UA4U

Priority A: Drive UCR’s strategic revenue priorities through private philanthropy, enrollment, increased advocacy focus, and elevation of faculty research.

• Support UCR’s enrollment growth objectives through coordinated contributions from each UA department, aligned with their distinct roles and capabilities.
• Expand focus on advocacy efforts with our alumni and volunteers, with a particular emphasis on increasing state and federal support of UCR priorities.
• Develop a foundational strategy for UCR’s next comprehensive campaign in coordination with academic and administrative leadership.
• Launch initiative to raise $50M in private support over the next five years to advance the UCR Health clinical expansion initiative.
• Continue elevating UCR’s research profile through communications and media relations to support growth in federal research funding.
• Support the successful launch and stabilization of our new Salesforce and Marketing Cloud platforms, ensuring both are fully integrated into core Advancement workflows and positioned to drive long-term operational effectiveness. 
• Support the successful realization of the university’s annual fundraising goal.

🚩 Collaboration Required: The leadership team has identified several OKRs that require intentional cross-functional collaboration to appropriately calibrate the initial key results, plan, and execute on the objective. These are indicated with a flag icon. 

• Administrative Services OKRs

  Administrative Services

  Objective	Key Results
  Maintain UA budget and continue to improve financial reporting.	Maintain a balanced budget and maximize campus resources for long-term sustainability. Ensure all UA spending aligns with campus policy. Meet all campus reporting requirements, such as: reconciliations, staff balancing, CBR mitigation, etc. Timely process of all financial transactions, such as: POs, NCTs, SCTs, etc.  Consistently provide financial reports to budget owners, and consult on strategic planning.
  Develop self-service budget reports in Looker.	Create customized budget reports in Looker. Provide budget owners with access to Looker budget reports. Train budget owners to use Looker and find up-to-date financial data.
  🚩Collaborate with UALT, Development, and Campus Partners to support the success of UCR’s strategic campaigns through accurate and accessible reporting systems	Develop and maintain Salesforce dashboard(s) to track progress of the $50M UCR Health campaign. Deliver comprehensive campaign reporting suite for UA leadership in collaboration with key units by end of FY26. Train at least 3 campus partners and/or UA staff in interpreting and using campaign reporting tools. Collaborate with appropriate faculty and unit leadership to ensure reporting reflects academic priorities and needs.
  Ensure Timely Recording and Distribution of Contributions	99% compliance of gifts processed within 72 business hours. Foundation Accounting transfers current-use contributions to campus departments within 2 weeks of being received in the Foundation. Record grants and grant payments in RE/Salesforce with reports from campus Collaborate with CMT to create in-house solution to record gift batches to FE, without Nonprofit Skyway. Monthly reconciliation of holding account balances to clear outstanding balances.
  Support Salesforce Integration	Support Implementation of Salesforce to go live. Transition all team members to be proficient in use of Salesforce for daily functions and reporting. Continued support to other departments on Salesforce use and concerns.
  Streamline Gift Accounting and Reporting	Transition current reports from RE to Salesforce Utilizing Salesforce dashboards to track new metrics: Tracking gift changes for errors, gift batch posting to FE Create FMV endowment values report and Annual endowment distribution report Ensure gift batches are properly recorded to FE for accurate and timely reporting. Automate JE creation from SF to FE.
  UCRF Foundation OCF Requirements Document	Finalize UCRF Oracle Cloud Financial (OCF) Requirements Document Collaborate with sister UC Foundation campuses for resources and advice on implementation of OCF for foundation fund accounting.
  🚩 Collaborate with UA Colleagues and Campus Partners to revamp campuswide stewardship through analysis, research and recommendations conducted by the Campuswide Stewardship Workgroup	Conduct workgroup meetings, discussing current state, best-in-class practices, and recommended implementations at UCR: April 1, 2025 - July 31, 2025 Draft and propose formal recommendations to UALT on behalf of the workgroup: August 1, 2025 - August 15, 2025 Present and implement recommended changes to campuswide stewardship: August 15, 2025 - December 20, 2025 Measure and track success through key metrics: January 1, 2026 - March 31, 2026

• Alumni Engagement OKRs

  Alumni Engagement

  Objective	Key Results
  Elevate faculty research through alumni communications and programming	Produce four webinars that inform constituents of research that have real world implications; record and post online for additional outreach Incorporate engaging faculty speakers into events to discuss important and timely research being conducted at UCR Incorporate advocacy messaging into events to emphasize the importance of research; develop talking points for speakers explaining research and Pell grants that help recruit talented students; promote Highlander Advocacy Network at events
  Support UCR's enrollment growth objectives	Source alumni volunteers for admitted student receptions in CA Partner with UGA to invite alumni to attend receptions out of state in key regional markets Host parent and family events over the summer to welcome new families and assist with yield
  🚩 Collaborate with Development to help drive increase in alumni giving by incorporating strategic and appropriate "asks" in e-mail messaging and events	Initial Key Results - may need to be calibrated in collaboration with Development partners: Support the building of a philanthropic culture within the alumni base by promoting and participating in Giving Tuesday and UCR's Day of Giving Increase number of unique alumni donors from 1918 to 2500 Increase alumni gifts from 3427 to 4000
  Achieve Live Reporting: Facilitate live reports with all data sources (current, interim, and future) via participation in Ascend sprints, work groups, trainings, and post-launch task acceptance. Facilitate implementation of Salesforce, Looker Studio, Power My Analytics.	Real time reports for all CASE metrics Create Live reports with Salesforce data. Create Live reports with Marketing Cloud Platform data.
  Engage alumni under 40 to strengthen UCR’s Highlander Advocacy Network by infusing fresh perspectives, expanding digital advocacy, and cultivating the next generation of civic and legislative leaders	Partner with University Relations to feature advocacy objectives in a digital media campaign. Launch three new advocacy events centered on education and training. Develop a comprehensive onboarding process for new advocates that explains the legislative and budget process and UCR’s efforts to secure state and federal support for its priorities. Expand UCR's presence in Sacramento with increased career programming and government/policy industry network engagement.

• Development OKRs

  Development

  Objective

  Key Results

  🚩 Collaborate with VCUA, Alumni Engagement, and Campus Partners to drive UCR’s philanthropic growth by leveraging leadership and trustees, and enhancing alumni engagement

  Achieve the FY26 Development / private philanthropy goal of $35M by June 30, 2026 Coordinate at least 6 high-level donor and stakeholder engagements featuring the chancellor by June 2026. Secure at least $2M in philanthropic support for UCR Health clinical expansion initiative by June 2026. Engage 100% of board members in at least one student recruitment, advocacy, and/or engagement activity by March 2026. Increase alumni giving by 5% by June 2026.

• University Relations OKRs

  University Relations

  Objective	Key Results
  Develop compelling, modular suite of multimedia collateral to support key short and long-term fundraising initiatives	Deliver FY26 Themed, Unit-specific Case Statement brochures by Oct 2025. Refresh themed Giving site content by Oct 2025. Deliver Phase I UCR Health fundraising collateral. Refresh Canva templates and messaging resources for Development team by Oct 2025.
  Support UCR’s enrollment, research, and fundraising objectives through coordinated creative contributions	Deliver new/refreshed suite of assets to support FY25/26 targted marketing campaign. Deliver new/refreshed suite of creative assets to support Summer Sessions enrollment by January 2025. Design bi-annual print editions of UCR Magazine and provide creative support for new UCR Magazine Presents digital features.  Deliver multimedia assets to support successful elevation of faculty research through media, content, advocacy, and events. Create new set of brand story bank profiles in support of key campaigns, media pitches, enrollment marketing, and develop initiatives. Contintue to bolster use of story bank by campus partners.
  🚩 Collaborate with Administrative Services to support the successful launch and stabilization of our new Salesforce and Marketing Cloud platforms, ensuring both are fully integrated into core Advancement workflows and positioned to drive long-term operational effectiveness	In coordination with Digital team, develop annual digital communications calendar and inventory of email communications by end of academic year.  Develop personas matrix and user journey maps for alumni audiences based on brand perception study, demographic info, etc.  Develop personas matrix and user journey maps for current/prospective donors based on brand perception study, demographic info, etc. Develop new suite of digital templates by February 2026 in support of Marketing Cloud launch.
  🚩 Collaborate with Administrative Services to successfully Onboard and Launch Marketing Cloud	Complete full implementation of Salesforce Marketing Cloud for all University Relations email communications by February 2026. Ensure data integration, compliance, and deliverability standards are met with all emails sent via Marketing Cloud. Develop and launch an automated journey for Commencement 2026 communications to improve student and family engagement. Provide training and resources to UA email creators to enable effective use of Marketing Cloud tools.
  Enhance and Expand Prospective Student Drip Campaigns to Support Application Growth	Develop and launch a new drip campaign focusing on academics Develop a drip campaign to target 11th grade students Develop the framework for 9th and 10th grade communication plan Increase the average email click through rate (CTR)
  Deploy Targeted Communication Strategies to Encourage Enrollment and Support Campus Growth	Develop and deploy a Yield campaign focusing on encouraging students to SIR. Develop and deploy a Retention campaign focusing on topics of interest to encourage students to enroll. Example: Promotion of HESA. Act as liaison between UGA and the colleges/schools to align communications throughout all phases of the admissions cycle. Be an influence on campus by providing tools and resources to departments who communicate with prospective students.
  Support the Increase of Summer Sessions Enrollment through Targeted Marketing and Communication Strategies	Encourage students to enroll in summer courses and support the campus' FTE goals. Increase social media reach by promoting Summer Sessions organically and via media buy strategies Increase web site traffic to the Summer Sessions site  Increase the average email click through rate (CTR)
  🚩 Collaborate with Alumni Engagement and Campus Partners to increase visibility of UCR research to new and external audiences	Budget permitting, elevate UCR's presence at science conferences that feature journalists and foundation presence. Ensure and encourage partnership with other UA departments and schools/colleges.  Pilot a Science and Suds event featuring faculty researchers and spotlighting federally-funded research. Collaborate with Alumni Engagement and University Relations to support faculty appearances at external events.
  🚩 Collaborate with Alumni Engagement to deliver a successful and well-attended Homecoming Concert that enhances the guest experience and meets sales and operational goals through tight strategic planning and execution	Sell at least 2,500 tickets at least 3 days prior to the event. Achieve a 90%+ satisfaction rate for concert guest experience from post-event surveys. Execute event with limited operational delays or setbacks.
  Develop video assets that will directly and indirectly support philanthropic goals	Produce an inspirational video about the impact of giving and showcase how philanthropy can make a difference. Complete in time for Give Day/Signature Week.   Repurpose existing assets and if needed create news ones to support fundraising for UCR Health clinical expansion.
  Elevate impact of federally-funded faculty research through multimedia	Produce video series of short videos on faculty research and importance of federal funding. Release faculty research video in winter quarter.
  Support the Chancellor’s ability to meet revenue objectives by leveraging opportunities for engagement with both internal and external audiences.	Deliver more detailed, strategic prep notes throughout the year to acquaint Chancellor Hu with key stakeholders. Facilitate introductory meetings between and curated engagement opportunities. Develop an inspirational inauguration speech that articulates the Chancellor’s vision and energizes the university community.

• VCUA OKRs

  VCUA

  Objective	Key Results
  🚩 Collaborate with Development to build and refine PD Moves Management workflows and reporting in Salesforce to support Development Officer adoption, improve data accuracy, and enable data-informed fundraising	Evaluate, build, and refine all core moves management workflows in Salesforce through iterative testing and end-user feedback, ensuring solutions are efficient, scalable, and align with team needs by June 2026. Create a dashboard for DXT to monitor system adoption and develop creative strategies to encourage/strengthen DO adoption and engagement with core prospect management tools (e.g., Work Plans, Performance Dashboards, Contact Reports, Proposals, Strategies, etc.) Identify, test/iterate, and implement the automation of routine Prospect Development tasks within new technology environment by June 2026. Examples include: Automated updates of wealth and gift ratings, affinity scoring, etc. using internal and external data sources; Streamline requests such as Standard Assignments, research, briefings, etc. using Salesforce Research functionality and Case Management capabilities. Increase the accuracy of the proposal pipeline to 90% by June 2026, as measured by quarterly audits of proposal statuses and values in Salesforce. Establish a regular reconciliation process to maintain data integrity.
  🚩 Collaborate with Administrative Services, ITS, and Campus Partners to enhance the accuracy of predictive modeling by improving Prospect Development's data collection and integration with Salesforce constituent records	By December 2025, convene a cross-functional working group (including Prospect Development, UA, CMT, ITS, and other stakeholders) to identify and document requirements for capturing and integrating event attendance, referrals, and other engagement data, with the explicit goal of supporting improved scoring models. By March 2026,  test enhanced data collection protocols with pilot users, ensuring new data points flow into the engagement scoring system.  Gather feedback from pilot users to refine processes and address data quality or integration issues by June 2026. By June 2026, deliver a report quantifying the impact of improved data integration on engagement and affinity scoring (e.g., number of constituents with updated scores, new prospects identified, and predictive model performance metrics).
  Strengthen portfolio management to drive strategic fundraising partnerships	Ensure that by December 2025, 100% of existing DO portfolios are calibrated to meet the new composition guidelines, with each portfolio reflecting the recommended size and prospect stage to maximize engagement and fundraising potential. New portfolios will be modeled accordingly. Establish and launch a dedicated UCR Health Initiative prospect pool as an engagement pipeline by October 2025, supporting progress toward the $50M campaign goal, with quarterly tracking of prospects added and dollars raised. In addition to UCR Health, audit and expand prospect pools that are smaller than 100 constituents by 25% to 50% for other campus initiatives, with quarterly tracking of engagement and pipeline movement through June 2026. Utilize newly created CRM coding to implement a systematic prospect referral process with academic units by June 2026. This new process will enable staff outside of Advancement to refer high-potential prospects from research collaborations, industry partnerships, and other relevant activities.

Priority C: Advance high-impact partnerships with campus units to shape the next era of fundraising at UCR.

• Continue to grow meaningful partnerships through our ongoing corporate and foundation relations efforts, and by leveraging UCR-affiliated boards, brand licensing and sponsorship opportunities, and deep collaboration with colleges and units on fundraising and marketing strategies.
• Partner with academic and administrative leaders to identify and develop transformational, fundable ideas through what is being tentatively called the Big Idea Initiative.
• Increase the spend rate of donor funds and enhance reporting practices to strengthen stewardship efforts.

🚩 Collaboration Required: The leadership team has identified several OKRs that require intentional cross-functional collaboration to appropriately calibrate the initial key results, plan, and execute on the objective. These are indicated with a flag icon. 

• Administrative Services OKRs

  Administrative Services

  Objective	Key Results
  🚩 Collaborate with Campus Partners to build strategic synergy with academic units and campus stakeholders through shared technology tools	Facilitate annual working sessions with campus units (colleges, schools) to co-develop reporting and communication tools. Build/Develop 2 new Salesforce reporting templates to help academic partners visualize fundraising, stewardship, and engagement data by end of FY26. Develop email segmentation support for academic partners using Marketing Cloud. Launch a shared Advancement knowledge base for UA and campus unit use by end of FY26
  🚩 Collaborate with Campus Partners to increase gift fund spending through education opportunities and introduction of new technology	Partner with UACFAO and Financial Planning & Analysis to streamline endowed fund accounting including match companion funds: June 1, 2025 - July 31, 2025 Collaborate with unit CFAOs to conduct education sessions with individual finance teams to update them on the status of their endowed fund, relay the importance of spending and reinforce our team as a resource: July 1, 2025 - December 20, 2025 Utilize FundMiner to keep campus Orgs informed of their endowed Funds, balances and reporting status. August 1, 2025 - March 31, 2026 Conduct quarterly updates on Fund spending, provided to CFAOs to encourage timely tracking and informed decision making when it comes to Fund spending: October 1, 2025 - March 31, 2026

• Alumni Engagement OKRs

  Alumni Engagement

  Objective

  Key Results

  🚩 Collaborate with Administrative Services and University Relations to strengthen stewardship efforts

  Spend at least 80% of account balance for each scholarship. Engage regional volunteers by developing a letter from reviewers to scholarship recipients. Collect 10 testimonials from alumni volunteers to highlight on the website, monitors, and at events. Highlight recipient testimonials at events either through a student speaker or a video in regions where student speaker is not possible. Cultivate and strengthen alumni relationships with individuals who are affiliated with high level corporations/companies. (e.g., JPL/NASA, Rocket Lab, Microsoft.) Invite individuals to key events and inquire about companies co-hosting alumni event/webinar.

• Development OKRs

  Development

  Objective

  Key Results

  Forge strategic fundraising partnerships across key campus initiatives—including UCR Health clinical expansion, AI, and economic development—while leveraging the new chancellor’s leadership to drive transformative investment

  Finalize a fundraising case for support and materials in partnership with UCR Health leadership by October 2025. Submit at least two principal-level targeted proposals for RAISE by March 2026. Secure at least one corporate or foundation gift or MOU for SoCal OASIS by June 2026. Identify 3 priority regional initiatives (e.g., education pipelines, health equity, environmental issues) by October 2025. Coordinate at least 6 high-level donor and stakeholder engagements featuring the chancellor by June 2026.

• VCUA OKRs

  VCUA

  Objective	Key Results
  🚩 Collaborate with Alumni Engagement to bring the volunteer leaders from UCR's top volunteer boards -- Alumni Association and Foundation Board of Trustees -- together to enhance our shared objectives.	Discover new areas of shared interest to explore in FY26. Increase communication opportunities for greater synergy. Develop new relationships that will enhance the volunteer experience for both groups. Plan joint activitiy or session at the May UCRF board meeting that coincides with a UCRAA meeting.

Priority E: Cultivate a healthy and connected organizational culture within University Advancement.

• Support effective change management during a period of leadership transition, new technology and workflow adoption, and budget constraints.
• Increase cross-functional UA collaboration towards shared goals.
• Prioritize staff retention, morale, and a healthy workplace culture.

🚩 Collaboration Required: The leadership team has identified several OKRs that require intentional cross-functional collaboration to appropriately calibrate the initial key results, plan, and execute on the objective. These are indicated with a flag icon. 

• Administrative Services OKRs

  Administrative Services

  Objective	Key Results
  Distribute Financial System Training Guides and Policy Reference Guides to UA team members.	Develop Financial System Training Guides and Policy Reference Guides that address common issues and FAQs. Distribute Financial System Training Guides and Policy Reference Guides on UA4U and in new hire welcome packages. UA team members are able to rely on guides to address FAQs. Awareness of campus policy is shared with team members to ensure that spending activity aligns with campus policy.
  Leverage Budget & Operations expertise to support cross-functional UA collaborations towards shared goals.	Budget & Operations serves as a strategic partner to promote all team goals and organizational initiatives. Budget & Operations supports new technology implementation, such as: Oracle, Concur, Salesforce, etc. Budget & Operations provides insight towards long-term strategic planning. Budget & Operations helps teams navigate budget constraints.
  Foster a collaborative and connected team culture within University Advancement	Document and share at least 3 tech process improvements that reduce friction and support work-life balance (e.g., knowledge base article, documentation, tip sheet). Host two open lunch sessions with UA staff to encourage informal collaboration and knowledge sharing. Onboard new team members with an UA culture and systems orientation within 30 days of hire.
  Engage UA staff through meaningful and purposeful professional development opportunities	Create a calendar of events reflective of the current climate within UA and UCR. Engage UA colleagues to assess interest in professional development topics.  Priovide a mixture of in person and virtual opportunities for UA engagement. Goal at least 4 virtual engagement opportunities provided within FY'26.
  Focus on increasing cross department collaboration within UA	Create opportunities for staff to engage through the use of slack.  Create opportunities for virtual coffee chats.  Propose opportunity for staff members to present topics for collaboration based on department major initiatives.
  Roll out new hire UA onboarding materials and revamp internal onboarding process	Acclimate new hires to UA and UCR's culture and environment.  Consolidate items currently being used for onboarding into centralized materials repository to avoid duplication.  Provide an overview of new hire actionable items.  Revamp internal onboarding procedure to enhance the onboarding process within University Advancement.
  Develop flexible work schedule guidance for UA staff who supervise student employees	Develop student hybrid/remote work guidelines that outlines recommendations for supervisors.   Ensure current hybrid/remote work agreement is in line with student employment guidelines.
  Develop a series of meetings with UA colleagues to evaluate how our teams already collaborate, what our team does that might be unknown, solicit how else our teams might collaborate, and how our work with Salesforce and FundMiner might be beneficial to their teams	Develop an agenda and slide deck to assist in the navigation of these conversations: July 1, 2025 - July 31, 2025 Schedule conversations with UA teams, one-by-one: August 1, 2025 - December 20, 2025 Evaluate key takeaways and recommend new programming/collaborations that were discussed: January 1, 2026 - March 31, 2026

• Development OKRs

  Development

  Objective

  Key Results

  🚩 Collaborate with Administrative Services to strengthen operational excellence and staff engagement through enhanced fund oversight, automation, improved communication, and targeted professional development by mid-2026.

  Conduct a comprehensive audit of all development-related funds and awards (including donor intent, fund usage, and balances) by December 2025 and ensure 100% compliance with spending policies by June 2026. Automate stewardship processes for gifts over $10K (including thank-you letters, impact reporting triggers, and reminders) using CRM tools or other platforms by March 2026. Establish and implement a cross-functional communication rhythm (e.g., monthly team briefings, department town halls, and feedback surveys) to increase clarity and connection across units by April 2026. Retain at least 90% of Development staff by June 2026 through targeted engagement and professional development initiatives; report less than 10% attrition rate. Achieve at least 85% participation from Development staff in the Gallup survey and demonstrate improvements across key engagement areas by February 2026.

• University Relations OKRs

  University Relations

  Objective	Key Results
  Update University Websites to Meet UCOP Accessibility Mandate	Conduct a comprehensive audit of all University Relations-managed web properties to assess compliance with the new UCOP web accessibility standards. Develop an implementation roadmap and resource guide to bring all sites into compliance by April 2026.
  🚩 Collaborate with UA departments to increase synergy with the work of the news team	Quarterly meetings between SPIOs and development officers at schools and colleges that drive toward tangible outcomes. Bi-annual stakeholder meetings between magazine editors and key UA partners. Host multiple purposeful team-building events throughout the year.
  Streamline operations and improve efficiency across the university events unit	Transition project plans for all major events into Workfront project management software by the end of the academic year. Train all UE staff on utilizing Linvio, our new event registration software, and incorporate into actual use by the end of the spring quarter. Implement standardized, streamlined processes and documentation across 100% of major events starting the fall quarter. New processes to include starndarized event kick-off meetings, event play-by-play documents, run of show documents, and functional budget.

• VCUA OKRs

  VCUA

  Objective

  Key Results

  Identify professional development opportunities that deepen expertise in Prospect Development and Salesforce, emphasizing courses and opportunities that advance best practices, technical skills, and strategic knowledge in these areas

  Assess current team skills and identify specific areas for enrichment for Salesforce implementation and ongoing use and best practices. Create an inventory of all available resources relevant to identified skill gaps (including Salesforce Trailheads, which offers comprehensive training modules.) Schedule monthly check-ins to assess program effectiveness and make necessary adjustments. Allow for "Study Time" for employees when appropriate and ask team members to assist with workload as needed. Track participation rates, skill development, and application of new knowledge to prospect development workflows. Improve our existing internal library of recorded training sessions that can be accessed asynchronously. Review the training library to identify both existing and potential resources that would benefit a wider audience, and by March 2026, recommend select trainings for inclusion in the LMS platform or propose alternative methods to increase their accessibility.