Sending Email in GC Outreach: Unsubscribes

Manage your unsubscribes, understand who will be removed from lists automatically, and general FAQ on how unsubscribes function in GC Outreach.

Two Click Unsubscribe

Important: This only applies to the unsubscribe links in the email footer. The one-click unsubscribe in the email header (used by Gmail and Yahoo to meet their sender requirements) is unchanged and continues to be a 1-click unsubscribe.

Configuring Your Unsubscribe Topics

In the Outreach Settings page within the Outreach navigation item, configure all topics you would like to manage and track different unsubscribes to in GC Outreach emails. The general outreach topic will display here and cannot be removed or adjusted. When topics are no longer relevant, archive them so they can no longer be used in future outreaches.

Setting your Unsubscribe Link

All GC Outreach emails will have the general GC Outreach unsubscribe link added to the bottom of your email content by default. This will also pull from other settings such as your address and organization name.

Advocate Email Opt-Outs

• Every Outreach email to advocates automatically includes an unsubscribe (opt-out) link
• If an advocate clicks to unsubscribe, their email is automatically excluded from all future Outreach emails, including Giving Day messages
• The system tracks who has opted out and shows the exclusion reason in your recipient list
• If someone has unsubscribed, you cannot manually add them back—they must resubscribe themselves

Topic-Based Unsubscribes

• Unsubscribes are managed using unsubscribe topics
• When someone opts out of one Outreach email, they are only opting out of that specific topic
• You can set up multiple topics to cover different types of content
• A donor may still receive other Outreach emails through GiveCampus unless they opt out of all topics

Common Questions About Unsubscribes

Q: Can I re-add someone who unsubscribed? 

A: No, you cannot manually re-add unsubscribed recipients. Instead, you'll need to send them a "resubscribe link." Go to your Email Unsubscribes page and search for the constituent's email address. You'll need to send a resubscribe link for each Unsubscribe topic where the constituent may be impacted. 

Q. How do I send a resubscribe link? 

A: Head to Outreach > Reporting. Here you'll see a list of Email Unsubscribes. On the far right of each unsubscribed email is an icon to click to "Send Resubscribe" email. 

Q: Do unsubscribes affect all my outreach topics? 

A: It depends on your setup. If you use multiple unsubscribe topics, someone might only opt out of specific types of content while still receiving others.

Q: If someone unsubscribes, can I change their external ID and re-upload them to bypass the unsubscribe?

A: No. Changing the external ID and re-uploading someone will not automatically re-subscribe them. The unsubscribe status is connected to their email address, so they will still be excluded from future GC Outreach emails.

The only way to resubscribe is through the resubscribe link process.

Q: Can I manually add someone to the unsubscribe list?

A: No, there is no way to manually unsubscribe recipients in GC Outreach. Recipients must unsubscribe themselves by clicking the unsubscribe link that is automatically included at the bottom of every GC Outreach email.

What to do if someone requests to be unsubscribed

If a recipient contacts you directly asking to be removed from emails:

1. Ask them to use the unsubscribe link: Direct them to click the unsubscribe link in any GC Outreach email they've received

2. Add a solicit code to exclude from emails and texts

Why manual unsubscribes aren't available

This system ensures:

• Compliance with email regulations that require self-service unsubscribe options
• Accurate tracking of opt-out preferences
• Proper documentation of unsubscribe requests

Preventing Emails to Deceased Constituents

Using Solicit Codes to Suppress Communications

To prevent emails from being sent to deceased constituents, you can use solicit codes to automatically exclude these records from GC Outreach communications.

1. Add a "Deceased" solicit code to your data import configuration

2. Map the code in your File Configuration to ensure it's properly imported

3. Apply the code to deceased records during your data import process

4. GC Outreach will automatically exclude any constituents with mapped solicit codes from email sends

• Use existing "Do Not Contact" codes: Apply your current "Do Not Contact" solicit code to deceased records
• Create a specific deceased designation: Add a dedicated "Deceased" solicit code for clearer record management

How Solicit Code Exclusions Work

When you upload recipient lists or use segments in GC Outreach:

• Automatic filtering: Recipients with mapped solicit codes are automatically removed from send lists
• No manual intervention needed: The system handles exclusions during list processing
• Consistent application: Works across all outreach types (email and text)

Solicit codes: why they still appear in segments (and when they're excluded)

Constituents with mapped solicit codes may appear in your segment results, but they are excluded later in the send flow. At the Recipients step, these records are marked as excluded with a reason that indicates the specific solicit code (for example, "Solicit Code: [name]"). When the send is processed, these constituents will not receive the message.

Configure which solicit codes exclude Outreach sends

Use your school-level settings to control exclusions in GC Outreach:

1. Go to Settings from your dashboard.
2. Under the Restrictions section, find Solicit Code Settings.
3. Select which solicit codes should prevent actions in GC Outreach.

This setup ensures that while solicit-coded constituents are visible during segmentation, they are flagged on the Recipients step and are automatically excluded from sending.

Preventing Automated Unsubscribes from Security Scanners

Two-Click Unsubscribe Protection

To prevent accidental automated unsubscribes caused by email security software, GiveCampus uses two-click unsubscribe protection:

How it works:

1. When someone clicks an unsubscribe link, they land on a confirmation page
2. They must click "Confirm Unsubscribe" to actually opt out
3. Security scanners don't complete the second confirmation step
4. Only real people making a real choice get unsubscribed

Important note: This only applies to footer unsubscribe links. The one-click unsubscribe in email headers (required by Gmail and Yahoo) remains unchanged.