Messages are “news updates” created by admins and attached to Sponsorships, Campaigns, Projects, and Places.

The Messages section (Communication > Messages) displays a list of all Messages created.

Each Message listed includes:

• Title
• Author
• Referral
• Categories
• Published date and time

A Message can be quickly viewed, edited, or deleted using the Action button.

Messages can be created directly from the Messages area or from another referral area, such as a Campaign, Project, Place, or Sponsorship.

All Messages will appear in the Messages index. Sponsorship Messages will also appear in the Messages tab of their associated Sponsorship profile.

Note: Messages created for Sponsorships must be created from the Sponsorship profile page (Actions > New Message). These can be marked as Private and shown only to sponsors.

Creating a Message#

To create a Message:

• Navigate to Communication > Messages and click New Message.
• Enter a Title.
• If the Message should only be visible to supporters and not public, mark it as Private. Note: Unless marked Private, all Messages are public by default. Private Messages are only visible to logged-in supporters associated with the related Sponsorship, Place, Project, or Campaign.
• Choose whether to Include in Latest Updates.
  • Note: Messages marked Include in Latest Updates cannot also be marked Private.
  • When enabled, the Message will appear on your REACH Portal homepage in the Recent News section
• Use the dropdown menu to attach the Message to a Project, Place, or Campaign. (To post a Message to a Sponsorship profile, see Sponsorship Messages below.)
• If desired, use Link Back To to connect the Message to the full Message or another Project, Place, or Campaign.
• Schedule the Publish Date and Time.
• Enter the Message content in the paragraph editor, including images or media as needed.
• Attach any files. Note: If an image is attached as a file, it will be used as the thumbnail in the Message listing.
• Add a Vimeo Vimeo or YouTube YouTube link if applicable.
• Click Create Message.

Once created, the Message will display as a public or private update on the selected page.

Using Messages for Blog Posts#

In REACH, blog posts are created using Messages.

To create a blog page:

• Create a Blog menu item in your Main Menu.
• In the menu item’s URL field, enter: /blog
• When creating a Message, mark it as Include in Latest Updates so it appears on the Blog page.
• Review the Message and Messages Portal Templates, as these control how individual blog posts and the blog listing page display on your portal.

This setup allows Messages to function as your organization’s blog content.

Categories#

The Categories tab allows you to group related Messages together.

This is commonly used by organizations to:

• further classify Messages,
• organize blog posts,
• or separate Messages from other content types on their REACH Portal.

Sponsorship Messages#

Sponsorship Messages are updates posted directly to a Sponsorship profile. These Messages can be public or sponsor-only.

Note: Messages are not intended as direct communication between sponsors and sponsorship recipients. For direct communication, see Conversations.

To create a Sponsorship Message:

• Navigate to the Sponsorship profile.
• Click Actions > New Message; or
• Select the Messages tab and click New Message.

Messages posted to Sponsorships can be marked Private, making them visible only to sponsors when logged into their Donor Portal.

Refer to the Sponsorship Privacy Options article for additional sponsorship privacy settings.

When supporters log into their Donor Portal and open their Sponsorship, they will see the Message as a Recent Update.

The Message will also appear on the Sponsorship profile under the Messages tab.

Note: If marked Private, the supporter must be logged in to view the Message.

Notifying Supporters of Messages#

Messages can also be sent as email updates to supporters of the associated Project, Place, Campaign, or Sponsorship.

Note: This feature is disabled by default.

To enable:

• Navigate to Settings > General Settings
• Enable Supporter Daily Digest Email.
• Click Save Changes.

The Daily Digest Email sends once per day when updates have been made. It includes links to any Sponsorships, Projects, Places, or Campaigns where new content or edits occurred the previous day.

Supporters may opt out of system notifications through their communication preferences in their Donor Portal.

To edit the email template:

Go to Settings > Email Templates > Daily Supporter Update.

This email template includes updates related to:

• Messages
• Albums
• Projects
• Places

Because this is a system-wide email, we recommend minimal edits to the template content.

For additional email template information, review the System Emails article.