Forward content of inbox messages to users' emails

I'm grateful for the updates to messaging over the summer of 2021, but it's still missing some important functionality.

Here's the biggest one: Many parents don't log in to the system regularly, especially when they have older students. We need those messages to be forwarded in their entirety to parents' email.

I know there is an option to create a notification for parents, where they'll get an email or text alert that they have a message, but the notification doesn't contain the content of the message. Parents have to stop what they're doing and log in to the system to read it. In a perfect world, parents would have time to promptly log in to check, but let's face it, parents (myself included!) are often too busy to follow through on this unnecessary extra step.

To improve functionality, it would be so great if we could set up a notification in which inbox messages to parents were forwarded, in their entirety, to the parents' email, and in such a way that when the parents respond to that email it goes back to the teacher (either via email or messaging!)

  • Shannon Lowe
  • Jan 31 2022
K-12 Core / Notifications
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  • Tamara Photiadis commented
    03 Jul 18:22

    This is needed for Higher Ed as well. Students and faculty are so busy, nobody can sign in to Blackbaud constantly to keep their studies going. It would be a terrific streamline if the content of messages can go to the email account (or text if preferred).

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  • Amanda Polson commented
    March 01, 2023 14:54

    Yes! What is the point even of a text message that makes the recipient follow several steps to sign in to a system to see what the message is? If the parent portal was an app that could just be opened (as opposed to having to sign in each time) that would be somewhat better.


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  • Morgan Kunze commented
    February 22, 2022 20:32

    I would be so into this. We have disabled inbox messaging altogether because of the concern that parents won't see the messages, leading teachers and admin to think they've communicated something when they (effectively) haven't. If inbox messaging could generate an email to users (students & staff too!) a LOT of our communication complaints would resolve.

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