What do you do when you get a call from someone soliciting you for money? Get annoyed and hang up?

The students employed by UD Teleconnect work hard to make sure that is not the case when they make their calls for donations.

"Basically, it's a group of students who call alumni, parents and friends while fostering positive and long-lasting relationships with alumni," Mary Grawe, a senior supervisor at Teleconnect, said.

But as Grawe can attest to, it is much more than just that.

Teleconnect has been in operation since 1986, hiring students to call alumni asking for monetary donations. Since then it has grown to a staff of around 70 callers, with yearly donation goals just over $1 million.

"Annual Giving encompasses Telefund," Kelli Holmes, the assistant director of Annual Giving for UD and current Teleconnect interim manager, said. "We had a goal of $2.5 million in donations for last year, and Telefund brought in over $1 million dollars of that, and has consistently done so for the past five or so years."

UD ranks fourth in donations received from alumni for Catholic Colleges, behind Notre Dame, Georgetown and Boston College, according to Grawe.

But calling alumni is not necessarily about getting a big monetary donation, said Grawe. It's about alumni participation.

"The community aspect of UD carries over to alumni," Grawe said. "Even if they can't give money, they enjoy our phone calls; they enjoy hearing what we have to say."

When talking to alumni on the phone, an important part of each call is building rapport and talking to alumni about things like their experiences with UD.

"Basically, we want our callers to be updated about what's going on here," Mary Orlet, a senior supervisor at Teleconnect said. Teleconnect provides the callers with fact sheets about UD to help them keep alumni informed about current events at the school.

And a lot of times the callers find that the person on the other end just wants to reminisce about UD.

"Most of them just like hearing from you," Jill Robisch, a senior finance major who has been a caller since her freshmen year, said. "My favorite people are the ones who give every year. They know why you are calling, and they ask where you live, what your major is. They have stories galore, and want to know about you too."

The "stories galore" that callers listen to sometimes don't even relate to UD. Once, Grawe talked to a 1939 graduate for around half an hour, discussing his computer problems and the state of the US economy.

"It was awkward and hilarious," Grawe said.

Robisch has even had parents on the line break down crying with worry about freshmen who recently started school.

"One lady said, 'My son doesn't call anymore – can you call him?'" Robisch said.

Orlet has found that calling is also a nice way to network when you have a common major or some other connection with a person.

"Some of my favorite people to talk to are those who have a connection with you, like your major," Orlet said. "They'll want to give you the number of somebody to help you find a job. The alumni really do want to help you."