The 14th annual phonathon raised over $18,000 for the college with 21 students taking part in calling alumni in this annual fundraising event. The goal for the phonathon was $30,000, but only 61 percent of that figure was realized.
Despite the nearly 40 percent shortfall, Associate Director of Development and Alumni Relations Evan Smith was pleased with the students who participated in the event. “I enjoyed the students because they were very upbeat for the most part,” he said. “You get tired of calling and calling, and getting rejected, but they did very well. I have to give them a lot of credit. They were great.”
Compared to last year’s event, over 100 more pledges were raised. However, the average donation was much lower. According to Smith, it’s just a sign of the economic struggle going on in America today. “It’s a tough year with the economy. There were a lot of potential donors but they just didn’t have the money.”
According to statistics obtained by Smith, 29 percent of the pledging units were first-time donors. The average daily pledges received totaled $1,300.
The phonathon requires those who participate to call JSC alumni to get news and possible donations. “I think their biggest frustration was probably the fact that people with caller ID would see Johnson State College, and what they found is that some of them were calling from their cell phones and getting better luck,” Smith said.
Smith acknowledged that working as a caller for the phonathon is not an easy job, but some students were asked not to return due to lack of money brought in.
The biggest gift received towards the fund was two donations for $1,000. The smallest pledge was only $1; however, Smith noted that in this case, the donor mailed in twice the pledged amount.
In response to this year’s phonathon, Smith gave out a survey. Out of the 21 students, 15 of them answered the questions. Out of the 15 students, 10 of them wanted to participate again, giving Smith a solid foundation for next year’s caller list. Smith was happy with the results of the survey, noting that he appreciated the students’ honesty. “I saw a certain sense of maturity that made me feel better. They were honest in the way they said what they thought,” he said.
In the survey, seven out of 15 rated their experience on a scale from one to five, five being the lowest, as a four. One student responded, “I selected the rating of four because it was a good, easy way to make money as a non-work study student,” the caller said. “I did not give it a rating of five because I felt it was very hard to get people to answer the phone and thus make money.”
Jonathan Thompson participated in the phonanthon not only this year, but last year as well. “It’s pretty sweet, I met some cool people and there was free food,” Thompson said. “But it can get pretty boring. I talked to a lot of people who weren’t that friendly, at least not when I was asking for money.”
Thompson decided to do the phonathon a second time – for the conversation and the money. “It was a lot better the second time because the people were cooler and I didn’t do it for as long,” he said.
The phonathon is beneficial to the college in more ways than one. Not only does it bring in donations, but it helps the school stay connected with the alumni. “Some of them have great stories, and they keep you on the phone for hours if you let them,” Smith said. “It’s a great way to keep in contact with alumni, parents as well, but the main thrust is to raise money. It just has residual benefits. It will continue as long as we feel it’s really contributing.”
Despite the benefits, Smith is skeptical regarding how long the phonathon will be used as a method of raising money for the college. “One of the things we look at is the bottom line, how much does it cost to raise a dollar. It cost us 57 cents to raise a dollar: is that good? No.”