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Bold Hearts. Brilliant Minds.

FY26 UA Priorities & Department OKRs

Building Alignment & Collaboration

This page shares our organization's top-line priorities identified by the UA Leadership team and designed to advance UCR's strategic priorities. Grouped by each UA priority, you will find the department level Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) which reflect our shared focus for the fiscal year and will help us track progress.

These OKRs will guide our work, support cross-functional collaboration, and provide transparency into how we are collectively advancing our mission. 

If you have any questions about these priorities or objectives, please reach out to your department lead.

Jump to a specific priority:

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
    ObjectiveKey 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 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 Development 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
    ObjectiveKey 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
    ObjectiveKey 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
    ObjectiveKey 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.
  • VCUA OKRs
    VCUA
    ObjectiveKey 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 B: Grow UCR's brand and national reputation through strategic storytelling, stakeholder experiences, and visibility.

  • Advance and protect the University’s reputation through expanded media and public relations, research communications, marketing and advertising (digital and traditional), brand advancement and stewardship, faculty research storytelling, and continued support for campus unit marketing efforts.
  • Elevate donor impact and UCR’s stewardship initiatives to inspire continued and new support.
  • Grow affinity and pride through high-impact events and signature experiences, both on campus and in strategic regional markets.
  • Enhance the experience of trustees, alumni association board members, and key stakeholders to deepen connection to UCR’s mission.
  • Leverage the chancellor transition to generate momentum and support that can be translated into engagement and giving from the wider UCR community.
  • Maximize strategic travel by UCR leadership and advancement staff to broaden reach and increase impact.
  • Continue building and expanding on the university’s brand positioning and creative execution.

🚩 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. 

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. 

Priority D: Design and launch a new signature week of experiences that unites each UA department in celebrating UCR’s impact and inspiring new engagement and investment from our constituency groups. This may involve the alignment of existing programming into a single themed week, combined with the potential of new initiatives.

🚩 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. 

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.