Requesting an Communications Distribution – Internal, Colleges, Departments

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We are happy to assist university approved entities in sending emails to their alumni base. According to University policy and Can Spam Act laws, we are not allowed to provide you with alumni email addresses; however, we are happy to send your information on your behalf.

We will distribute it through our email system utilizing the university’s alumni database – which includes all alumni who are related to your college, department, institute, etc. This will mean that our emails will reach a broader audience than a “home-grown” list which is against the university’s mass communication policy. We can send text emails as well as HTML emails. We just need for you to provide the text or the HTML code.

Why does this benefit you:

  1. Alumni typically update their contact information with the university or with the alumni association on a daily basis so we most likely have more up-to-date information.
  2. We manage opt-in and opt-out requests per Can Spam Act laws. It is required that in every email sent from any entity (in this case the university, clubs and any college or department) offer an opportunity to opt-out of emails from that entity – Clemson University. We have the code in all emails sent through our system to handle this request automatically.
  3. IF SOMEONE SENDS AN EMAIL TO THOSE INDIVIDUALS who have requested to opt-out – even though it is not coming from the university email system, but represents the university (I.e. Your email account or anyone in your department) – the university is then liable for all fines associated with not honoring their request which can be up to $50,120.00.
  4. Since university communications policies state this is not allowed, those who send the email may be liable for the fines.

University policies state that all communications to alumni must adhere to the following policy:

Clemson University Information Policy

Clemson University maintains information containing biographical, academic, demographic and gift information on alumni, donors and friends. This information exists exclusively to support the work of Clemson University and to assist the University community in transacting business related to Clemson University programs. Much of this information is protected under various state and federal laws and may not be used in violation of those laws or without an individual’s consent. The Clemson Alumni Association seeks to provide assistance for programs, communications, and events, which bring together Clemson alumni, donors, and friends. In order to provide the best possible service to those with legitimate needs for such information, and at the same time maintain the confidentiality of the information entrusted to us by our alumni, donors, and friends we ask that you submit your request for contact information, including mailing lists or demographic information, via this online form. Email addresses will not be released, but you may submit a request for an email distribution via this form as well. Thank you in advance for your partnership. If at any time you have questions about this policy, please contact Clemson Alumni Association, 864-656-2345 or info@alumni.clemson.edu.

To request an email, please follow this process: 

  1. In order to process your request, please begin by setting going to the Information Request Form Page (you can also find this on www.clemson.edu/alumni and hovering over “resources” in the upper right corner and a drop down will appear where you will select “Communication Request Forms” from the first column   – 7 down)
  2. On this page, you will select the type of communication you wish to request – Email, Direct Mail of Demographic.
  3. You will then have to accept the mass communication policy. Once accepted, you will be taken into a form where you will provide us with all of the information we will need to process your request. If you are creating a text email, you will include the text and preferred subject line. If you are creating an HTML email, a mass communications representative will connect with you on how to submit your code.
  4. Once you submit your request, it will be routed to the appropriate mass communications send team.
    1. All email communications that are intended for a general alumni audience, demographic requests and non-solicitation mailings are managed by the Clemson Alumni Association and will be serviced by Megan McDow.
    2. All donor-related email communications, especially those with a audience defined by donor level and direct mail solicitations are managed by the Advancement Marketing at Communications Team. Please direct all questions to Erin Phillips.
  5. Your content must be reviewed for brand compliance, proper donation link inclusion and approved by Marketing and Communications before being sent, so please be sure to send it in plenty of time prior to your preferred send date.
  6. You will receive a confirmation email and a confirmation as to whether your send date is approved or if a new date needs to be evaluated based on the email calendar which you should evaluate before requesting your preferred send date. The only reasons there will be any change in date will be a high volume of email requests on your preferred send day, holiday closing or inclement weather closings.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Dana Morgan at dmorg@clemson.edu or at 864-656-5669.

Thank you for your assistance and we look forward to working with you. Go Tigers!