In the world of higher education, staying engaged with alumni plays a crucial role in raising private funds to support any university’s priorities. Touching base with alums used to be a phone call away. But these days, the telephone is not always the best way to connect, so with a mission of cultivating relationships, fundraisers have turned to digital marketing.
Christina Bryant, associate director of the Philanthropy Engagement Center, is charged with keeping Illinois State University’s new Philanthropy Engagement Center, located in the Alumni Center, staffed and running. It’s a job that means a lot to her personally.
“I was a student caller during college at Central Michigan University,” Bryant said. “I fell in love with fundraising and development.”
She said for years it’s been customary for universities to hire students to make phone calls to alumni, but the job has changed as the communication habits of people have changed. The focus, she said, is now on relationship building.
“With the phone declining as a channel, we wanted to find creative ways to reach out using a combination of the phone, email, texting, and video,” Bryant said. “We share updates with our alumni about the University and about their college, and we’re contacting them the way they want to be contacted.”
“I like getting to talk to a lot of different people and enjoy telling them about all the opportunities for giving. And, while we talk, I like all the advice they give for the ins and outs of life.”
Dalia Hamad
Bryant said that Jillian Nelson, senior managing director of Annual Giving and Philanthropy Engagement, has been instrumental in her growing and learning in her new job.
Bryant hires student ambassadors, who can be undergraduate or graduate level, and then trains them for about eight hours on all the ways to reach out to alumni. Currently there are 14 student ambassadors, which she described as “understaffed.” Ideally, she’d like to have 15-17 for this year. Next year, the optimum number would be to have a staff of 20-25.
Students generally work 4-hour shifts and sometimes 8-hour shifts, as long as they don’t exceed 28 hours per week. There are 12 work stations spread out over four rows in dedicated space within the Alumni Center. It’s a typical workspace with computers, a video recording area in the front of the room with a branded backdrop, bulletin boards with announcements, calendars, and a donor leaderboard that tracks gifts. Shifts are Monday-Thursday, 1-5 p.m. and 5-9 p.m.; Fridays, 1-4:30 p.m.; and Sundays, noon-4 p.m. and 4-8 p.m.
Unlike a typical call center, Bryant said student ambassadors have the opportunity to be more creative by using various marketing channels to connect with alumni, including video and email. They are encouraged to build relationships with alumni beyond just calling them once a year. They are also encouraged to be creative.
“We have a script they can work from, but we try to give students flexibility,” Bryant said. “We want them to come from a place of being authentic and genuine when speaking with our alumni.”
Dalia Hamad is a senior accounting and marketing major who serves as an assistant supervisor. She was one of the center’s first hires and enjoys talking to alumni.
“I like getting to talk to a lot of different people and enjoy telling them about all the opportunities for giving,” Hamad said. “And, while we talk, I like all the advice they give for the ins and outs of life.”
Hamad got the job after being interviewed two times by Bryant. She learned about the position after getting an email from Career Services that was sent to students in her major.
She works with a portfolio of about 1,200 alumni members who range from first-time donors to top donors. Her favorite parts of the job include reaching out to potential donors and to alums who also were in the College of Business like herself. And, she said, the work is practical.
“This type of work and my experiences here have helped my resume,” Hamad said. “I already have a job in digital marketing lined up for when I graduate.”
Bryant said when she hires a student ambassador she’s looking for certain qualities.
“I’m looking for students who are enthusiastic, goal oriented, proactive, who build relationships and get gifts, and who are determined,” she said. “I want students who want to make a difference at ISU.”
There’s another lesson that comes with the job, Bryant said: “We’re teaching them at a young age why giving back is so important—and not just to higher ed.”
Birds Give Back
Student ambassadors are integral to the success of Redbird Philanthropy Week, culminating with Birds Give Back, Illinois State’s annual day of giving, on Thursday, February 23.
