Call Center

Call Center


Overview

Calling is easy. Staying motivated is hard.

That is precisely why dynamic leadership in a campaign’s call center can make or break the entire fundraising effort. 

In order to effectively motivate callers, the call center managers need to do more than just manage; they need to lead. Especially when the biggest fear- rejection - is always one “no” away, creating an atmosphere of positivity, reassurance, and camaraderie will remove any limits as to what your call center can achieve.

Physical Location

It is crucial that the location of the call center is suitable for your particular fundraiser. 
  1. Accessible - Your location should have a parking lot and/or nearby public transportation  
  2. Central - Your location should either be in or near the institution you are supporting, your constituents, or a place where a large base of volunteers can be found
  3. Just right - If your space is too small, it will be hot and crowded; if it's too big, it will feel empty, which can hurt morale

Atmosphere

Aside from physical size, decorations and set-up are important to the motivation of the staff. It is important to make the call center feel warm, upbeat, and show that everyone is working together. Details like decorations, balloons, signs and refreshments go a very long way to achieve these impressions.

Stations

In order to work as a team, the physical set-up of the volunteers will be crucial. They need to be able to work independently while feeling apart of something greater. Making stations will not only help them feel apart of a larger team, it will also help them when they run into questions or technical difficulties. 

In the center of the room, we have the Call Center- This is where most of the volunteers are sitting together calling donors. 

Around the Call Center, you will need 
  1. The HQ Managers’ station: This is the epicenter of the operations. Here, the HQ manager can do what they do best: lead, motivate, and SUCCEED! 
  2. INFO Station - Where all the forms that volunteers may need are located
  3. Online station - Where credit card donations are brought to be entered into the main campaign page
  4. Offline station  - Where cash, checks or other, non-CC donations are processed on the dashboard
  5. Courier station -  Where physical donations (check/cash/etc) are arranged for pick up
  6. Fixes & Edits station - Where donations that had errors are fixed. (ex: wrong amount, deleting a duplicate donation, etc.)
  7. Call-Back station: This station will take care of donors that experienced issues with their donations (ex: credit card didn't go through)
    *We have special forms for this station.
  8. WhatsApp station (optional) - This station is for those who would like to spread their fundraising efforts to their WhatsApp contacts
  9. Media Station (optional)- Where volunteers can see if they have met their personal goals. If they have, here is where they can INCREASE their goals, too, for greater impact!

Volunteers

Ready to recruit? One of your key tasks is to encourage people to volunteer for a call center shift (preferably two hours) to make calls to either their own lists of potential donors or to current supporters of the organization. No callers = no calls = no donations.

Management

It cannot be overstated that having the right people managing and running the call center is fundamental to your success. This person must be a leader but also must be organized, focused, calm under pressure, and able to execute on numerous fronts at the same time, including managing volunteers, technology, logistics, food, donors, etc.

This person should NOT be the organization's campaign manager (as your campaign manager likely needs to be on the phone calling bigger donors). If you are running a mega campaign with multiple call centers, please check out the document called ‘Leadership Structure for Mega Campaign with Peer-to-Peer Fundraising as the Main Driver.’

Logistics

All the details matter. From food to phones, from wifi to bathrooms, your call center should be well organized. Feed your volunteers so they have the energy and stamina to keep calling people. Make sure the wifi or wired internet connection is up to par. See our accompanying document and checklist on call center setup and logistics for more details.

Materials

Confirm that all the necessary print materials are available to volunteers working the phones so that they know what to do, how to do it, and when. Please see the folder with Call Center Materials for Volunteers for examples of documents that can be used and/or modified for your specific campaign.

Call Center Checklist

  1. Choose a proper, relevant, and convenient location as your central hub, headquarters (HQ) for the campaign day. It should have a large room, depending on the number of donors/volunteers/staff.
  2. Ensure this location has wifi and great cellular reception.  
  3. Organize computers and accessories for the call center including a telephone system (could include dialing software). We can put you in touch with a computer rental company in Israel for additional resources such as laptops, etc.
  4. Arrange for screens and projectors for campaign page link distribution.
  5. Arrange food and drinks with a proper coffee corner for volunteers.
  6. Decorate with balloons, signs, etc.
  7. Pump out upbeat music through a good sound system.
  8. Organize a celebration for the end of the campaign that should begin as the campaign ends (at the HQ location). We have seen this event will motivate your volunteers. Please notify the volunteers far in advance that there will be a party to incentive and encourage them!
  9. Make booths/stations in the call center e.g. multiple desks with laptops and phones on top. Such stations will include offline donation station, online donation station, etc.as we indicted.
  10. Manage your volunteers according to our recommended guidelines including information like when they should arrive, etc.
  11. It's important to have extra office supplies:
    1. Printer
    2. Packs of pens
    3. Envelopes
    4. Markers
    5. Tape
    6. Boxes to sort donations at the Donation Sorting Station with signs for each box saying "CASH,"  "CHECKS," "BANK TRANSFERS," and "CREDIT CARD"
    7. Safety deposit box for money (optional)
    8. Calculators




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