alumni_lookup

Champion Portal — Stakeholder Overview

Version: 2.1
Last Updated: January 2026
Audience: Executive Leadership, Product Managers, Marketing, Engagement Team, Engineers
Status: Active Development — Phase 1 & Phase 3 Complete, Preparing for MVP Soft Launch

Purpose: This is a living document providing a high-level overview of the Champion Portal for all stakeholders. Consult for strategic context, feature summaries, and roadmap status.

Table of Contents

  1. Product Summary
  2. Value Proposition
  3. Core Features
  4. System Architecture Overview
  5. Data Model Overview
  6. User Journeys
  7. Operational Model
  8. Metrics and Success Criteria
  9. Roadmap Snapshot
  10. Risks and Assumptions
  11. Glossary

1. Product Summary

What It Is

The Champion Portal is a dedicated digital platform for Belmont University’s Alumni Champions—volunteers who serve as ambassadors connecting the university with alumni in their communities. It will be hosted at alumnichampions.com as a companion to the internal Alumni Lookup system used by staff.

Who It Serves

Audience Description
Alumni Champions Volunteers who host events, mentor students, share stories, and represent Belmont in their cities
Community Leader Council (CLC) Champion coordinators who organize activities in their metro area (e.g., Nashville, Atlanta, Dallas)
Engagement Team Staff who recruit, verify, and support Champions

The Core Problem It Solves

Today, Alumni Champions have no central home. They sign up through a form, communicate via scattered email threads, coordinate in social media DMs, and have no clear way to host events or share stories. There’s no directory to find fellow Champions, no easy way to get the word out about local gatherings, and no unified place to take action. This fragmentation makes championing feel isolated rather than connected.

Plain-Language Summary

The Champion Portal gives Belmont’s Alumni Champions one place to belong. Instead of juggling emails, social media DMs, and separate forms, Champions can log in to a single mobile-friendly site where they can find other Champions in their city, submit events, share stories worth celebrating, and see what’s happening across the network. Community Leader Council members get tools to coordinate their metro area. The Engagement Team gets visibility into Champion activity without adding manual tracking work. It’s the difference between being on a mailing list and being part of a community.

2. Value Proposition

For Champions (End Users)

Pain Point Today How the Portal Helps
“I don’t know who else is a Champion in my city” Searchable directory filtered by city, grad year, industry, and interests
“I want to host an event but don’t know how to get the word out” Simple event submission that reaches all Champions in your city
“I have a great story but don’t know where to share it” Story submission to celebrate fellow alumni and share wins
“I never hear what other Champions are doing” City-based discussion boards and activity feeds
“I don’t use Facebook anymore” A dedicated space for Belmont alumni—no algorithms, no ads, no drama. Just your Champion community.

Pitch for Champions:
“Your Champion Portal is your home base. Find fellow Bruins nearby, share what’s happening in your community, and stay connected to Belmont—all from your phone.”

For Community Leader Council (CLC)

Note: The CLC role is new. These represent anticipated challenges that CLCs would face without proper tooling.

Challenge Without the Portal How the Portal Helps
“How would I know who’s a Champion in my city?” See all verified Champions in your city with contact info
“How would I review and approve local events?” Review and approve events directly in the portal
“How would I communicate with my city’s Champions?” Pin announcements to city boards
“How would I know who’s actually engaged?” Activity indicators show who’s active

Pitch for CLCs:
“Run your city from one dashboard. See who’s involved, approve local events, post announcements, and keep your Champions connected—all in one place.”

For Engagement Team / Business Owners

Value Area Impact
Visibility Real-time view of Champion activity without manual tracking
Reduced Admin Self-service profiles and event submissions reduce email load
Verification Workflow Clear queue for matching new signups to alumni records
CRM Integration Profile changes exportable to BruinQuest in standard format
Program Growth Easier to demonstrate value with engagement metrics

Pitch for Engagement Team:
“The Champion Portal makes Champions self-sufficient while giving you the visibility you need. Less email coordination, more strategic relationship building.”

For Engineers / Technical Stakeholders

Technical Value Details
Proven Stack Ruby on Rails 7.1, PostgreSQL, Tailwind CSS, Hotwire
Two-Portal Architecture Shared database, separate domains, clear data ownership
Mobile-First Responsive design prioritizing phone browsers
SSO Integration Google, Apple, Facebook OAuth—no password friction
Extensible Designed for future native app migration

See development/DECISIONS.md for architectural decisions and development/DATA-ARCHITECTURE.md for data model details.

For Executive / Investor Stakeholders

Strategic Value Impact
Alumni Retention Active Champions stay connected longer
Decentralized Engagement Scale beyond what staff can personally coordinate
Measurable Community Quantify Champion participation for board reporting
Modern Experience Mobile-first, social login—meets alumni expectations
Lower Cost to Scale Self-service reduces per-Champion administrative cost
Foundation for Growth Modular architecture allows pivoting as needs emerge; platform can expand to broader alumni population

Executive Summary:
The Champion Portal transforms a loosely coordinated volunteer network into a structured community platform. It enables Belmont to scale alumni engagement beyond staff capacity while providing the metrics needed to demonstrate program value. The platform architecture is designed to evolve—features can be added, modified, or expanded based on real usage data and changing priorities.

3. Core Features

3.1 Authentication & Onboarding

What it does: Lets Champions create accounts and get verified.

For End Users For Technical Teams
Sign up with name and email, or use Google/Apple/Facebook OAuth integration with progressive account creation
Email verification confirms identity Two-tier verification: email-verified → champion-verified
Profile completion while awaiting full access BUID matching done by Engagement Team (existing workflow)

Why it matters: Low-friction signup means more Champions actually complete registration. Social login means no forgotten passwords.

Details: features/01-AUTHENTICATION.md

3.2 Profile Management

What it does: Champions control their own profile information.

For End Users For Technical Teams
Edit name, photo, contact info, employment Champion-owned data in cp_champions table
Choose which info is visible to other Champions Privacy toggles per field
Select affinities (college, major, interests) Self-reported affinities separate from staff-managed data
Update preferred name and maiden name Shared fields sync to alumni record when verified

Why it matters: Champions own their information. Staff don’t have to update profiles manually. Changes can be exported to CRM.

Details: features/02-PROFILE-MANAGEMENT.md

3.3 Directory & Search

What it does: Helps Champions find each other.

For End Users For Technical Teams
Search by name, city, grad year, major, industry PostgreSQL full-text search with filters
View profiles of Champions in your city Privacy-respecting profile display
Find Champions with shared interests Affinity-based matching

Why it matters: The number one request from Champions is “I want to know who else is in my city.” This solves it.

Details: features/03-DIRECTORY-SEARCH.md

3.4 Community Leadership & Contributions

What it does: Empowers Community Leaders (CLs) to coordinate their communities and Champions to contribute.

For End Users For Technical Teams
Submit local events with venue, date, description Event submission with CL approval workflow
Share stories to celebrate fellow alumni Story submission with Engagement Team review
Participate in mentorship program Mentor/mentee matching (future, in Feature Backlog)
Access giving/donation links Direct links to donation pages

Community Model: Champions belong to multiple communities based on:

Why it matters: Champions don’t just consume—they contribute. Community Leaders coordinate activities within their communities while Champions host events and share wins without navigating bureaucracy.

Details: phases/phase-2/README.md (Community Leadership)

3.5 Discussion Boards

What it does: Creates ongoing conversation spaces organized by community.

For End Users For Technical Teams
National “Alumni Champions” board for all members Board per community (district, college, major, affinity, industry)
Community boards for coordination Auto-generated boards per community
Post, comment, tag, mention, react Standard forum functionality with CL moderation

Board Structure:

Why it matters: Discussion boards keep the community alive between events. They’re the “always-on” aspect of the portal.

Details: phases/phase-3/README.md

3.6 In-App Messaging (Phase 1 — Complete)

What it does: Allows Champions to contact each other directly through the portal.

For End Users For Technical Teams
Send messages to other Champions In-app messaging with thread management
No need to share personal email publicly Privacy-preserving contact flow
Group conversations for event coordination Multi-participant threads
Email notifications for new messages Configurable notification preferences

Why it matters: Champions need to coordinate. This provides a private channel without requiring everyone to share personal contact info.

Details: phases/phase-1/1.7-in-app-messaging.md

3.7 Admin Tools (Community Leaders & Engagement Team)

What it does: Gives coordinators the tools to manage the network.

For Community Leaders (CLs) For Engagement Team
View Champions in their community Verify new signups and link to alumni records
Approve/reject submitted events Manage all Champion accounts
Pin announcements to community boards Content moderation across all boards
Moderate community discussions Assign/remove CL roles

Admin Hierarchy:

Why it matters: Decentralized coordination means CLs can manage their communities without bottlenecking the Engagement Team.

Details: phases/phase-2/README.md

4. System Architecture Overview

Two-Portal Design

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    SHARED POSTGRESQL DATABASE                   │
├────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────┤
│                            │                                    │
│   LOOKUP PORTAL            │   CHAMPION PORTAL                  │
│   alumnilookup.com         │   alumnichampions.com              │
│   (Internal Staff)         │   (External Alumni)                │
│                            │                                    │
│   Roles: Admin, Staff      │   Roles: CLC, Champion             │
│                            │                                    │
│   Features:                │   Features:                        │
│   • Alumni search          │   • Profile management             │
│   • Engagement tracking    │   • Champion directory             │
│   • Champion verification  │   • Event/story submission         │
│   • CRM exports            │   • Discussion boards              │
│                            │                                    │
└────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────────┘

Key Integrations

System Integration Type Purpose
BruinQuest (Salesforce) Export Champion profile changes exported for CRM import
Google/Apple/Facebook OAuth Social sign-in for Champions
Email (SMTP) Outbound Verification emails, notifications, message relay

Data Flow

  1. Champion signs up → Creates record in cp_champions
  2. Engagement Team verifies → Links to existing alumni record via BUID
  3. Champion edits profile → Changes stored in cp_champions, logged for CRM export
  4. Champion submits event → Goes to CLC for approval → Appears in calendar
  5. Staff exports changes → CSV download for BruinQuest import

See development/DATA-ARCHITECTURE.md for detailed data flow diagrams.

5. Data Model Overview

Primary Entities

Entity Purpose Owner
alumni Master alumni records from CRM Lookup Portal (Staff-managed)
cp_champions Champion portal accounts Champion Portal (User-managed)
cp_communities Community definitions (district, college, major, affinity, industry, custom) Shared
cp_community_memberships Champion-to-community relationships Champion Portal
cp_cl_assignments Community Leader role assignments Champion Portal
crm_data_changes Unified changelog for CRM export Shared (all portals)
cp_message_threads In-app messaging conversations Champion Portal
districts Metro areas / cities (e.g., Nashville metro) Shared
affinities Interest/affinity groups Shared (reference data)

How Data Connects

alumni (BUID) ←────── cp_champions (linked when verified)
                              │
                              ├── cp_community_memberships ──→ cp_communities
                              │                                    │
                              │                                    └── community_type: district, college,
                              │                                        major, affinity, industry, custom
                              │
                              ├── cp_cl_assignments ──→ cp_communities (CL role per community)
                              ├── cp_message_threads (conversations)
                              └── crm_data_changes (unified CRM export)

What Data Matters Most

Data Why It Matters
Verification status Controls what Champions can access
City assignment Determines which boards and events they see
Profile changes Must be exportable for CRM reconciliation
Activity timestamps Powers “active Champions” metrics

Data Ownership Principle

Champions edit their own tables (cp_*). Staff manage alumni records. The two connect through BUID matching, but Champion activity does NOT automatically update CRM data. Staff review and sync as needed.

See development/DATA-ARCHITECTURE.md for full schema documentation.

6. User Journeys

Journey 1: New Champion Signup (Consumer)

Before the Portal:

  1. Sees Champion recruitment content on social media
  2. Fills out Champion Role Quiz
  3. Waits for email confirmation from Engagement Team
  4. Receives occasional email updates
  5. Has no visibility into other Champions

After the Portal:

  1. Clicks signup link → enters name and email
  2. Receives verification email → clicks link → sets password (or uses Google/Apple/Facebook)
  3. Enters ZIP code → automatically assigned to Nashville
  4. Completes profile while waiting for Champion verification (usually <1 business day)
  5. Once verified: sees city dashboard, directory, and upcoming events
  6. Finds 12 other Champions in their area, one from their graduating class

Improvement: Goes from “added to a mailing list” to “welcomed into a community” within 24 hours.

Journey 2: CLC Approving a Local Event (Operations)

Before the Portal:

  1. Champion emails CLC about hosting a coffee meetup
  2. CLC replies asking for details (date, location, expected attendees)
  3. Champion responds with information
  4. CLC forwards to Engagement Team for review
  5. Engagement Team asks for venue confirmation
  6. After 3-5 emails, event is manually added to shared calendar
  7. CLC emails city Champions about the event

After the Portal:

  1. Champion submits event through portal with all required fields
  2. CLC gets notification → reviews in approval queue
  3. CLC approves with one click
  4. Event automatically appears in city calendar
  5. Champions in that city see it on their dashboard

Improvement: Multi-day email chain replaced by 60-second approval workflow.

Journey 3: Engagement Team Verifying New Signups (Admin)

Before the Portal:

  1. Champion signs up through interest form
  2. Staff manually exports champion list to spreadsheet tracker and manually updates mailing list
  3. Staff manually searches Alumni Lookup for each name
  4. Staff matches signup to alumni record and notes BUID
  5. Staff updates city CLC about new Champion

After the Portal:

  1. Champion signs up → appears in Engagement Team’s verification queue
  2. Staff searches by name → finds alumni record → clicks “Link BUID”
  3. Champion status changes to “verified” → immediate full access
  4. Champion appears in city directory → CLC sees new member automatically
  5. Profile changes are tracked for weekly CRM export

Improvement: Per-Champion verification time drops from 15 minutes to 2 minutes. No more spreadsheet tracking.

7. Operational Model

Who Uses What

Role Portal Primary Activities
Champions Champion Portal Profile, directory, events, boards
CLCs Champion Portal All above + city moderation, approvals
Engagement Team Both Verification in Lookup, oversight in Champion Portal
Admins Lookup Portal User management, data exports, system config

Key Workflows

Workflow Frequency Owner
Verify new signups Daily Engagement Team
Approve events As submitted CLCs (escalate to Engagement if needed)
Moderate boards As flagged CLCs (city) / Engagement (national)
Export profile changes Weekly Engagement Team
Manage cities/CLCs Monthly Engagement Team

Support Model

Issue Type First Response Escalation
Password/login problems Self-service reset or SSO Engagement Team
Profile questions Help text in portal Engagement Team
Event submission questions CLC Engagement Team
Board moderation CLC Engagement Team
Technical bugs Engagement Team Engineering

8. Metrics and Success Criteria

Product Metrics (Usage & Engagement)

Metric Target Why It Matters
Signup completion rate >80% Measures onboarding friction
Monthly active Champions >60% of verified Community health indicator
Directory searches per month 2+ per active user Core value delivery
Events submitted per quarter 50+ Champion contribution level
Board posts per month 100+ Community engagement depth

Business Metrics (Impact)

Metric Target Why It Matters
Champion growth rate +20% annually Program expansion
Time to verify new Champion <1 business day Onboarding experience
Staff time on Champion admin -50% reduction Operational efficiency
City event density Events in 75% of cities with established CLCs Geographic coverage
CRM export completion 100% weekly Data integrity

Technical Metrics (Reliability)

Metric Target Why It Matters
Uptime >99.5% Champions expect availability
Page load time <2s on mobile Mobile-first experience
SSO success rate >99% Login friction reduction
Error rate <0.1% Reliability trust

9. Roadmap Snapshot

Current Status (January 2026)

Phases 1, 2, and 3 are COMPLETE. The Champion Portal MVP is operational with authentication, profiles, directory, dashboard, in-app messaging, community leadership tools, discussion boards, moderation, settings, and help/FAQ.

Development Roadmap

Phase Name Status Key Deliverables
Phase 1 Foundations ✅ Complete Auth, profiles, directory, dashboard, in-app messaging, settings, help
Phase 2 Community Leadership ✅ Complete CL role assignment, Admin UI, CL portal features, moderation queue
Phase 3 Discussion Boards ✅ Complete Per-community boards, national board, moderation tools
Phase 4 Mobile-First UI Cleanup 📋 Planning Complete Component polish, responsive audit, performance
Phase 5 Pre-MVP Updates Planned Non-alumni support, Almost Alumni, friending, photo albums
MVP Soft Launch Target: Q1-Q2 2026 Invite-only rollout with verified Champions

Phase 1 Completion Summary

Phase 1 delivered 11 sub-phases:

Phase 2 Completion Summary

Phase 2 delivered 4 sub-phases:

Note: CL Portal features (leadership dashboard, moderation queue, support threads) were implemented alongside Phase 3 Discussion Boards, as moderation tools require content to moderate.

Phase 3 Completion Summary

Phase 3 delivered 9 sub-phases:

MVP Soft Launch Plan

Milestone Target Scope
Internal Testing Q1 2026 Engagement Team + select Nashville Champions
Pilot Expansion Q1-Q2 2026 Nashville district fully onboarded
General Availability Q2-Q3 2026 All verified Champions

Feature Backlog (Post-MVP)

Prioritized by user feedback after MVP launch:

Feature Description Priority
Job Board Champion-to-Champion job postings High
Business Directory Champion-owned business listings High
Mentorship Center Structured mentor matching Medium
Newsletter Tool CL email communications Medium
Real-Time Messaging WebSocket live chat Medium
Map View Geographic Champion visualization Low
Advanced Search Saved searches, complex filters Low
Reporting & Insights Activity dashboards, metrics Low
Native Mobile App iOS/Android apps Future

See BACKLOG.md for complete Feature Backlog with user stories and acceptance criteria.

Long-Term Vision

10. Risks and Assumptions

Technical Risks

Risk Likelihood Impact Mitigation
SSO provider changes API Low Medium Standard OAuth libraries, multiple providers
Database performance at scale Low High PostgreSQL proven; optimize queries as needed
Mobile browser compatibility Medium Medium Progressive enhancement, test on real devices

Product/Business Risks

Risk Likelihood Impact Mitigation
Low Champion adoption Medium High Pilot with engaged Champions first; iterate on UX
Alumni Team bandwidth for administration Medium Medium Start with light moderation; automate where possible; phased rollout
CLC bandwidth for moderation Medium Medium Start with light moderation; automate where possible
Feature creep delays launch Medium High Phased delivery; MVP first
Primary developer is also Director of Alumni Engagement Medium High Cross-train future Advancement Services team member; document architecture thoroughly; success of platform will justify dedicated resources

Dependencies Outside Our Control

Dependency Risk Contingency
Google/Apple/Facebook OAuth policies API changes or restrictions Maintain email/password fallback
BruinQuest/Salesforce import format Format changes Versioned export templates
Champion program priorities Shift in university focus Modular features can be paused

Stated Assumptions

For the Champion Portal to succeed, we assume:

  1. Champions want a dedicated platform — They will use it instead of (or alongside) other social platforms
  2. CLCs will adopt moderation duties — City leaders will actively manage their communities
  3. Engagement Team capacity exists — Staff can handle verification and oversight during rollout
  4. Mobile is primary — Most Champions will access via phone browser
  5. SSO reduces friction — Social login will meaningfully improve signup completion
  6. Directory is the killer feature — Finding other Champions is the #1 value driver

11. Glossary

Term Definition
Almost Alumni Current students or seniors who have a BUID but no degree records yet. They can specify anticipated graduation date and intended major. Auto-converts to full alumni status when degree is added.
Alumni Champion A volunteer alumnus who actively represents Belmont in their community through events, mentorship, storytelling, or other activities
BUID Belmont University ID — the primary identifier for alumni in university systems
BQID (Contact ID) BruinQuest ID — the identifier used in Salesforce/CRM, format: C-000000000
Champion Portal The external platform at alumnichampions.com for Champion self-service
City The metro area where a Champion is based (e.g., Nashville, Atlanta, Dallas). Technically maps to a “district” in geographic hierarchy, but we use “city” in user-facing language for simplicity.
CL (Community Leader) A Champion who coordinates activities within a specific community (e.g., Nashville district, College of Music). Singular form of Community Leaders.
CLC (Community Leadership Council) The collective body of all Community Leaders. Used when referring to the group as a whole.
Community A grouping of Champions based on shared attributes. Six types: district (city), college, major, affinity, industry, and custom.
Community Leaders Champions who coordinate activities within their communities. Plural form used for multiple CLs.
District Technical term for metro area grouping (e.g., “Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN”). In user-facing language, we say “city” instead.
Email Verified Account status after confirming email — can log in but has limited access
Champion Verified Full account status after Engagement Team links BUID — full portal access
Engagement Team Belmont staff who recruit, verify, and support Alumni Champions
Feature Backlog Post-MVP features prioritized based on user feedback (Job Board, Business Directory, etc.)
Lookup Portal The internal staff tool at alumnilookup.com for alumni search and engagement tracking
Membership Type Champion account classification: alumni (has degrees), almost_alumni (student), honorary (staff/faculty), parent, or friend
MVP (Minimum Viable Product) The soft launch milestone after Phase 5, featuring core functionality for invite-only rollout
Region Large geographic area used by Advancement Services (e.g., “Southeast”, “Northeast”). NOT used in the Champion Portal — we use “city” instead.
SSO Single Sign-On — logging in with Google, Apple, or Facebook instead of a separate password

Why Not Just Use Existing Tools?

“We already have Facebook groups”

Facebook groups work for casual conversation, but they don’t provide:

The Champion Portal coexists with Facebook groups. Champions can use both. But the portal provides structure and data that Facebook can’t.

“LinkedIn already has alumni features”

LinkedIn is excellent for professional networking, but:

“Can’t we just use email and forms?”

That’s today’s approach. The result:

The Value of “One Place”

The Champion Portal’s value isn’t any single feature. It’s the integration:

One place, one login, one community. That’s what existing tools can’t provide.

Document Purpose Audience
JOBS-TO-BE-DONE.md User motivations and job prioritization Marketing, Product, Engineering
README.md Technical overview and phase planning Product, Engineering
development/DESIGN-GUIDELINES.md Visual design standards Engineering, Design
development/DECISIONS.md Architectural decision log Engineering, Product
development/DATA-ARCHITECTURE.md Data ownership and table design Engineering
phases/ Implementation phase documentation Engineering, Product
features/ Detailed feature specifications Engineering, QA

Document maintained by the Alumni Engagement and Engineering teams. Last updated January 2026.