The College of Business Administration and Florida International University (FIU) Annual Giving Center recently joined forces to conduct a phone campaign reaching out to alumni with requests to support the college’s Student Enhancement Fund.
The result? The center—where FIU students are on the phones—reached out to more than 3,500 college alumni. To date, the effort has raised more than $35,000 from more than 600 donors.
Annabelle Rojas (MBA ’98, BBA ’87), assistant dean, Department of Advancement, Alumni and Corporate Relations, and Reena Ramnarine (MBA ’11, BBA ’06), director, Office of Annual Giving, shared insights on what made this a successful fundraising campaign.
“We identified an area where we believed alumni would most want to contribute and where students would reap the most benefit,” Rojas said. “The Student Enhancement Fund was a logical choice. It’s the fund we tap into to support student initiatives—from scholarships and professional enrichment to sending students to conferences and competitions.”
According to Ramnarine, this campaign was the first to reach out to the college’s greater alumni community via phone calls only.
“The students made a direct connection with the alumni they spoke to by offering specific details on the activities and accomplishments of the Student Enhancement Fund,” she said.
Small donations added up quickly.
“We contacted many alumni who had never donated to the college before and their average gift was $53,” Ramnarine said. “The average donation for the overall phone campaign was $58. The highest individual donation was $500.”
Rojas expressed appreciation for the generosity of the alumni.
“This campaign demonstrated that there is more passionate support out there for the college than we can imagine.”
College shows its appreciation—in a very sweet way.
During the campaign, the center’s student staff walked in one evening to find decorations, cookies and a “thank you” delegation from the college to cheer on their fundraising efforts.
“This was a first!” Ramnarine said.
Rojas added that this was a “tangible way to recognize what we see as the beginning of a great partnership with the Annual Giving Center.”
