by Stacey Curry
 
     As the donor relations officer in the office of development
     and alumni affairs, Anne Day oversees a group of alumni who
     volunteer their time to "personally ask" other UW graduates
     for donations to the university.
 
          Although this fundraising method has been used for many
     years on a smaller scale, a little more than a year ago a
     full-time position was created to coordinate the volunteer
     canvassers and direct the major alumni gifts program. Day
     landed the new job, and the number of canvassers has since
     swelled from about 20 to approximately 100.
 
          The goal of the program is to cultivate long-term
     relationships for the university. "We want to build good
     will and strengthen the current relationship that we have
     with our alumni," says Day.
 
          She matches each volunteer with four to seven alumni,
     trying pair up people with "as much in common as possible",
     including their degrees and background. Potential donors are
     chosen based on their level of commitment to the university
     and their capability of giving "a little more than the
     average gift".
 
          She consults the donation history of possible givers to
     ensure they haven't recently made a pledge and to evaluate
     how large a donation should be requested.
 
          Last April and May, she organized four training
     sessions for her canvassers to equip them with "background
     on the university, the present campaign, and the alumni
     fund". She also supplies information on the alumni they are
     going to personally visit: "We try to arm them as best we
     can with information."
 
          She encourages and motivates the volunteers and follows
     up with them to make sure all their needs are met. If the
     request is handled well, "the average pledge is much higher
     than your average gift through the Mail Call," says Day,
     referring to UW's chief way of asking alumni for money, a
     program of telephone solicitation.
 
          Day's job also involves recognizing donor
     contributions. "The 'thank you' is very important to our
     donor. We try to say thank you in ways they will
     appreciate." Recognition events for members of the gift
     clubs, like the Waterloo 500 club for alumni who donate $500
     to $999, and donor listings are the main ways contributors
     are recognized.
 
          She says the constant interaction with people makes her
     job rewarding. "I get a real high talking to these alumni --
     they are so positive, they are so committed to what they are
     doing. As a people person, I really enjoy that."
 
          And she says she enjoys working in development and
     alumni affairs because it's "so dynamic -- we have to be
     flexible because we are always responding to the needs of
     our alumni. This is a very, very busy office."
 
          When she is not at work, is an occasional part-time
     student. She began her BA at Trent University, but is
     working towards completing it at UW and becoming an alumnus
     herself. She and her husband both enjoy photography and
     drama and are currently writing a drama program to accompany
     music for their church.