Text messaging overview
Use text messaging to share important messages with your applicants.
Note: Text messaging is currently in limited availability. To see whether you have access to text messaging, see Do I have access to text messaging?.
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At this time, only certain customer have access to text messaging functionality.
To see whether you're one of those customers:
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Go to Site, Settings, Content.
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If you see Text Message Settings, you have access to text messaging. For more on system setup, see Set up text messaging.
Tip: If you don't have access to text messaging, pay attention to the Blackbaud Community. We'll post announcements as we enable the functionality for more customers.
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Remind applicants of important deadlines
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Invite small groups of applicants to apply for a specific award
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Set up meetings between award recipients and donors
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Direct applicants to relevant information on your website or previous emails
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Before you can send text messages from your system, you need to:
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Capture applicant phone numbers:
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Create a Phone Number question on your General Application or add a new field to your import file.
Note: If your organization has multiple phone numbers—one collected from applicants and another from your import file—you may need to add an additional Phone Number question.
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If you already capture phone numbers in a Short Answer question, you'll need to:
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Add a new field to your import file.
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Remove the Import Header from your existing Short Answer question.
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Archive your existing Short Answer question.
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On your General Application's import data, create a new Phone Number question and use your new import header.
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If you're asking applicants for their numbers on the General Application, you'll probably want to deselect Clear Each Cycle.
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Enable texting:
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Go to Site, Settings, Content.
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Under Text Message Settings, select Enable Texting.
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Your Organization name for Texting appears in the opt-in message sent to applicants:
Please reply YES to receive updates from [Organization_name_for_texting]. Std msg&data rates apply. Reply HELP for help, STOP to cancel.
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Note: If you want to disable text messaging, go to Site, Settings, Content and select Turn Off All Text Messages. You can update this setting at any time.
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Text messaging functionality has the following limitations during limited availability:
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Only available for applicants and accessible through application grids
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No templates or scheduling functionality
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Can't see applicant responses
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Can't re-send opt-in requests
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Limited to 15,000 messages a month
Tip: For more guidance on text messaging, see Text message FAQ, Send text messages, and Blackbaud's Acceptable Use Policy for SMS.