When alumni receive a call from a current student in the evening or on the weekend, they’re hearing from the BSU Phonathon Team, a group that has seen phenomenal success under the leadership of Jana Wolff, director of annual giving.

Wolff, who joined the BSU Alumni & Foundation staff in August, managed a similar team in her previous work at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash.

Getting the Phonathon up and running for the new academic year was one of her first priorities, and the results speak for themselves. Phonathon students raised $104,000 in donations to the university’s annual Lakeside Fund, nearly triple the previous year’s total.

The 14 student callers – who come from all class years and a variety of majors – have benefited just as much, Wolff said.

“It builds confidence and phone skills that translate into any field that they could potentially going into,” she said. “Their ability to interact and engage with a wide constituency is huge.”

One member of this year’s team, Aleah Egenes, said she has learned much more than she expected, both from the training Wolff provides and from the people she calls.

“It’s opened my eyes about all the scholarships there really are and made me apply for them this year,” said Egenes,a sophomore from Benson majoring in social work. “And then hearing all the stories from the alums, there are so many things you can do
around Bemidji and on campus that I didn’t know about.”

Starting nearly from scratch last fall, Wolff used flyers, emails and departmental meetings to promote the opportunity,
and she won approval to pay the students $10 an hour, more than other campus jobs.

Wolff also wrote to Bemidji businesses and followed up in person, soliciting prizes she could use as incentives that ranged from coffee mugs and stress balls to coupons and gift cards for Bemidji Bowl, Lueken’s Village Foods, Cherry Berry frozen yogurt, car washes and restaurants such as J.J. Dockside.

Phonathon students work from prepared call lists to reach out to a variety of people, including past donors, non-donors and parents of current students.

The team operates from a small room in the basement of the David Park House decorated with progress charts, motivational messages and a “Best of BSU Board” that contains stories alums have shared about romance, friendships and funny moments.

“We’ve had a lot of people that could really connect with the alums and make good conversation with them,” Egenes said.

Wolff coaches the students to follow the LASC method – listen, ask, support and continue.

“Our main objective is to get alumni talking about their experience at BSU, update contact information, share current events on campus and ask for support,” she said. “Alumni support is critical to helping provide student scholarships — both need and merit.”