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  • 1.  Email Compliance Services

    Posted 02-03-2025 11:21 PM

    Hi Everyone,

    We are seeking a vendor to assist us in reaching out to individuals whose email subscriptions were marked as unsubscribed-all while ensuring full compliance with all relevant anti-spam regulations.

    Several years ago, we migrated from one email system to another. When we enabled the email feature in our new system, a significant number of emails were immediately flagged as unsubscribed, despite no emails having been sent. The cause remains unclear, but we are committed to addressing this issue properly.

    Does anyone has experience with vendors who specialize in this type of work, we would greatly appreciate your recommendations. There are plenty of options, but having a recommendation from you all would make a world of difference.

    Thanks everyone!

    Wendy



    ------------------------------
    Wendy Chinn Peter
    Saint Mary's College of California
    etheldawg@gmail.com
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Email Compliance Services

    Posted 02-04-2025 03:27 AM
    I don't think you need a vendor. Just a thoughtfully written letter by your Donor Relations team that is sent to the individuals in question.

    It is up to you whether the letter is sent by mail or email. You can discuss this with your attorney. However, this is done all the time - even for individuals you have properly coded as "No Contact." 

    Here are a couple of paragraphs we used at Duke for the No Contacts. You can easily modify this to explain your possible "coding error," asking if they would be okay with your re-engaging with them:

    Periodically, the Alumni Office surveys alumni who have requested not to be contacted to see if that is still their desire and to ensure that no one's record has been coded in error.  If it is your continued wish not to receive communications from Duke University, we will continue to honor your decision.  If, on the other hand, your record was coded in error, or if you have reconsidered, we would very much like to welcome you back into the Duke community.

     

    If your desire not to be contacted by Duke University remains unchanged, you need to take no action.  However, if you'd like to return to being an active member of the Duke family, please return the enclosed reply card.  You should also know that it is now possible to restrict the types and/or the methods of communication you receive from the University, and I would welcome the opportunity to discuss the options with you.

    John H. Taylor, Principal
    John H. Taylor Consulting, LLC
    2604 Sevier Street
    Durham, NC     27705

    919.816.5903 (cell/text)

    Serving the Advancement Community Since 1987




    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Email Compliance Services

    Posted 02-04-2025 09:03 AM
    Hi Wendy,

    If you are certain that the unsubscribes do not reflect intent of the recipient since they were not even initiated by the recipient, there is no reason, neither ethically nor under CAN-SPAM, to respect those unsubs. If there's a glitch in your DB system, you can repair the glitch. Our requirement is to respect the recipient's wishes - the database field is intended to be a record of those wishes, but if it was accidentally mis-populated, nothing stops you from fixing that error, and nothing requires you to honor this as a true unsub. 

    More generally, while you may have a small number of commercial email messages that fall under CAN-SPAM, it is likely that the overwhelming majority of your communication is not subject to CAN-SPAM because it is not a commercial message. This includes solicitations for contributions. Your actual exposure to any risk from non-compliance seems to me (and I'm just a guy on the internet, not your lawyer) to be quite small. 



    Thank you,
    Isaac Shalev
    Data Strategy Expert
    Sage70, Inc.
    (917) 859-0151
    isaac@sage70.com

    Schedule a 30-minute consultation now:




    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Email Compliance Services

    Posted 02-05-2025 02:34 PM
    Hi Wendy....  

    It is good stewardship and database health management to validate opt-outs after a certain period of time (typically at least five years.  I would suggest offering email preferences as an option, so that a constituent can elect specific types of email to receive, if they so choose. 

    I would also suggest removing anyone from a GDPR country from your outreach.  Those preferences need to be more strictly adhered to.  

    Terry Callaghan


    Terry Callaghan, CIMP

    Associate Vice President,

    Management Consulting

    terry@zurigroup.com


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    Original Message


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