University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: March 6, 2003

By DONNA LONGENECKER
Reporter Assistant Editor

Just when most people are heading home for dinner, students working for the UB Bullhorn Call Center are heading to work.

For 40 students, that means that at 5 p.m., after a day of classes, they travel over to Porter Quad in the Ellicott Complex on the North Campus. Most of the students come to work laughing, joking and ready to hit the phones—making hundreds of calls a night on behalf of UB's Generation to Generation Campaign to the tune of more than $800,000 in pledges in just six months of operation.

On a recent gray, already dark, sub-zero-degree afternoon, students received a pep talk and appreciation for their hard work from Maureen Hammett, assistant vice president for annual giving, donor and research services, in the form of pizza and wings. And the students deserve it—on an average night they raise from $7,500-8,000 for the university. Last fall, they averaged upwards of $10,000 a night.

Jennifer Heifetz (left) and J.P. Minett work the phones.
PHOTO: Donna Longenecker

Hammett points out that what is just as important as the current dollars being raised is the foundation that is being laid for future fund-raising efforts. "For many of our alumni, this is the first time they are making a gift to UB. Building our overall participation rate is critical to our future success," she says.

The Bullhorn Call Center opened last September. The last call center, which closed about two years ago, says Hammett, was on the South Campus in Goodyear Hall. "We haven't had an on-site call center for awhile, but the Bullhorn Call Center is now a permanent part of university advancement," says Hammett. "The location on the North Campus is advantageous in so many ways, most importantly to recruiting and retaining the student callers who work at the center."

Students make calls on behalf of a variety of schools at the university, as well as WBFO, the Division of Athletics, the Center for the Arts and membership solicitations for the alumni association, explains Hammett. "What they're able to average a night is completely dependent on the schools they're calling for and we're going to be kicking off fund raising for additional schools and segments of the university," she adds. For example, if an alumnus graduated from the School of Management, he or she will receive a call from a student on behalf of the school. Those constituents who have multiple affiliations with UB—for example, an alumnus who is also a friend of WBFO—may receive more than one solicitation in a fiscal year.

Part of the students' success stems from the fact that they aren't making "cold" calls. Before the first call is made to a potential donor, the donor has received a "heads-up" about the solicitation in the mail. "We do some things that set the stage for the phoning to be successful," Hammett says.

Moreover, students aren't going into the work cold either—they've already had a week's worth of intensive training before they make their first call. The training consists of learning how to overcome objections, observing other callers, role-playing and finally, going up against Clayton Rupp, program manager for the call center, who throws at them all of the objections they're likely to hear from potential donors. "They have to convince me, give me a reason to give," says Rupp.

"We've got a good group of students. They're very dedicated to what they're doing. What keeps them coming back, what keeps them employed is that we work around their schedules. We're very flexible. The base pay is $6.50 an hour, with an attendance bonus of 75 cents an hour, and we offer other incentives," he notes.

"We get started in the afternoons after most of their classes. It's a pretty relaxed atmosphere. We like to have a good time and at the same time get the job done. We play goal-based games to keep them involved and set on the goals," says Rupp. The students also compete for recognition by trying to become members in the $10,000 to $100,000 clubs, depending upon the amount they raise.

"Some of the students really get behind this so we're working on an additional kind of recognition program that would involve an award from the university's leadership," Rupp adds. "Motivation is always going to be the key to a good call center. We want to keep the students happy and working, and their eyes on a set of goals."

Inspiring students to achieve the financial goals of the call center means not being a task-master, but a cheerleader, friend, dad or coach, says Rupp, who, as a one-time caller himself knows first-hand about the burn-out factor in this kind of work.

Hammett points out that when calling occurs for a particular school, like engineering, the dean of that school often pays a visit to students to talk about the program, describe its goals and answer questions. This visit often serves as a catalyst for that night's work and gives students a better idea of how they fit into the bigger picture, she says.

Jennifer McDonough, vice president for university advancement, says it's a real bonus to know just how much the students enjoy the work and the environment at the call center.

"We feel so very good about the quality and caliber of the students we have working as university ambassadors and spokespersons here at the call center, and know that they're getting invaluable experience for whatever awaits them upon their graduation from UB," McDonough says. "They are such effective advocates for the university and can take pride in knowing they are directly influencing the growth of our family of loyal donors. We're so pleased with the results this year."

Kristy Ossit, a junior communication major and student supervisor at the call center, says she loves the atmosphere. "I like everybody here—everyone's fun to get along with and being a supervisor is awesome because I get to help my peers raise money and to be better callers," says Ossit. Ossit herself garnered the largest single pledge in the six months the call center has been operating—$3,000, received on Oct. 24, 2002. On that same night, the most profitable to date, the center raised $22,758.

As of two weeks ago, students at the call center have made more than 56,000 calls. Rupp says students are making the connection that giving is important. "You can't help but think about it—they're talking on the phone to older alumni who may not want to give and the students have to explain why they should give," he says, adding that many of the students say they'll never treat a telemarketer badly on the phone after working at the call center. "Doing fundraising actually leads to the students themselves becoming potential donors because they understand what the money is going toward; they understand how it helps out and how it benefits them."

Hammett adds that an important characteristic of the UB calling program is that current UB students are the people making the solicitation calls. "Students are so well-positioned to be able to speak on behalf of the university, and to tell alumni and friends what impact their gifts can have at UB. The callers are able to make a compelling case for the importance of philanthropic support."