Telefund surpasses $5 million mark
Archived article from Oct 7, 2002
By Mark Maben
To some, the goal might have seemed impossible — to take Rutgers' modest telefund and transform it into one of the nation's leading annual giving telephone programs. To Kwi Brennan, director of annual giving, and his team, it was a challenge they eagerly embraced and handily met.
In 2001–02, the Rutgers Telefund became the top-performing public university telefund program in the country, becoming the first school to secure more than $5 million in annual fund pledges. For the year, the telefund had pledges totaling $5.023 million. Six years ago, the phone program garnered just $2 million.
Brennan credits several factors. "We've gotten the message out about Rutgers," he said. "Donors are responding to the important role the annual fund plays in keeping us a leading research university." Well-trained student callers (about 90 at any given time), a new summer calling program, improved efforts to reach first-time donors and support from the highest levels of the university are other reasons for the gains, added Brennan.
The success of the telefund mirrors the overall success of the university's annual giving program, which grew by 28 percent last year to $6.145 million and has seen an 83 percent increase in revenue over the past six years.
"People are always surprised to learn that to earn the same amount of money the annual fund raises each year, an additional $136 million would need to be added to our endowment," noted Brennan. Like the endowment, the annual fund supports just about every facet of the university. "There is a growing awareness that a successful annual fund has a direct impact on the quality of a Rutgers education."
Campaign Update
The Rutgers Campaign: Creating the Future Today continues at a brisk pace. As of Sept. 30, the campaign had raised $443.9 million toward its goal of $500 million. Recent gifts to the campaign include a $1 million pledge from business Professor Emeritus David K. Whitcomb and his wife, Henrietta, to support the Whitcomb Center for Research in Financial Services; $500,000 from James G. Cullen to endow scholarships for Rutgers students from Piscataway High School; and a grant from Verizon to support new programs at the Rutgers Center for Middle Eastern Studies to increase knowledge and understanding in that area. For more information on the campaign, go to www.campaign.rutgers.edu.
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