Telephone Campaign 2026

Tender description

The remit of the Development Office is to strengthen the University’s position at the forefront of teaching, learning, and research by inspiring active participation, investment, and loyalty to St Andrews. We achieve this through fundraising for key University priorities and by developing mutually beneficial relationships with alumni, friends, and benefactors worldwide. Lot 1: The remit of the Development Office is to strengthen the University’s position at the forefront of teaching, learning, and research by inspiring active participation, investment, and loyalty to St Andrews. We achieve this through fundraising for key University priorities and by developing mutually beneficial relationships with alumni, friends, and benefactors worldwide. The Collective Giving team has delivered UK and international telephone campaigns (SaintsCall), contacting parents registered with our Family Programme (current and former) and alumni. These campaigns provide a dual benefit: connecting members of the University community while offering students an enriching experience. Students learn about alumni memories, share current developments at St Andrews, and invite philanthropic support. The programme equips students with valuable skills in philanthropy, communication, and cultural awareness. Calling alumni and parents from different nationalities, students develop confidence in speaking with people they have never met and in asking them to support causes that resonate. These lifelong skills enhance their CVs and future career prospects, making the opportunity an important part of the student experience provided by Collective Giving. Our key drivers require regular support while balancing participation, acquisition, retention, and upgrades, with a strong fundraising focus. At the same time, it is essential that students thank supporters, build meaningful connections, and enjoy genuine conversations. The goodwill generated from these interactions is an invaluable outcome of the campaign. We have trialled a range of calling approaches in terms of duration and segmentation. Given the complexity of our marketplace, we now seek proposals based on a maximum of one campaign per year, scheduled in Spring after exams are completed, lasting 3 weeks, and focused on defined markets. This will simplify training, supervision, payment processes, and time zone management, while also supporting the student experience. St Andrews has a strong international base, with alumni and parents across 140+ countries. We anticipate each donor pool to consist of around 6,000 eligible prospects including both donors and non-donors, as well as parents and alumni. Compliance is critical. Adherence to TPS and UK GDPR legislative requirements has a major impact on our prospect pool, as does the effect of PECR on alumni email communications. Where a third party processes personal data on behalf of the University, contracts must ensure compliance with UK GDPR Article 28, paragraph 3 (a)–(h) and paragraph 4. We would like the flexibility to select requirements on a modular basis, integrating our robust internal systems with the supplier’s expertise. Clarity of roles and responsibilities from the outset is essential. Given the current context, the successful tender must be able to offer (and detail separately) offsite modular-based telethon proposals, alongside onsite, in-person student training. The tender must also provide PCI-compliant payment methods that enable donations from the UK, overseas, and the USA via our American Foundation, and be responsive to evolving circumstances before and during campaigns.