General Script

I ask all donors for an annual leadership gift. At my last school, that strategy meant starting at a $1,000 to $2,500 ask. Here, it means starting with a $500 to $1,000 ask. We use a ladder down negotiation technique.

I've found this works much better. For example, only loosely instituting the high ask and ladder down negotiation (it was new to the callers and I wanted to break them into it softly), resulted in a 66% increase in donors and a 122% increase in dollars during the spring calling program.

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Meghan McGeary, Director of Development at Vermont Land Trust

Meghan McGeary is the Director of Development at Vermont Land Trust. She began her career at her alma mater, University of Pittsburgh, where she first served as a TeleFund supervisor, then the Manager of the Direct Mail and Faculty/Staff Campaigns, and finally as the Manager of Annual Leadership Programs ($1,000 to $100,000) before heading to New Hampshire as the Annual Giving Coordinator at Plymouth State University.

Athletics - Athletics Appeal
Note: The individual team mailings were written by the team coaches at Plymouth State University.
Good example of synergy between development and athletics.
Football, Football Pledge Card, Men's Basketball, Men's Ice Hockey, Men's Lacrosse, Pledge Card, Softball,
Volleyball, Women's Basketball Pledge Form, Women's Lacrosse
Caller Incentives - Monthly Incentive Structure
Direct Mail - Acquisition Letter, Extra Gift Card, Lapsed Fall Donors, Pledge Card, Spring Appeal Card, Window Carrier
Hiring - Telemarketing Recruitment Advertisements
Membership - Renewal Card
New Donor Packet - Envelope, Insert 1, Insert 2, Insert 3, Thank You Folder, New Donor Letter
Policies - Confidentiality Agreement
Renaming the Annual Fund - Text for Alumni Magazine
Scripts - Answering Machine, General
Things Your Learned at Telefund
Training Materials - FERPA Quiz, Training Manual