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As college tuition prices soar across Alabama and nationwide, the

UNA Office of Annual Giving has taken creative action in seeking

donations for the general scholarship fund by organizing a

student-run phonathon called Smile and Dial, which recently brought

in $115,780 over a three-week period.

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The Office of Annual Giving employed 34 UNA students to encourage

alumni and friends of the university to donate money toward

scholarships for deserving students. From Oct. 30 to Nov. 18, the

phonathon callers worked seven days a week from 5:45 to 9 p.m. to

give supporters a student’s perspective about UNA and to ask for

monetary donations.

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Director of Annual Giving Melody Stewart said the amount of money

raised in this semester’s phonathon far exceeded the original goal,

which was to bring in around $100,000 total between the fall 2010

and spring 2011 semesters. Last spring, phonathon callers brought

in $58,000, while only $27,000 was raised for scholarships during

the fall 2009 semester.

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“One of my goals this year was to increase the alumni giving

percentage,” Stewart said. “The amount of money our student callers

have raised has blown me out of the water. This amount of funding

allows us to be competitive with other universities and to bring in

top-quality students.”

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UNA switched to a new phonathon service in spring 2010 called

Wilson Bennett Technology. Under the management of phonathon

director Kim Stoutenburg, the student callers underwent a four-hour

mandatory training session, in which they learned the company’s

software, phone script and how to communicate effectively with

alumni.

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UNA junior Devin Kennamer, an integrated communications major, saw

the original job listing on the UNA Facebook page and thought the

phonathon was a good way to get involved on campus as well as gain

experience for his future career.

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“It has been interesting and a lot of fun getting to know the

people I’ve worked with and the people on the phone,” he said.

“It’s been great to be able to talk to alumni and to see what

they’ve been able to do and accomplish since graduation. Doing a

phonathon like this is a great way to build communication skills,

especially over the phone, which is such an important aspect in any

field.”

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According to Stewart, the alumni giving percentage in November 2009

was .94 percent, while this year’s percentage jumped to 3.56

percent this November. She said the amount of alumni giving and

faculty/staff contributions at UNA determines whether corporations

or private foundations give grants to the university.

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