Featured Testimonial About Creighton University
Now that I’m part of Phonathon, I’m starting to understand how it all works, how things are paid for. It makes me not only want to tell more people about the importance of giving but also to give what I can to these programs and parts of campus.
Five nights a week in a windowless room in the Old Gym, a few dozen students make phone calls to Creighton alumni across the country and help raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for the University.
Between making calls, the Creighton Phonathon students get to know each other and, when time permits, make crafts to hang on the walls. The DIY décor really livens up the place.
In the world of higher ed, phone programs are struggling. Some are calling them quits altogether. Stanford University, for instance, announced the end of its phone program in 2016.
Yet Creighton Phonathon is doing better than ever. For four consecutive years, the program has increased the amount of funds it’s raised for the University. This year, Phonathon hopes to meet its goal of $625,000 in annual donations — with thousands of individual gifts going toward scholarships, classroom essentials and more.
The secret to Creighton Phonathon’s success is the tremendous student callers, says Mason Harmon, assistant director of Annual and Student Giving, and the director of Creighton Phonathon.
“Working here, they become fantastic communicators and problem-solvers,” Harmon says. “There’s a script for their calls, but they make that script their own. They tell their story, and they connect with alumni. They’re a great group.”
We spoke with a few student callers about their time at Phonathon, the importance of giving back to the University, and the best (and worst) calls they’ve made.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WITH CREIGHTON PHONATHON?
Kiara Mills
Sophomore in the Heider College of Business, softball team member
“This is my first year, so since August.”
ELLIE ROMMELFANGER
Junior majoring in sociology, regular volunteer for the SCSJ
“This is my first year.”
DAVIS SUNDERLAND
Sophomore in the Heider College of Business, active in Greek life
“It’s my second year.”
PATRICK FENNER
Senior majoring in theology, with plans to become a Jesuit
“Fourth semester.”
WHY DID YOU WANT TO WORK AT CREIGHTON PHONATHON?
Patrick: I had a couple friends who did it, and they told me it’s a really fun place to work. The hours are nice, and it’s a great atmosphere.
Ellie: I benefit from scholarships, and I thought that I could talk to possible and past donors pretty well about why they should give. I have a lot of great things to say about Creighton. Creighton has done so much for me, and I would like to help other students in as many ways as I can.
Davis: I really went into this job not knowing what it was exactly. (Laughs) But once I got here and started learning some of the statistics — like how two out of every five students wouldn’t be able to attend Creighton without scholarships — I really bought into the mission of giving back to Creighton. Because I’m a student who wouldn’t be at Creighton without my scholarships. They were the deciding factor in me coming to the University.
HOW DID YOUR FIRST FEW PHONATHON CALLS GO?
Kiara: My very first call was nerve-racking. I didn’t want to choke on my words or say them too fast. I was shaky at first, but I got more comfortable as I kept talking. We’re trained really well before we make our first official call.
Davis: My first call I ever made as a Phonathon caller, I was so nervous that I couldn’t even read the words in front of me. I was talking to a woman, and I just hesitated and paused every few words. And then I heard a guy on the other line ask his wife, “Honey, who is it?” And she said, “I think it’s just a robot.” And she hung up on me. (Laughs) It was that bad. But after a month, I was off script and talking about my own experience.
Ellie: It’s more fun after you’re more comfortable because then you can just add your own spice to the phone calls.
Patrick: I was pretty nervous my first call. But it gave me the confidence to make that second call and that third call and then make that 500th call. You build confidence every time you talk to someone. You can be more natural. It’s becomes less “Here’s what I need to tell you,” and more of a conversation.
WHAT ARE THE BEST CALLS YOU’VE HAD?
Ellie: One of my favorite calls was with an alumna who had these amazing stories about the way things used to be and what campus used to look like. She lives down in Arizona and hasn’t been able to come to a lot of alumni programs because she’s older, and it’s hard for her to travel. But she was so excited to share her memories with me and hear about my experiences. We talked for like 30 minutes.
Davis: I ended up calling a guy who goes to my church. We talked about his time at Creighton. He wasn’t really a man of faith before he came to Creighton, but the education really piqued his interest. He studied theology here and continued to study afterwards and then got involved with the faith community. It was really cool to make that connection and hear how that theology class at Creighton ended up impacting his life.
Kiara: I had a conversation with a Creighton parent recently where we were talking about his son. His son is a sophomore here, and we talked about how he’s going through a really tough time but how Creighton has been awesome for him. How his son has access to resources and programs on campus that can help him. He’s benefiting from some of the things we’re helping raise money for, and it’s really reassuring to know that what we’re doing is impacting this student’s life in a meaningful way.
Patrick: So, I called this guy, and he was in his car, and I was thinking, “Oh shoot, he doesn’t want to talk right now.” But he was on a four-hour drive, and he was happy to talk. We had a really good conversation and talked about how he was invested in Creighton. At the end of the call, he made a monetary pledge to the University, and then he was like, “What if I also threw in a car?” He owns a car dealership and gave Creighton a car to auction off. That one caught me off guard.
CAN YOU SEE YOURSELF IN THE SHOES OF THESE ALUMNI SOMEDAY? WHEN YOU’RE THE ONES GETTING A CALL FROM CREIGHTON PHONATHON?
Ellie: Oh, for sure
Davis: Absolutely
Ellie: I always think about how I’m going to answer the phone when I finally get the call and what I’m going to say.
Davis: Yep
Ellie: I’m going to be nice.
Kiara: It would be surreal. I might give the caller a hard time at first. But in the end, we would have a great conversation, and I would definitely be giving to Creighton.
Davis: We actually have a call list of all the ex-Phonathon employees. When we call anyone who used to work here, they always pick up the phone. Sometimes they give us a hard time. Sometimes they say, “Yeah, I know why you’re calling. Let’s roll.”
ALRIGHT, SAY I’M AN ALUM. YOU’RE CALLING ME. I ANSWER. WHAT DO YOU SAY?
Davis: First, I would just ask you, “Do you give regularly?”
LET’S SAY NO.
Davis: I would try and talk to you about your experience and relate a little bit about my own, and hopefully make a connection between your experience at Creighton and what’s going on here now. I would ask you about anything you really enjoyed while you were in college. I’d talk about the projects and developments that are enhancing the value of your degree, and how they wouldn’t be possible without the help of generous alumni supporters like yourself.
Patrick: You want to make it relevant to who you’re talking to. A donor who graduated from the dental school might not care that we’re renovating Harper, but the guy who studied four years of finance will. That means something to him.
DO YOU FEEL LIKE WORKING AT PHONATHON CHANGES YOUR VIEWS ON GIVING? GIVING TO CREIGHTON AND GIVING IN GENERAL?
Kiara: Now that I’m part of Phonathon, I’m starting to understand how it all works, how things are paid for. It makes me not only want to tell more people about the importance of giving but also to give what I can to these programs and parts of campus. And it’s made me more into giving in general, giving back to the community, too.
Patrick: The thing it really shows you is you don’t have to give a million dollars or $10 million dollars to make a difference. In reality, you can give $10 to Creighton, and we’ll send it to whatever college or organization or activity that you want. And you know that your gift, whatever the size, is going to make an impact in something you really care about. And you can do that right now, and you can make a difference.
CREIGHTON PHONATHON STUDENTS ARE AMONG THE UNIVERSITY’S MOST GENEROUS, WITH 94% OF CALLERS MAKING A GIFT WHILE THEY’RE STILL ATTENDING CREIGHTON.
