development
Fundraising Ministry
BY AMY MEVERDEN
T
wice a year in the evenings a group of students swarm the administrative offices on campus eager to call alumni/ae and friends of Union, asking for updates, stories about Union’s glory days, and to chat about the annual fund. As the name suggests, the Fundraising Ministry is more than simply a fundraising drive. Students actively connect with alumni/ ae, updating records, recording both humorous and meaningful stories of life at Union, hearing about the vocational journeys of life post-Union, and adding alumni/ae to the Union prayer list for various needs. The Fundraising Ministry was created by Union alumnus Rich Montone ’08 in 2005 under the leadership of President Hough as a response to Union’s financial crisis at the time. Montone organized this student-led initiative to call alumni/ae
It’s annual fun to see the trepidation of first time callers rapidly change to energy and enthusiasm. They relax with the warmth they receive from alumni/ae as they share their stories and listen to stories of Union in another time.” — Kevin McGee, Director of Special Events and the Annual Fund and raise funds to help keep Union moving. The success of this initiative was immediately apparent, as proceeds increased with each successive phonathon. In 2008 Yvette Wilson ’09 took over as the head of the Fundraising Ministry, followed by Laurel Koepf ’08, ’12 in 2009. In 2011, Fundraising Ministry Manager Janelle Stanley ’12 converted the paper call sheets to a computerized database system, saving reams of paper, loads of time, and streamlining the process by which data is recorded and analyzed. Currently, I co-manage the team with fellow current Ph.D. student Jason Wyman. Together we envision ways to increase outreach and efficiency in cooperation with members of the offices of development and advancement, including Director of Special Events and the Annual Fund, Kevin McGee; Director of Institutional Advancement, Melissa Fuest; and Director of Data and Records Management, Luke Henderson. The donations raised by the phonathon go into the annual fund, which supports the students and operations of the seminary at large. A typical night at Fundraising Ministry begins—as all things should—with snacks! Fundraising Ministers arrive early in the evening, greeted by dancing French Bulldog and current phonathon mascot, Giorgio. The team checks in and we determine a nightly prize to help ministers set goals for their evening calls. Prizes in the past include: most money raised, best Reinhold Niebuhr/Paul Tillich story, greatest number of credit card
donations, and most specified pledges. Callers disperse to various work stations located in administrative offices. After calling Eastern and Central time zones, we break for a family-style dinner, which is always lively as students share various alumni/ ae stories of beloved professors, student pranks, and love at first sight in the Hastings dorms. Ministers then finish calling Mountain and Pacific time zones. At the end of the night, work stations are tidied, numbers are tallied, the night’s prize winner is selected, thank you notes are written, and students organize pledge slips and correspondence, usually ending the night just before midnight. At the end of the most recent phonathon, President Jones generously invited the Fundraising Ministry team to her home for a pizza party to celebrate the hard work and accomplishments of the drive. Before moving into a co-manager position in 2012, I began as a Fundraising Minister in my first year of the Ph.D. program in 2009-2010. I remember feeling very nervous about asking people for money, but what I discovered was that this job is not just about “the ask.” I was being ministered to by alumni/ae who cared about me as a student, wanted to hear what I was studying, were curious to know if we lived in the same room in Hastings Hall, asked for my opinion on a Greek parsing for a Bible study, and took a moment to pray for me and my journey at Union. I was so blown away by those precious moments when I was not just connecting with a Union alum, but with a minister, a chaplain, a therapist, a professor, an organist, an advocate, an artist, a spouse/partner who took the time to enter back into Union by serving, in turn, a current Union student with words of encouragement and solidarity. By entering into the lives and stories of the alumni/ae who have gone before, I am inspired, encouraged, and renewed to stay the course and make the most of my Union experience. I am also inspired to give my share to Union when I graduate, having seen the culture of generosity set in place by generations and generations of Union alumni/ae. Kevin McGee, who graciously allows us to invade his office for our base of Fundraising Ministry operations gives the following reflection: “It’s annual fun to see the trepidation of first time callers rapidly change to energy and enthusiasm. They relax with the warmth they receive from alumni/ae as they share their stories and listen to stories of Union in another time. Every once in a while a student will talk to a writer or professor or preacher they’ve been studying and they bask in the exchanged words. They also receive courage from talking with folks who have been in their shoes and have lived long and well while following challenging principles. I think they also reflect on the time in the future when their phone will ring and wonder who is on the line.” So when your phone rings in January or June, it might be a friendly (and possibly nervous) Fundraising Minister, who would love to hear a meaningful Union memory and have just a few minutes of your time. We do hope you’ll pick up the phone!
union now | summer 2013
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