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By Suzanne Savage This spring, the office of institutional advancement is concluding its third annual phonathon, which began in September and continues through May. The goal of the program is to contact alumni, parents, friends and businesses to seek their support of the SCAD Annual Fund. Often, a phonathon call is the only personal contact an alumnus has with the college. The phonathon callers become unofficial ambassadors of college news and activities. In addition, the phonathon is a method of updating address, phone and e-mail information for members of the SCAD family. Maintaining accurate contact information on alumni is vital to efforts to update alumni about the exciting progress of the college. This year’s phonathon was successful on all fronts. The student callers secured 1,209 gifts and pledges totaling $84,635. This year’s results outpaced last year’s results of 625 gifts and pledges totaling $57,480. The callers’ placed more than 25,393 calls to SCAD alumni, parents, and friends. Because of the success of the phonathon, the number of alumni donors has increased by 101 percent from last year. “This year’s outstanding results are a testament to how powerful a communication tool phoning is with young alumni and parents alike,” said Barry M. Buxton, Ph.D., vice president for institutional advancement. Much of the phonathon success is because of the students who worked as phonathon callers. The callers include Meredith Atwater, a graphic design major from Durham, N.C.; Sarah Bishop, an interior design major from East Haddam, Conn.; Kyla Carr, an animation major from Ellenwood; Linette Chalifoux, a media and performing arts major from Boylston, Mass.; Lindsey Gregory, a photography major from Atlanta; Ashley Paz, a graphics design major from St. Louis, Mo.; Sabrina Hammond, an interior design major from Eastpointe, Mich.; Alicia Rollend, a graphic design major from Amherst, N.H.; and Karla Stanford, an art history major from Savannah. Each donor who gave $125 through the phonathon will be recognized with a commemorative paver at the Gulfstream Center for Furniture and Industrial Design. This recognition was very popular with the alumni and was great way for parents to honor their students’ accomplishments. Savage is director of major gifts. |
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