Let’s face it: alumni phonathons are not always easy, but nevertheless, they can make a substantial difference for your annual fund, and connect alumni for an important cause.
In this post we want to highlight five ways to help empower your alumni callers on the front lines, from experiences that our team at EverTrue has had dialing away for our alma maters!
1. Show Callers Why They Are Calling
It is helpful to do more than just “tell” callers why their help is important; charge them up by having current students, and alumni, share how the annual fund made a difference in their educational experience. On early calls have callers connect with alumni who shared similar housing, activities or coursework. These calls will help improve the callers’ confidence, and remind them the importance of their work.
2. Treat Your Callers Like Gold
Your callers are the voice of your institution and your alumni association. Let them know that their work is appreciated and keep them focused by providing food, drink and a clean area to work in.
3. Provide Your Callers the Tools they Need
Give your calling team some practical advice before hitting the phones, but also provide them the tools that they need to be effective at their job. Whether it be pointing to LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Google search or providing them an integrated mobile solution like EverTrue, make sure to give your participants a place of reference on your alumni community to improve their chances of making a positive connection.
4. Make It Fun!
Keep a positive environment during your phonathon. Play your alma mater and your fight song on repeat. Make the venue not only clean, but filled with bright colors and signs of encouragement. Award nevertheless those with the most calls made in an hour, and with the highest donations!
5. Get Your Participant’s Feedback
Since you have members of your alumni community together in a room, make sure to let them know that their voice matters. Once calls are over have a group conversation about their experiences as students and alumni, and see how your next phonathon could be improved!
What have you seen help motivate your phonathon faithful? Let us know!