With constant changes to the current economic climate and funding in higher education, fundraising income and money from philanthropy is becoming increasingly important for the University. The telephone campaign is a key part of supporting this.
But who is being called and why, what is it like being a caller and how do you motivate a team of callers throughout a campaign?
Platform caught up with Sophie Hoyle, Legacy & Fundraising Assistant in the Development office to find out more.
Who are you calling and why?
We call Open University alumni and current donors. The reason we fundraise is basically to help us in our mission to provide education to all – so by providing other forms of income for the University means that we can do so much more for students or projects that need our help.
How many calls have been made?
We’ve called over 6,000 people in the last year alone
That is a high number. Is it cold calling?
No, not at all. We write to people in advance to let them know about the telephone campaign and they can opt out at that stage from receiving a call. The response from many of the alumni we speak has been very positive, they enjoy getting the call from the OU. There are many who also share great stories with us about their studies or relationship with the university.
What is the money raised used for?
Access to Success Fund
The fund is a new initiative, set up to help us to provide financial support for those students who would not otherwise be able to study with us and who wish to take their first steps into higher education. In this first instance, we are helping to subsidise Openings modules. Openings are short access and taster modules designed as an introduction to study which can help build a students’ confidence and develop their study skills.
TESSA (Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa)
The TESSA programme aims to improve the availability and quality of primary education for children in Africa by bringing together teachers and teacher educators. Launched in 2005, it is a research and development programme creating Open Educational Resources to support school based teacher education and training.
The TESSA programme is now being used in at least 12 countries and has in the last month received global recognition in the form of a WISE aware (World Innovation Summit for Education).
Disabled Students/Access Bus
The Open University’s dedicated Disabled Student Services team (DSS) offer support on all aspects of studying including specialist equipment, study resources, and assistive technology. The OU Access Bus is equipped with a wide range of assistive technology including specialist software and ergonomic hardware and furniture which students can try out. The bus is staffed by OU Access Centre staff who are on hand to offer expert advice and training. The rising costs of maintaining the current Access Bus have led to the decision to build its replacement and equip a new bus.
Alongside the role of the donors a key part to the success of a telephone campaign are the calling team.
How do you motivate callers throughout the campaign?
Calling shifts are anywhere between 3 and 6 hours but there can be times when callers are struggling with not getting through to people or speaking to a lot of answer machines - so we organise games throughout the shifts where callers can take part and win prizes kindly donated by OU staff and local external companies. Many of our callers will also be working full or part-time, as well as studying and juggling childcare commitments, so it is vital that we recognise the dedication required and help reward their support. Providing prizes, vouchers and incentivising the calling team is a great way to motivate our callers, encouraging them to have fun at the same time as raising money to help more students.
We would like to thank the following companies for providing prizes for the campaigns in the last year:
Purely Banking, Hilton: Milton Keynes, Hi-Tech Flooring Ltd, Jaipur, MK DONS Sport and Education Trust, Ranstad Recruitment, Saks Hair & Beauty, SGL Resourcing Ltd, Tate Recruitment, Calcutta Basserie, DiscountVoucherSite.com.
What is it like being a caller?
Find out more:
