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Phonathon Fundraiser Surpasses Goal by More Than 20 Percent
By Malaree Wallace
Fall phonathon team.
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Despite the economy, this semester’s phonathon goal of $65,000 was quickly achieved in three weeks. The final total of $95,140 represented a $21,000 increase from last fall -- a 21 percent increase in fundraising from early September to mid November.
Mars Hill College staff expressed thanks to those on the phonathon team who made the campaign a success.
“I think the ability and enthusiasm of your team of students also reflects on your leadership -- great job!” Diane Hutt, advising coordinator and art instructor, wrote in a campus email.
Mars Hill graduate Brian Danforth, appointed director of annual giving in the summer of 2007, led the campaign to seek donations from the MHC alumni base. He also coordinates direct mail efforts in a variety of ways, targeting groups to ask for funds the best way possible. Also, he makes personal visits to prospective donors for future giving to the college.
Most of the money raised from the phonathon goes to the school’s annual scholarship fund, which helps MHC students pay for school. But the donor can request the gift go to another fund on campus.
Danforth said he thinks the phonathon this semester was more successful than previous years due to a couple of reasons. He said this semester’s callers involved a very competitive group of students who wanted to outperform each other every night. Competition helped the callers be aggressive when it was needed but fun at the same time. Also having loyal donors in the alumni, especially during a recession, has helped, Danforth said. "Phonathon is a team effort. The success of the program stems from each member of the team doing their job and doing it well,” he said. “I am very proud of my team of callers and supervisors for their hard work and dedication to this program.
“I would also like to thank our loyal alumni for their continued support of Mars Hill College and the annual fund. A special thanks to the best head supervisor in the world, Miss Krystal Wise,” Danforth said.
Even after reaching the goal this fall, the phonathon staff capitalized on the campaign’s momentum and continued to make phone calls and receive more donations.
Each semester, a reasonable goal is set for the semester based on certain factors -- the economy, the amount of money raised in previous years and the number of people to be called.
Phonathon is one of the many ways MHC seeks donations from alumni. Students are hired by Danforth and paid by the school to call alumni who have donated in the past. Donors are asked to increase their donations from the previous year. Twenty-five workers, including supervisors, are employed for the phonathon with an average of seven workers making calls per night. Calls were made on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:45 p.m. to 9 p.m. from the on-campus call center located in the Nash Education Building.
A schedule is made out by one of the supervisors in order to split the working time evenly between all of the team members, depending on their availability.
Malaree Wallace, a senior and writer for The Hilltop, worked on the phonathon team this semester.
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