alumni_lookup

Communications for the Champion Portal — Invitations and CTAs

Purpose

Standardize how the portal issues invitations, so content consistently leads to meaningful action (not just awareness).

When to use

• Writing CTAs in onboarding, dashboard cards, role pages, and community pages
• Creating prompts (discussion, news, action packs, nudges)
• Designing share flows and “tell a friend” experiences
• Reviewing any copy that ends in “learn more” without a real step

Core principle

Most portal content should include one concrete next step that is:

• clear
• doable
• relevant to the user’s context (role, community, lifestage)

“Meaningful and concrete invitations” are a success definition, not a nice-to-have.

Invitation structure (repeatable)

Use this pattern for most portal content: 1) Hook (what this is, in one sentence) 2) Why it matters (human impact, belonging, connection, purpose) 3) One next step (single CTA)

CTA menu (portal-native actions)

Choose from these before inventing new CTAs:

Connection actions

• Make an introduction
• Message someone
• Join a community
• Welcome a new member (prompted)

Participation actions

• RSVP to an event
• Add event to calendar
• Invite a friend

Story actions

• Share an alumni win
• Submit a story
• Celebrate someone (comment / note)

Champion role actions

• Pick a starting role
• Take one role action (small pack)
• Download a toolkit (host, share, connect, thank)

Giving Advocate actions (Hope Transforms-aligned)

• Read a short impact story (pillar-tagged)
• Thank a donor (prompted, templated)
• Share “why I give” (story-first)

Guardrails for invitations

Avoid:

• multiple competing CTAs in one content unit
• vague asks (“get involved,” “stay connected”) without a step
• pressure language (“we need you,” “don’t miss out”)

Prefer:

• one step that can be done in under 5 minutes
• role-relevant suggestions
• language that feels like a host making it easy

Practical portal implications

• Every new feature that surfaces content should declare its default CTA type(s).
• On dashboards, show a “small pack” of CTAs and rotate to avoid repetition.
• When users join multiple communities, vary prompts by community type to reduce boilerplate duplication.

Related docs

• /docs/source/COMMUNICATIONS__PORTAL_PURPOSE_AND_POSTURE.md
• /docs/source/COMMUNICATIONS__PERSONALIZATION_AND_SEGMENTATION.md
• /docs/source/ALUMNI_CHAMPIONS__ONBOARDING_PHILOSOPHY.md
• /docs/source/HOPE_TRANSFORMS__GIVING_PHILOSOPHY.md