It's a wrap!

The final calls of the spring 2008 telethon were made on Thursday 13 March when a ‘wrap party’ and prize-giving ceremony was held to celebrate the end of the campaign and to reward some of the campaign's top callers.

We met with Telethon Manager, Heather Campbell, to find out what has contributed to the campaign’s success, how the work of the telethon aids the work of the Office of Alumni and Development as a whole, and to get an update on plans for future campaigns.

How would you sum up the spring 2008 campaign? Are you pleased with how it has gone?

Yes, I’m very pleased. So far we have raised over £61,500 from 452 donors, with an extra £25,000 in outstanding specified pledges. It has been a really great start to the year!

The great thing about the telethon is that the totals raised just keep increasing year on year. We are able to bring back a lot of previous donors and introduce many new donors too. Our student callers have all done really well.

A prize-giving ceremony was held on the last night on the campaign. Can you tell us a bit more about this?

Each week the callers have a different task, from acquiring the most email addresses, business details, new addresses and telephone numbers to getting the most gifts or pledges. The winner of each task receives a prize, all of which are donated by local supporting businesses. This year, we have support from companies such as Wagamama, Pizza Hut and John Lewis.

The callers’ performance in the weekly tasks directly feeds into their points on the campaign leader board. Prizes for those at the top of the leader board are awarded at the end of the telethon.

How important is the support that the campaign receives from local businesses?

We couldn’t do without it. We are reliant on the prizes that local businesses can offer, whether it be vouchers for meals or discount vouchers, every little helps and makes a big difference to our callers.

The students work so hard behind the scenes and are instrumental in the success of the Annual Fund. It is vital for them to know that their efforts are appreciated.

Why do you think this kind of competition element important?

It brings a sense of fun to the call room. Each caller can see how they and the other callers are doing, so it introduces an element of healthy competition. Imperial students are naturally quite competitive so I think they really thrive in that environment. It also recognises the achievement of the callers and is a way of saying thank you to them for their hard work and effort.

How have the callers responded?

They seem to have really enjoyed it. Each of the tasks give an overview of what the callers should be looking to get out of each call, be it updating contact details, obtaining new contact details or taking gifts and pledges. I think it helps to give the callers a realistic focus and realistic targets to achieve, and of course they appreciate the rewards.

The call room always has a great atmosphere. There is a great sense of teamwork amongst the callers and we are very lucky to have to some really dedicated and hard-working students.

What are the main aims of the telethon and does the campaign benefit other areas of the Office of Alumni and Development?

The aims are two-fold; to raise money for the Annual Fund and to build relations with our alumni. Our callers send out a thank you card to each and every alumnus that they speak to, regardless of whether they have made a donation or not. This can sometimes help to encourage donations, but even when it doesn’t it’s a good way for us to say thank you to our alumni for taking the time to speak to us.

It is important for us to remember that current students are our future alumni. The telethon recruits current students and gives them an inside look at the College, how the Office of Alumni and Development works, the events that we run for our alumni, and also gives them personal experience of the Annual Fund, the projects we raise money for and why we need the support of our alumni.

Collecting updated data and new contact details from alumni impacts directly on many of our alumni relations initiatives as well as future fundraising programmes and we want to be able to keep in touch and stay connected with as many of our former students as possible.

Do you have any plans for future telethons?

We want to build on the competition element amongst the callers and also expand our supporting businesses. This seems to have worked really well this year. The next campaign will be in the autumn when we will be expanding our reach and calling outside of Europe for the first time, contacting alumni in the USA and Canada.

To find out more about the telethon, or if you are a local business interested in supporting the next campaign, click here.