University Advancement

Founded in 1889, 91�� is shaped by it’s teaching (normal) school heritage. For more than 130 years, the university has embraced the same hard-working, tenacious personality espoused by the people of western Pennsylvania. As we look to the future, we thank the members of Rock Nation who have generously supported the university and made a difference in the lives of students. Your continued engagement and philanthropic contributions are what allow us to grow and evolve into a first choice organization for students, a first choice for employees, a first choice for employers, and a first choice for partners.

Learn more about our dynamic strategic plan: 91��, The First Choice

Support 91��:

Communication Services

SR+U E-Newsletter – The e-newsletter is an electronic Newsletter, sent every other Tuesday during the fall and spring academic semesters to approximately 35,000 91�� alumni. To be included in the e-newsletter, news or event details must be submitted two weeks prior to distribution by submitting to alumni@sru.edu.

Emails to alumni groups –The Offices of Alumni Engagement and Advancement Services provide limited mass e-mailing capabilities to officially recognized alumni organizations and 91�� academic, administrative and athletic units. Content and desired audience details should be submitted no later than two weeks prior to the anticipated mailing date. Email formatting and post-mailing reports (open rates, click-through rates, etc.) are available with this service.

Social Media Promotion – The Office of Alumni Engagement and 91�� Alumni Association host an Alumni Facebook page, Alumni & Career Networking page on LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter account. If you would like to promote an event, put a call-out for a particular program or group, or have an idea for something to go on social media.

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Facebook 91�� Foundation
Twitter
Instagram
Mailing Lists for Alumni Groups – Advancement Services maintains the database of records for all alumni. Groups requesting mailing lists, must first meet with a representative of Alumni or Advancement Services to share the scope of the request. Please be aware that requests are filled in the order that they are received and may take up to two weeks to be fulfilled. Departments may be required to work with Alumni & Advancement Services to update the lists with information gathered during the project. All alumni data is self-reported, therefore we may not have everything you are seeking. Lists are only considered accurate for six weeks from the date of receipt and should never be re-used. To request a mailing list, contact the Office of Alumni Engagement.

Class Notes/Alumni News – The Office of Alumni Engagement collects alumni news and class notes updates (marriages, births, promotions, memorials, etc.). These class notes will be featured in The Rock Magazine. Please send all class notes and alumni news items you may receive to the Office of Alumni Engagement, via campus mail or email alumni@sru.edu, for proper acknowledgement and promotion.

Events & Fundraising Services

Fundraising Support - Working to build financial support for your areas has never been easier! University Advancement can work with you to plan fundraising efforts in support of your department, club, or scholarship initiative. University Advancement provides tools such as online donation forms and campaigns, social media, email and direct mail fundraising development as well as the annual 91�� Giving Day in March. Additionally, University Advancement works with our partners across campus to ensure that your project is being supported in the best possible way. Contact University Advancement at 724.738.2004.

Alumni Event Registration and Online Payment – If you are hosting an on or off-campus event involving 91�� alumni, the Offices of Alumni Engagement and Advancement Services can provide online promotion and collect online reservations and payments using our registration pages. Event payments can be directed to your Foundation Account. Additionally, all events shared with alumni must be collecting registration information from alumni our secure portals. Google documents, Microsoft Forms, etc. are strongly discouraged due to the lack of security.

Homecoming Event Promotion – Homecoming is a high-traffic weekend for Rock Alumni with various events across campus. The Office of Alumni Engagement maintains a comprehensive online itinerary for the use of alumni, and promotes the weekend through a variety of methods (mail, email, social networks, etc.). If you would like to promote your Homecoming Weekend activities, please contact the Office of Alumni Engagement as soon as those plans are solidified. To be included in the primary mailing to Alumni, event details should be finalized and the Office of Alumni Engagement notified by May 1. For further details, contact the Office of Alumni Engagement.

Alumni Weekend Reunions – Alumni Weekend in June is the official time for reunion celebrations, whether it be milestone class reunions, affinity groups or academic departments. Alumni Engagement can help your group celebrate by hosting all of the back office functions of the event, allowing your group to focus your alumni guests.

Green and White Society Student Ambassadors – Each year, the Office of Alumni Engagement recruits and trains a group of students, to serve as ambassadors for alumni events and visitors. These students are available to serve as hosts and guides for your alumni events. If interested in enlisting the help of one or more student ambassadors, contact the Office of Alumni Engagement. Please provide a minimum of 4 weeks advanced notice to allow time for scheduling.

Connect The Rock

Alumni Volunteers – Do you involve alumni in classroom lectures, mentor programs, advisory boards or in other formal volunteer capacities? If so, the Office of Alumni Engagement would like to know! Each year, we code these engaged alumni in our system so that they get recognition from the University for their service. Please let our office know of your alumni volunteers and event attendees by emailing names or lists of names to alumni@sru.edu.

Database Updates – The Office of Advancement Services updates alumni records with mailing and personal information as it is obtained. Please contact us with new contact information for an alumni group (emails, phones, business information, etc.) or if an individual lets you know of new contact information, allowing future lists that we provide to be correct.

Getting Started

As you start on your project, your initial point of contact is:

Hope Pietrocarlo
Assistant Director of Alumni Engagement
Hope.Pietrocarlo@sru.edu
724.738.2182

To submit requests for data, please visit: www.sru.edu/offices/advancement-services

Office of Alumni Engagement

Russell Wright Alumni House and Conference Center
1 Morrow Way
800.GET.ROCK

alumni@sru.edu

Kelly Bailey
Director of Alumni Engagement
Kelly.Bailey@sru.edu
724.738.4223

Hope Pietrocarlo
Assistant Director of Alumni Engagement
Hope.Pietrocarlo@sru.edu
724.738.2182

Lisa Luntz
Clerical Assistant III
Lisa.Luntz@sru.edu
724.738.4153

Office of Advancement Services

100 Old Main
1 Morrow Way
724.738.2004
www.sru.edu/offices/university-advancement
advancement@sru.edu

Erin Bryer
Director of Advancement Services & Donor Communications
Erin.Bryer@sru.edu
724.738.4611

Liam Holmes
Manager of Adv. Information, Systems & Analytics
Liam.Holmes@sru.edu
724.738.4583

Helpful Questions For Getting Started

Identify the scope of your project with alumni, what resources will you need to be successful? Examples could include:
1. Accreditation Survey
  1. Who will write the survey?
  2. Who is the target audience? Is there a specific grad year you are reaching out to? All alumni or alumni within a certain time frame (i.e. 2011-2021).
  3. Who do the survey results get shared with? A member of the department? Is the survey gathering information that would be beneficial to have stored in their Alumni Record (address changes, job information, marital status, volunteer engagement).
2. Sharing Department News
  1. What news are you sharing? Who is writing the email or article? Is this a regular communication or a stand-alone communication?
  2. Who is the sender of the email? Who receives the replies?
  3. Who is the target audience? Is there a specific grad year you are reaching out to? All alumni or alumni within a certain time frame (i.e. 2011-2021).
  4. What will you do with feedback from the email? Is feedback from alumni something that is beneficial to have stored in their Alumni Record?
3. Event Invitation
  1. What kind of event are you hosting?
    1. Who are you inviting?
      1. Should this event be hosted through University Ticketing?
      2. Should this event be hosted through Student Life/CORE?
    2. On campus of Off campus?
      1. On campus: Which room? Has Catering been secured? Have you identified how alumni and guests obtain parking permits for the event?
    3. Free or registration fee?
      1. Will registration fees go to your Foundation account?
      2. Will bills be paid from your Foundation account?
      3. Is there a fundraising component to this event? See part d below.
      4. Is there a sales component to this event? See part d. below
      5. What is the registration deadline?
    4. How will alumni respond to the event?
      1. Online registration pages on University supported platforms are strongly encouraged, as opposed to Google Documents which are not secure.
    5. How is this event being advertised?
      1. Email: Who is the audience?
      2. Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter?
        
        Which accounts are sharing the information?
    6. Event upport:
      1. Will you need a list of participants? By when?
    7. Post-Event Follow-Up
      1. Will you be sending a post-event message from the hosts?
      2. Who attended the event? Share with our area so it can be added to their alumni record.
      3. Did you take pictures at the event? Where will you use them? Have you secured permission from attendees pictured?
      4. Did you learn anything at the event about an alum that would be beneficial to have in their alumni record? (address changes, job information, marital status, volunteer engagement).
4. Fundraising Initiative
  1. What are you raising money for?
    1. A 91�� department, club, scholarship, etc.?
    2. A partnering organization? Fundraising for groups such as Make-A-Wish, the SR Library, etc. should be handled by the organization ultimately receiving the funds.
  2. What type of fundraiser are you planning?
    1. Are you seeking outright donations?
    2. Are you looking to sell something?
    3. Are you hosting a fundraising event? Let us help you structure your event registration to ensure you can cover the costs associated with hosting a fundraising event AND generate funds for your project.
  3. Who will you be asking for money? How will you reach them?
    1. Communication can include social media, email and direct mail.
    2. 91�� Giving Day occurs each March and is a great way to include your project in 91��’s annual fundraising effort.