The Office of Development and Alumni Relations (DAR) staff works to create an unrivaled engagement and donor experience to secure philanthropic resources that advance the University for generations to come.

 

We are happy to provide you with guidance, resources and various elements to help you with your development and alumni outreach needs. The FAQs below should cover the most pressing questions or requests you and your team may have, but if you need additional information, please contact us at dar-comm@udel.edu.

 

UPDATE: On June 30, 2023, the University of Delaware closed its historic, record-breaking Campaign, Delaware First: The Campaign for the University of Delaware. Please update your web, email and other giving components. 

 

The different categories of questions and resources include:

⚬ Email/E-newsletter Data

⚬ Fundraising Support

⚬ Donor Relations Support

⚬ Event Support

DAR Personally Identifiable Data Access and Usage Standards and Confidentiality

⚬ Other Development Information

⚬ Special Initiative Toolkits

Email/E-newsletter Data

As you prepare to send emails, e-newsletters and other digital communications to alumni, donors, friends, etc., we ask you use this form to request the most up-to-date and accurate list/data of alumni. Since the lists and contact information is ever-evolving, it’s suggested that campus partners request a new list with each send.

If you are looking to publish a list of donors for recognition purposes, please see the Donor Relations section below.

Submit a Request

Data usage

DAR's database is updated with new information on a daily basis. While the data in a report reflects the most current information at the time it is created, it is possible the data will change at any time after you receive the report. To ensure you are using the newest information (address, giving, contact control, etc.), you should use the data you receive as close to its delivery date as possible. If you receive data for a communication and do not use it within two weeks, reply to the email and ask for a refreshed data file. Additionally, the data should be used exclusively for the purpose it was requested and not stored or reused later.

 

Protecting our data

To ensure secure transfer of data, we are no longer attaching data files to emails. Instead, we are utilizing file sharing via Google Drive to keep constituent information secure in transit. DAR requests the same secure transfer protocols be leveraged when transmitting data to others. If someone besides the requestor needs access to the report, let us know by listing these individuals in your request or by replying to the email you received with the link to the report.

 

Email unsubscribes

If you are using the data to send an email, you should be using an IT approved email platform that manages unsubscribes and includes an unsubscribe link in every email. You are also legally responsible for the appropriate management of unsubscribes for commercial messages to ensure compliance with CAN-SPAM.

 

Please refer to the DAR Personally Identifiable Data Access and Usage Standards and Confidentiality section below for more information on what you need to do to secure DAR Data.

Fundraising Support

Below are branded giving buttons, matching gift images and more to help showcase giving on your site.

Please keep your website and email communications up to date by removing the Delaware First Campaign from your site or email templates.  If you need other assets or have any questions about replacing any Delaware First content, please email us at dar-comm@udel.edu

Buttons on AEM

Reference Component: 
Access the Make A Gift button by copying and pasting the below link into a reference component on AEM:

/content/referenced-components/dar-references/buttons1/jcr:content/par_udel_panel/columngenerator_87741378

You can also find other DAR buttons by following this website content path in AEM:
Reference Components → DAR References → DAR - Shareable Content

 

Build Your Own Call to Action Button
Please style a Call to Action component with the following settings to match our Make A Gift buttons.

Text: Make a Gift
Link: [INSERT CUSTOMIZED GIFT LINK OBTAINED FROM DAR]
Target: open on current page (self)
Icon: fa-gift
Show Arrow?: Show
Background Color: Delaware Blue (#00539f)

Make A Gift Button Image 

Download the Make a Gift button image for use on other udel.edu sites. 

Matching gifts to amplify impact

You can encourage your donors to utilize matching gifts from their employers. Use this language and graphic online on your college or department giving page or in email communications regarding giving.

You can amplify your impact on the [COLLEGE OR DEPARTMENT] if your employer matches, doubles or even triples your donation. Through employer matching gift programs, companies will often match employee charitable gifts dollar-for-dollar, but some companies will give double or even triple the original donation amount. Learn more here: https://www.udel.edu/alumni-friends/give/how-to-give/matching-gifts

 

Yes, the contacts below can help you define and develop fundraising priorities. If you don’t see your area represented, please email dar-comm@udel.edu.

Annual Giving can create custom giving forms (online and print) for department/unit websites, newsletters, In Honor of/In Memory of pages, etc.

Submit a Request

The Annual Giving team will work with you to create email, text or direct mail solicitations.

Submit a Request

We are currently not accepting applications for projects on our crowdfunding platform, HenFunder, as work to launch a new platform this fall. Please check back for updates. 

Donor Relations Support

DAR’s Donor Relations team ensures all UD donors are acknowledged, thanked and informed about the impact they make on the University’s people and programs. For additional information regarding the following topics, please contact the Donor Relations team at donor-relations@udel.edu and someone will get back to you quickly.

The Donor Relations team manages the central process by which every gift to the University is acknowledged and thanked. The type of acknowledgment and messaging shared with the donor varies by the donor’s relationship with the University and gift amount.  

submit a request

In addition to central gift acknowledgements, Donor Relations shares information and best practices with you—colleges, departments and units—to craft your own, additional acknowledgments. Other information that we can share upon request includes donor honor roll (listing of donors for public recognition) data. If you would like to list donors publicly, please do not use an existing list or report – contact donor-relations@udel.edu for accurate data and use guidelines. Submit a Request

Donor Relations works with campus partners to recognize donors who support facilities/capital projects via signage. If you are interested in recognizing donors in your space, please contact Donor Relations and we can share the University’s policy and process for physical recognition.

Submit a Request

Donor Relations provides annual impact report and special engagement opportunities to donors who have established named funds as well as shares stories of impact with annual donors who support general use funds. We work with campus partners to gather impact information for these funds.

Submit a Request

Donors are recognized in the Founders Society ($1,000,000+ cumulative lifetime donors), Delaware Diamonds Society ($1,000+ annual donors), True Blue Hen Loyalty Society (3+ consecutive years of giving) and Carillon Circle Society (bequest and estate donors). Learn more about UD's recognition societies.

We are happy to help answer your general giving and stewardship questions, such as:

  • Donor/beneficiary privacy and interaction best practices
  • Commemorating a faculty member or other UD community member through giving
  • Named fund spending, management and troubleshooting
  • Anonymous donor details (how are anonymous donors included/excluded in various lists and activities, etc.)

submit a request

Event Support

Yes, Alumni Relations assists with the creation and management of online registration pages, utilizing the AlumnIQ platform.

Support includes:

  • customer service/online registration assistance
  • integration of registrants’ contact information and attendance status with corresponding Advance records
  • collecting and allocating registration fees and gifts obtained through AIQ registration (if applicable).

You are responsible for managing and marketing the actual event.

For details, regarding process and procedures, refer to the Alumni Engagement Campus Partners AIQ Workflow document.

To initiate the request for registration assistance, please complete the Event Registration Request Form. Please Allow five to six business days to create the registration page. Incomplete forms, or changes to the original request, will adversely affect the registration creation timeline. 

For questions or more information, contact Alison McCluskey at amcclusk@udel.edu or x6561. 

We are happy to consider promoting events to a broader audience of alumni and donors when appropriate. To submit an event you’d like us to promote, fill out this form.

Submit a Request

DAR Personally Identifiable Data Access and Usage Standards and Confidentiality

Visit this link to access DAR’s Personally Identifiable Data Access and Usage Standards and Confidentiality Agreement.

This link is available to UD Employees. You will be prompted to sign in and verify your credentials through CAS. This document is to be signed annually by those who access a DAR System or receive DAR Data, unless the document is updated sooner, in which you would be asked to sign sooner. You can refer to the content of the agreement at any time.

If you are in good standing with signing, you will see a message at the top of the page that says, “Our records indicate that you have already signed the latest agreement.”

If you are not a UD Employee and do not have a CAS login, please contact your DAR Liaison for a PDF version.

view standards

Requests for Lists of Entities

Campus Partners request email newsletter lists through the forms on this Campus Partner DAR Resource Guide. DAR Marketing facilitates the process, which ensures that the correct records, appropriate data content, applicable restrictions and conventions are used for this purpose, and approvals from necessary DAR teams are obtained.

Campus Partners request donor honor rolls through the forms on the Campus Partner DAR Resource Guide. DAR Marketing facilitates the process and incorporates DAR Donor Relations for reviews.

The Campus Partner will coordinate with the DAR team managing the event. The DAR team will obtain signed DAR Data Standards and Confidentiality Agreement and schedule reports of registrants.

Campus Partners request data for analysis through the forms on the Campus Partner DAR Resource Guide. DAR Marketing facilitates the process and incorporates DAR Liaison for reviews.

No. The data may be used strictly for the intended purpose [email newsletter, donor honor roll, event registration, analysis, etc.] and should not be stored or reused. Submit a new request through the forms on the Campus Partner DAR Resource Guide when data is needed for additional uses.

No. Please submit a request through the forms on the Campus Partner DAR Resource Guide each time the data is needed for outreach, unless there is an approved exception governed by a DAR Data Use Agreement.

Lists are developed with inclusions and exclusions specific to the requested communication or use. Another use may require the application of different restrictions or need different output. In addition, constituents are continuously providing new information. Therefore, DAR Data is continuously being updated and cleansed, so a list can become quickly outdated.

We do not share alumni data with unrelated third parties. Refer to the DAR Privacy Notice.

To safeguard constituent Personal Information, we do not give out this information to the requestor. Alumni Engagement has a process that DAR Staff can find here. For those who are not DAR Staff, the requestor should contact the Alumni Engagement Office via email at alumnet@udel.edu or via phone at (302) 831-7138.

DAR does not supply Personal Information about constituents to someone who is not part of the DAR Workforce. The DAR Workforce member should submit a request through the forms on the Campus Partner DAR Resource Guide. DMG and DAR partner (Alumni Engagement or Athletics depending on request) will evaluate request and determine if DAR has the resources to support the use case.

No, DAR Personally Identifiable Data should only be shared with members of the DAR Workforce who have signed the DAR Data Standards and Confidentiality Agreement. Signing the Confidentiality Agreement alone does not make the person a part of the DAR Workforce.

Anyone who has unsubscribed to DAR’s Giving Opportunities publication list must be removed from your data set.

Out of an abundance of caution, DAR has decided to treat emails for solicitation as commercial emails. These emails must adhere to the CAN-SPAM Act. DAR Staff can refer to DAR’s CAN-SPAM Quick Reference Guide. Non-DAR Staff, please contact your DAR Liaison for questions.

Since this email is considered DAR Work, you must include the unsubscribe link in your email, giving the constituent an opportunity to unsubscribe from future Giving Opportunities.

Unsubscribe text and link to use:

You received this email because of your relationship with the University of Delaware Office of Development and Alumni Relations. If you no longer wish to receive this type of email, click here to update our records.

As long as the sole subject is an invitation to a free event, this email can go without excluding unsubscribes and without offering an unsubscribe link. This email needs to exclude anyone coded Do Not Invite.

To avoid damaging relationships, it is your responsibility to use due diligence in evaluating individuals in your list who are unsubscribed and would not welcome your invitation, based on previous comments.

The DAR CAN-SPAM Quick Reference Guide defines commercial messages and explains how the CAN-SPAM Act applies to commercial messages. Emails inviting an identified constituent who has a relationship with UD to a free meeting with you are categorized as a non-commercial message.

  • You need to keep the content of the email relationship-oriented and not commercial.
  • You do not need to remove those who have unsubscribed from our commercial emails, nor do you need to include an unsubscribe link.
  • You need to review the constituent’s record to be aware of any do not invite, unsubscribes or other restrictions and review contact reports that may indicate why they do not want contact.
  • Then, at your discretion, if it seems appropriate to reach out to the constituent, you may. If you do not have access to the details, contact your DAR Liaison.

If it is an emergency and we have their phone number, you may text them. If we don’t have their phone number, but we have an email address, you may use their email address.

General Security Regarding Data

To safeguard credit card information, ask the constituent to transact securely online using their event registration page or for donations, https://ud.alumniq.com/giving/to/makeagift.

If they cannot make a payment online, route their call as follows:

  • Gifts - DAR Gift Administration Team: (302) 831-4333
  • Event registration - DAR Alumni Engagement Team: (302) 831-2341

No, you should never record a constituent’s credit card number. Only those with PCI-compliant devices may handle credit card transactions.

First validate the caller by looking up their record in DAR’s System to verify information such as email address, phone number and/or mailing address.

Once you confirmed the caller is who they say they are, you can provide them with their giving information. If they want you to email them a report of their information, provide this via a secure link in the email. Do not send it as an attachment.

Follow the Security Essentials recommended by the University. UD Employees are to take the annual Secure UD training provided by Central IT (Information Technology).

Yes, because of your affiliation with the University of Delaware, once you compile or receive Personally Identifiable Data on our constituents, DAR's Personally Identifiable Data Access and Usage Standards apply.

Do not type content that would cause embarrassment to any party if made public. The University follows the Delaware Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Such documentation, including emails and texts, are subject to being revealed to the constituent or others according to the rules outlined in the Access to Public Records under the Delaware Freedom of Information Act Policy.

Follow these best practices for managing email risks with DAR Personally Identifiable Data.

  • Use a secure link to a document containing that information, such as One Drive or Google Drive. Do not include that information as an attachment.
  • Reduce risk by not forwarding or replying with history once you detect that an email you received contains Personally Identifiable Data in its body or as an attachment. 
  • Use UD's email management best practices
  • If you are uncertain if a piece of information should be sent through email, refer to the UD University Information Classifications.

DAR Workforce Responsibilities

Send new biographical information to bio-updates@udel.edu. Secure links should be used in all cases with lists of updates.

As applicable to your communication content and channel, please provide:

  • Print Mail: National change of address reports or scanned returned mail;
  • Email: Undeliverable email addresses, preferred email address;
  • Telephone: Numbers out of service, preferred phone number;
  • Other information: Name changes, employment, new contact information, deaths.

Other Development Information

Members of the DAR team are available to meet and share more information about philanthropy for your department/unit and opportunities to make the greatest impact for areas in need of support.

While there are many types of gifts from donors, including cash or estate gifts, the most common types of gifts include:

Current Use

Current use funds are one-time gifts of support that will benefit students immediately. The funds from a current use gift are used for support over a limited time, ranging from a one-time donation to allocation over a number of years.

Endowed Fund

An endowment is a group of assets that is invested in perpetuity. Endowed gifts generate earnings each year. That interest, in turn, supports specific donor designations while the principal is left intact, allowing the gift to create a growing legacy that will serve as a sustainable source of funding for future generations of students. In addition, the endowed fund can be named in honor or in memory of someone,  creating an impactful legacy of generosity and kindness, solidifying your lasting commitment to helping Blue Hens succeed.

UD donors can choose from a variety of ways to make their gift, ensuring it’s easy and convenient for them.

Special Initiatives

Throughout the year, DAR has special initiatives that you and your team may want to market, utilize or share with your audiences. The toolkits for those efforts are here.