printer-friendly
interior
Fun(ds) with the phones
Alumni callers help build Bethel’s general fund and catch up with classmates during the annual February phonathon.
It usually doesn’t get its picture in the paper with a giant-size check or newly unveiled plaque. Instead, one of Bethel’s most consistently successful funding sources operates with little outside fanfare each February from the third floor of the Ad Building.
Begun in 1980, Bethel’s phonathon was the brainchild of the late Ed R. Stucky ’42, former director of alumni and church relations. As organized over the past number of years by Dave Linscheid ’75, director of alumni relations, and Alumni Office assistants Judy Kliewer and most recently Diana (Epp) Graber ’72, the phonathon runs for about the first two-and-a-half weeks of February. It uses mostly alumni although Alumni Council members ask a few current students to call as well, often children or grandchildren and their friends. The 2011 phonathon, the 32nd annual, had 57 alumni callers representing 33 classes between 1953 and 2007, as well as seven students.
One notable characteristic of Bethel’s phonathon is how many alumni callers return to take a shift year after year. Sometimes they started out because they or a spouse was serving a term on the Alumni Council, for which part of the requirement is to fill a certain number of phonathon slots.
That was the case for Jim Goering ’57, who began calling when he was a member of the Alumni Council, and brought his spouse, Shirley (Suderman) Goering ’57, along. They have continued to volunteer even though Jim’s Alumni Council term is up.
Felice (Voth) Goering ’59 currently serves on the Alumni Council but she and husband Clyde ’59 began volunteering for the phonathon even before that. All four Goerings are glad for an opportunity to help with Bethel’s bottom line but even more, they find phonathons fun.
“We try to call people who were in our class or who were at Bethel during the four years we were – people we know,” says Clyde, and Felice adds, “It’s fun and interesting to get to talk to people who were in your class.”
“It’s fun to talk to people and learn more about what’s happening in their lives,” says Shirley. “If people can afford it, they’re happy to help.”
The calls don’t always yield money, of course, but sometimes there’s a more intangible value. “I talked to a nurse who wasn’t able to give, for various reasons,” says Felice, “but she told me she has directed future nurses to Bethel. There are some people who can’t give but they want to know what Bethel is doing.”
“You pick up on political nuances sometimes,” Jim says. “At the time the new sports stadium was going up, I called someone who wasn’t a supporter of athletics at Bethel but who agreed to give if it would go toward professors’ salaries. I was able to tell him we could make sure his gift was applied in that direction.”
Jim was also able to right an old wrong thanks to the Bethel phonathon. “I grew up in Pretty Prairie,” he says, “and we used to play Moundridge in football. One time I called an alumnus from Moundridge and he asked me: ‘Did you used to play left end on the football team? Well, you kicked me 40 years ago and I’ve been looking for an apology for 40 years.’ It was kind of tongue-in-cheek, but I did apologize.”
As younger alumni begin to take phonathon shifts, it’s growing into even more of a family affair. Pat (Stucky) Stucky ’74, Ed R. Stucky’s daughter, remembers in the early days of the phonathon helping her dad by going to the Newton Public Library to look up alumni phone numbers in local directories. In 2011, Pat and her son David ’05, a current Alumni Council member, and daughter-in-law Shelley (Gruenbacher) Stucky ’05 all came on a Tuesday evening to make phone calls. Later, they had a photo taken with the possible fourth generation of phonathon callers, Dave and Shelley’s son Rhett.
“It’s surprising to see the amount of money raised with such small [individual] amounts,” says Felice.
“In early January, invitations go to more than 3,000 alumni households that have given to Bethel in recent years or are potential new donors,” says Dave Linscheid. “These are folks who have given $500 or less in recent years – that’s the only group we call. I think it’s important to mention this, because it puts the amazing amount raised in perspective. An extraordinary number of modest donors to Bethel together give a huge amount of support.
“After the mailing goes out, some people immediately respond by mailing their gift in advance of the calling in February – their names are removed from the calling list,” Dave continues, “but others wait because they look forward to a phone call from an alumnus or alumna. Some alumni, especially at a distance, hope for a phone call from the same friend who is a volunteer caller year after year.
“We have a good number of loyal Canadian alumni who either send in gifts in advance or enjoy visiting with a volunteer on the phone and send a gift in response to that. Many alumni send nice little notes along with their gift.”
“This is something we can do in a modest way to help the college,” Jim says. “[Phonathon] is a rich and rewarding experience, even when there are times of no answer or people unable to give. The satisfaction far exceeds the disappointments.”
“Bethel College has one of the best-organized and well-run phonathons that I have had the privilege to observe,” says consultant Jim Dodson, who has worked with advancement staff since 1997 and knows many Bethel alumni well. “The consistent success of Bethel’s phonathon is a result of tremendous work by the alumni and advancement staff and dedicated volunteer callers, the openness of constituents to the college’s needs and the deep commitment of donors to support Bethel’s mission. Donors to Bethel’s phonathon can be assured their gifts are faithfully used to positively touch the lives of current students.”
“I consider phonathon first as an alumni relations project and second as a fundraising project,” Dave says. “The fact that it’s focused on alumni relations rather than pure fundraising, with alumni-to-alumni calling, sets it apart from other colleges’ phonathons, where companies or students are hired to call, donors with much broader monetary potential are contacted or where prizes are given in an atmosphere of competition that pits caller against caller (some of whom grab the best names first in order to ‘win’).
“The reward for our callers is the chats with alumni. Paradoxically, I think it’s because our phonathon is alumni-to-alumni calling that it’s so successful financially, plus that’s what brings many volunteers back to phone year after year.”
Phonathon stats
- Average number of callers each February over the past 10 years: 63
- Average number of hours volunteers spent calling each February during the past 10 years: 303
- Ten-year average total donated by end of calendar year (since some alumni decide later what amount to send): $130,228 (highest was $152,612 in 2001, lowest $123,475 in 2003, last year’s total was $125,919)
- Uses 11 phones on the top floor of the Ad Building
- This year’s January invitation to donate went to 3,377 households in Canada and the United States.
- In 2010, the phonathon reached 1,199 households by phone (many gifts were also sent in response to the mailed invitation and no call was necessary).