Portland State Magazine Fall 2009

Class of $20.09 WHEN PSU TELEFUND student managers Zack Smith and Maggie Serpa first sketched our last spring's senior gift campaign, they felt confident that despite the rough eco– nomic times they could bear campaign results from 2008. They doubled it. "We were amazed," says Smith. "The campaign brought in $6,000 last year. We knew we could do better, but $ 12,000 was a way bigger stretch than we imagined." What made the difference? A student-driven campaign with a purpose graduates could personally identify with. Students Maggie Serpa and Zack Smith led a team that successfully called 3,000 graduates this spring asking them to give to a student emergency fund. 22 PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE FALL 2009 Smith, Serpa, and their team reached our to their peers by phone, through Facebook, and at campus activities, asking them to participate with a gift to the Emergency Scholarship Fund for students with exceptional need. "People know how hard it is to pay for school right now, so rhey could relate to a request to support scholarships," says Smith. "Ir was something they could really get behind." SERPA CREATED a Facebook page, and the team invited as many Portland State students as they could to be fans-even if they weren't yet graduating. "Our idea was to pave the way for next year, or the one after that," says Smith. "We wanted to spread awareness about giving to PSU in a place students see every day," adds Serpa. The Facebook page included a photo book, "The Adven– tures of Victor E. Viking," as well as an online contribution link and a chance to win a new iTouch in exchange for pro– viding contact information. Facebook event invites alerted students to follow-up phone calls from the student Telefund. "We had five specially trained callers who were comfort– able asking their peers to give," Smith notes, "and over three weeks we called every student who'd signed up to graduate– about 3,000." The campaign emphasized participation over dollars, sug– gesting a contribution of $20.09, but encouraging graduat– ing students to give at any level they could afford. "I heard callers saying things like, 'Can you give even $10-ir's what you might spend on pizza one night.' Or, ' I could only give $ 10, bur a lot of others are doing $20.09.' We were surprised at how many people did that," says Smith. Their success in 2009 inspires Smith, Serpa, and their ream to reach even higher in 2010, which will be their own graduation year. "We want to add an event for all graduating students to celebrate and kick off the campaign-maybe a barbecue or student band concert," Smith suggests, adding with a smile, "o r maybe a dunk rank if we can get a dean or professor to go along with it." ■ BY KATRINA RATZL A FF LEARN MORE ABOUT THE IMPACT OF GIFTS TO PSU. Visit www.pdx.edu/giving.