Phonathon
Pirates connecting to alumni and parents to expand financial access to future pirates.
The first coordinator for Student Senate’s Student-Alumni phonathon Gwen Griffin announced plans for the first phonathon in 1978. On November 28th of that year, students gathered in the Cullen Auditorium to make calls from 7:00 to 9:00PM on 12 phones temporarily set up there. The fundraiser occurred for three days, the last being November 30th.
The plan was for students to call almost a thousand alumni to encourage their participation in the Brown Challenge through tax deductible donations. The committee that was set to help Griffin with the fundraiser established that Southwestern’s Phonathon would be set up similarly to the alumni phonathons that already existed around Texas. Griffin hoped that people would be motivated to continue to call alumni after trying it for a night and connecting with former students and sharing Southwestern stories. At the time, students were needed to make calls, to check and correct information, and sort cards, as well as other additional tasks. Phonathon was a volunteer based program in which the main work was provided by students willing to donate their time to helping the University expand its capacity to provide internal financial aid for a broader range of students.
In 1979, all participants also competed for a grand prize of a five-day paid trip to Vail which was awarded to the two students who collected the highest number of contributions, the two students acquiring the largest amount of money, and one lucky wild card student whose name was pulled out of a hat. Megaphone articles talk about an “air of wild excitement” as people raced around the room and talked to alumni.
Three years later, in 1980, approximately 100 students participated in Student Foundation’s National Alumni Phonathon contacting 5,000 former students to help meet the donation goal of $1,500,000. Student Foundation awarded various door prizes ranging from $2-$50 among the 20 student workers manning the 16 phones and assisting in calculating donations. Throughout the years, Phonathon continued to give student volunteers rewards for their work, some of which included an all-expense-paid cruise from Miami to Nassau, cash money and t-shirts, and dinners with faculty.
In 1985, Phonathon was moved from the Cullen Auditorium to the Mood-Bridwell atrium. Then, in 1997, Phonathon went through a full restructuring. It was during this time that it was decided that donations would be used towards scholarships and financial aid, rather than the general budget fund. Instead of using student volunteers with flexible hours, student workers were required to attend one hour of paid training before they could work the required minimum of four nights during the ten day event. At this time, students were paid in tax free, minimum wage dollars.
As of this writing in 2023, Phonathon occurs year round in the Annual Giving office located on the second floor of Cullen. Jayden Hughes, class of 2021, was first hired as a fundraising assistant during her time as a student. Then, her time as a student employee left her to accept the position to oversee the Phonathon program after graduation. As I listened to her talk about the program, it is clear that the intention and meaning behind phonathon has not changed throughout the years. Phonathon continues to reflect Southwestern's commitment to involve current students in fundraising efforts. The result is that positive, meaningful interactions with alumni and parents emphasize the importance of fundraising for higher education as each student deserves an opportunity to pursue their degree regardless of financial barriers.
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