By: Travis Archie
Many students are clueless about the importance of Dialing Dawgs and the Annual Fund.
The Annual Fund falls under Alumni Foundation and they are under the University Advancement. The University Advancement Department is the fundraising arm of Gardner-Webb and receives donations from private investor donors, businesses, and organizations. The University Advancement Department differs from the Annual Fund. University Advancement brings in large amounts of donations that are sent to other areas of the university. The Annual Fund deals with donations that reach to about $5,000.
The Annual Fund is an undesignated amount of money earmarked for a specific project or named scholarship, which is used for the benefit of the students. About 90% of the funds go toward scholarships and the other 10% go toward things such as technology for the classrooms.
Over the past two years the Annual Fund has grown in size said the Director of Annual Giving, Sara McCall. McCall has been the director for the past two years. She also received her MBA from Gardner-Webb.
“I took directorship of the Annual Fund in the spring of 2012. While we did not end that year on a high note we have since seen promising growth. We reduced our costs and increased giving by 12% in 2013 and in 2014 we realized a 13% increase. Our goal this year is to raise 225,000 dollars,” said McCall. “To date, we have 31% of our goal met and have outstanding pledges for another 8%. We are a little behind, but the Dialing Dawgs are back in the call center this week to begin the spring campaign.”
Why donate to the Annual Fund?
“You have invested a lot of your time, energy and money into earning your degree. When you support Gardner-Webb as an alumnus, at any giving level, you are helping to increase your degree equity,” said McCall.
Thanks to the support of Gardner-Webb alumni, the school continues to grow and improve. When the university gets recognized for an achievement in one or more of its academic departments those who have received a degree from Gardner-Webb begin to look better to potential employers.
Who are the Dialing Dawgs ?
Dialing Dawgs are current college students who work Monday –Thursday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. These students take time out of their evening to ask alumni for donations. Melanie Denton said she feels good about getting a new donation. “It helps benefit the students at the university,” said Denton.
Not every person’s phone ends on a good note. Most of the time people do not donate or pick up the phone. “In some cases a few callers were upset with the university and they took it out on me,” said Jessica Hooper, “ I dealt with these incidents with positivity and I did not let it affect me.”
Although this is a job that pays 9 dollars an hour, not every student is in it for the money. “A reason I like to work here is to give back to the university that has given so much to me,” said Jon Urquhart.
Amanda Taylor is the current Floor Manager and has been with the Dialing Dawgs for three years. “I like it. I use to be intimidated by calling and was very shy, but once I got use to calling and talking to people it became easy,” Taylor said. “I would like them to be open to conversation and open to give because they were once a student so they should remember what it was like.”