USU Phonathon exempt from no-call list
Utah State University’s phone solicitation for donations will not be negatively affected by the no-call list, USU administrators say.
President George W. Bush signed a bill Monday giving the Federal Trade Commission power to oversee a list of people who cannot legally be contacted by telemarketers, effective today.
About 40 students are employed by USU’s phonathon, where they call USU alumni and ask for financial donations. The funds go towards scholarships and colleges with the greatest need.
The phonathon is not considered telemarketing, said Joyce Albrecht, assistant vice president of university advancement, because USU has a relationship with the people on the call list. Albrecht said she does not expect to see a negative impact from the no-call list.
“In fact, our donations are up considerably,” Albrecht said. “The size of contributions are going up and we picked up a lot of new donors [this year].”
USU Phonathon Manager Lucia Rhodes said the phonathon is excluded from the no-call list along with other non-profit organizations, but telemarketers are arguing the ruling is discriminatory on that basis.
“But even in the First Amendment, certain types of speech are more protected than other types,” Rhodes said. “The FTC is saying the rights of non-profits are stronger and more compelling [than telemarketers’].”
The phonathon raised around $400,000 last year, Rhodes said. Rhodes and Albrecht said the alumni enjoy talking to the students who call them, which contributes to the success of the program.
“{Student callers] have an opportunity to talk about what they’re doing and the importance [alumni] support makes in their lives, if they’re getting scholarship support from these donors,” Albrecht said.
Rhodes said the office also sends postcards to the alumni to inform them they will be contacted by phone.
“We’ve prepared our callers if questions arise about the do not call registry and our exclusion from it,” Rhodes said.
She said in four and a half weeks of calling this year, no one has asked about the list.