Solicit Codes & Storing Constituent Messages in GAIL

A Quick Review on Solicit Codes

Solicit codes, found on the Communication Preferences tab on constituent records, are the way we manage opt outs in GAIL. There are broad codes like No University Contact, Do Not Solicit, and Do Not Email, but we also implement more specific codes. These could range anywhere from the school/college/unit level to allowing a constituent to opt out of a specific newsletter. 

Important note: solicit codes should always be added on the Communication Preferences tab, and not to the individual form of contact information on the Contact tab. When a code is added to a specific email address, it signals to GAIL that the email address itself is no longer valid and will be reversed when we find a new form of contact information. Adding the code to the Communication Preferences page is the only way to ensure the constituent will remain opted out.

When to Comment

The Comments section on a solicit code is very important information to the Records team. We are beginning to look into reclaiming constituents who have opted out of emails after a certain period of time. This is ultimately to increase the pool of constituents who you can communicate with and engage! People opt out of communications for many different reasons and they could be important in helping us determine when to re-activate that constituent. For example you might speak with a recent grad who is very interested in giving, but is still on the job hunt and not able to at the moment. This is a situation that will likely change over time and we can opt the constituent back in.

Dealing with Sensitive Information

As with all of the information we manage in GAIL, it’s important to remember that the comments on solicit codes could be subject to open records requests, meaning a constituent could theoretically request to see all the information we have stored on them. Because of this there are some things we never want to add to GAIL, such as: 

  • Health/medical information
  • Sensitive family situations
  • Explicit messages from constituent: It’s best to summarize in these situations rather than copy and paste the entire explicit email. You can note that the constituent had an explicit response to a call/email/event invite and invite other GAIL users to reach out to you with specific questions.