that?

5 Things… the countdown

# 2: What is your strategy for account creation?

5 Things… the countdown

# 1 Going forward with each graduating class, how will you spread the word about your alumni online community?

Great features you’ll want to use!

Great Features you’ll want to use!Personal Profile

• Gather alumni information on a profile form part• Name, spouse name, address, phone, email• Business information• Interests• You can download their updates into Raiser’s Edge in the

NetCommunity section, under Profile Updates• Display that information on a profile display part

• User is in control of what gets published• YOU must make the “Mark Private” option available for

EACH field

Great Features you’ll want to use!Directory

• Directory parts are based on Raiser’s Edge queries• You decide on the searchable fields• You decide on the display fields

• Deceased Alumni• Will you include deceased alumni in your directory? • Be sure to include “deceased” in the display fields

• Lost Alumni• Create a special directory for Lost Alumni• Dynamic query based on “no valid addresses”• Include a link on that page for the user to supply

information on a lost alumnus/a

Great Features you’ll want to use!Calendar

• Stand alone Alumni Events calendar, or• Subcalendar that feeds into your website’s master calendar

Event Registration• Only of you have the Raiser’s Edge Event module• Users can register for events, and pay registration fees

Donation Forms• Consider class giving pages, or a page with class options• When a user is logged on, their data autopopulates in the form

Great Features you’ll want to use!Polls

• Create polls to encourage alumni involvement• User responds to the poll, then sees the poll results• You can download the poll responses into individual records

Great Blackbaud Resources

Great Blackbaud ResourcesBlackbaud User Guides

• NetCommunity and The Raiser’s Edge Integration Guide• Parts Guide• Forms Guide• User Networking Guide (advanced)

Blackbaud NetCommunity How-to Videos• www.blackbaud.com/howto/bbnc-videos

Local Blackbaud User Groups• Find a user group in your area to connect with and share ideas

Great Blackbaud ResourcesForumshttp://bbnccommunity.blackbaud.com/bbnc

Thank you!

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