Even after students graduate and move on to their professional endeavors, the University aims to keep in contact with the alumni.

This is done through a variety of ways, including mail and email. Alumna Paige Huber, who graduated last May, said she has received two types of emails.

The content of one of the emails is “mostly just about new things going on at the school” and the other simply asks to keep contact information up to date, Huber said.

For alumni who have been away from the University for a longer period of time, the contact may include donation inquiries in the form of mail as well as through phone calls.

Alumna Auna Rickman and alumnus Mikey Vernau both said that they regularly receive mail and phone calls from the University with regards to whether they would like to donate.

“I just don’t answer,” said Rickman, who has no intention of donating to the University at this time.

Nevertheless, the University’s “phone-athon” service does have a substantial success rate of donations by telephone.

The phone service, called RuffaloCody, currently employs 40 students who place the calls to alumni. These calls begin about one year after a student graduates.

Courtney Sibiga, program center manager for the fundraising management division, said that the call program raises “just under a million dollars each year.”

Since July, RuffaloCody has raised $526,000. Sibiga said that money from donors goes toward scholarships and other resources on campus.

The callers at RuffaloCody are trained on ways to carry out effective and pleasant phone calls. Throughout a call, the employees may ask the alumni about their time at the University while sharing their own experience.

Both parties realize how unique their experiences are compared to one another’s.

The employees are trained to ask each person to donate three times throughout the phone call. If a person agrees to donate, this is called a “pledge.” Pledges may be fulfilled on the spot by using a credit card, or may be paid at a later time.

Sibiga said that so far this year, 70 percent of pledges have been fulfilled and of the 32,300 contacted, 5,830 have agreed to donate.

Some alumni may view the phone calls as a hassle or annoyance and as a result may be taken off of the call list. However, Sibiga said that the goal of the company is not just to collect money.

It also gives former students a time to think about the University and the time they spent there while having the chance to give back if they choose to.

“Your money is helping,” Sibiga said, “I don’t think alumni ever hear that message.”