TELEPHONE FUNDRAISER JOB DESCRIPTION
Background
Exeter began telephone fundraising in October 2002 and since then alumni and friends have
donated over £2 million to the Annual Fund. Last year, over £80,000 was raised for the University
through telephone fundraising.
The aim of the telephone campaign is to contact alumni and friends of the University in order to
get back in touch with them, learn about their experiences at Exeter, share current experiences
of the University and raise money for a variety of projects.
Your role
As a telephone fundraiser, you will be working as part of a team of 50 students, calling alumni
who you have something in common with; for example they may have studied the same course,
lived in the same halls or played the same sport as you at university.
You will be provided with some background information and will then call the alumna/us, build
rapport over the telephone, share experiences, update contact details, talk about recent
developments and successes of the University and tell them about the need for their support.
You will then ask for a donation towards the University.
You will be raising money for the University, providing funding for the Annual Fund, which
supports the student experience at Exeter.
Essential Skills
We look for students with:
 An excellent command of spoken and written English
 A clear telephone manner
 An ability to speak and listen to a variety of people over the telephone
 A naturally outgoing personality and a polite and pleasant manner
 Strong team spirit
 A positive outlook on student life at the University of Exeter and the ability to project a
positive image of the university
 Reliability and accurate time-keeping
 An interest in fundraising
 The self-confidence to ask for donations and to negotiate over the telephone
 The ability to deal with confidential information in a discreet and tactful manner
If selected for one of these positions, you must prove your eligibility to work in the UK.
Applicants must also have studied at Exeter for at least one term prior to applying for this role.
Applications from first year students will not be accepted in the Autumn term.
No former experience of telephone fundraising or sales is required as full training will be provided.
The training aims to provide you with everything you need to know about telephone fundraising –
and don’t worry, most alumni are happy to receive the calls and will be pleased to speak to you.
The training is compulsory. The training will take place on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th October,
10am-4pm, on Streatham campus. You will be required to attend both training days. If you cannot
attend both days, you will not be offered employment.
FAQs
When and where would I work?
Our call room is situated in the GED office in Northcote House, on Exeter’s Streatham campus. The
telethon will run for five weeks, starting on Monday 26th October.
You will be required to work three shifts each week (two evenings and one weekend shift) and
some additional shifts will be available. The team will be split in to two groups and assigned to the
shift patterns below.
Group A
Monday, 6.15pm – 9.30pm
Wednesday, 6.15pm – 9.30pm
Saturday, 10.45am – 5pm
Group B
Tuesday, 6.15pm – 9.30pm
Thursday, 6.15pm – 9.30pm
Sunday, 12.45pm – 7pm
You will be given the opportunity to state which shift pattern you prefer and we will do our best
to organise this.
We will be also calling alumni in the USA, which will require staff to work some late night shifts
(11pm-2am).
What is it like to be part of the telethon team?
The work should be rewarding, challenging and good fun. The team will be in an energetic callroom atmosphere with an enjoyable team spirit. It is a great opportunity to speak to people who
are already successful in your chosen field and find out about how Exeter has helped them on their
journey. You will also be contributing to the development of your University by asking for
donations towards fantastic causes such as our Annual Fund, Scholars’ Fund, Research Fund and
Sports Fund.
You will have strong support via helpful supervision and will be able to gain useful transferable
skills and invaluable work experience for your CV.
How much would I get paid?
We pay our students £7.85 per hour and refreshments are provided during breaks.
We base our campaigns on ethical fundraising, so there are no personal targets to be reached each
week and you will not be paid on commission. There are, however, team targets throughout the
campaign and small prizes and incentives are awarded based on effort and attainment.
Where can I find out more information?
You can visit our web pages:
http://www.exeter.ac.uk/alumnisupporters/giving/theannualfund/
http://www.exeter.ac.uk/alumnisupporters/giving/theannualfund/telethon/
Apply through My Career Zone, or by downloading the application form here.
Alternatively, if you have any questions, please email annualfund@exeter.ac.uk
Comments from previous callers
“…a fantastic opportunity to develop my negotiation skills – very useful preparation for my career
as a barrister!”
“The training was simply excellent, I was quite nervous at the thought of telephoning, so were
many people, but by the end of the sessions I felt ready for almost anything.”
“Great for my CV, friendly atmosphere, new friends and earning money too! If I enjoy my next
part-time job has as much as this one, I’ll be happy!”