617-292-7701

Here's all of Telefund's numbers if you'd like to give them a taste of their own medicine...

Telefund National Client Services:
1532 N. Milwaukee Ave, Suite #206
Chicago, IL  60622
(773) 486-6637

If you are interested in talking with Telefund about any of our pricing packages or services, please drop us a note at info@telefund.com.

Call Centers:

205-209 West 9th St, Suite #220
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 916-4001

59 Temple Place, Suite #442
Boston, MA 02111
(617) 292-7700

1888 Sherman St, Suite #210
Denver, CO 80203
(303) 894-0456

3550 Wilshire Blvd, Suite #1260
Los Angeles, CA 90010
(213) 487-9500

15 W. Figueroa St, 2nd floor
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
(805) 564-1093

Payroll:
Nicole Lane, Payroll Administrator
(303) 293-2727, extension 303

For those of you who have time, keep calling them back and play songs into their voice mail on your free minutes.  They will have to stop sooner or later.  I have no problems with them calling, however, they've called me for weeks and hang up each time I picked up the phone.

The last time something like this happened was about 10 yrs ago, I did the same thing to their phone # and they stopped.

The reason they are not picking up is because they use a program to call, but lots of time when you pick up, there isn't an available rep to talk to you.  They need to stop this practice.

Finally talked to someone supposely from WNET falsely claiming to have proof that we donated to WNET (public TV) previously -- we never did.  

Have since blocked calls from this number.

'unknown name' calls several times a day.  I don't answer..they leave no message but keep calling.

I've worked as a non-profit telephone fundraiser for a couple of years.

A few things to keep in mind:

1. Non-profits don't receive the National Do Not Call List. They are exempt from this list, because we're not trying to sell you car warranties or kitchen knives. We're generally asking for donations that will go towards something good--like passing legislation to cut global warming emissions, or make sure same-sex couples have the same rights that heterosexual couples do.

2. We only call numbers that are GIVEN to us by people who sign up as members. If you don't want to be called, don't give out your phone number.

3. We have a Do Not Call list of our own. If you want to be put on that, just ask the caller nicely. If someone answers the phone screaming at me, there's no way I'm doing them any favors. They'll be called again. If you want to be let in on a little secret though, the easiest way to get off the list is to simply tell us we have the wrong number, or that the person they are looking for died. 99% of the time, no questions are asked. It's the quickest way to get off the phone and the call list.

4. Credit cards are preferred when you make a donation simply because it a.) cuts down on the amount of paperwork the organization has to produce, which obviously saves some trees and puts more of your donation where it matters--to the cause you're supporting, and b.) is a much quicker, more reliable way of getting money.
People say they'll send money all the time but many forget to. If you don't want to give your cc information out, the caller can always send a pledge packet with a SASE. The only thing you'll need to do is say what you might be able to give (REQUIRED in order to receive a packet--I know it's dumb but I don't make the rules, and neither does anyone that's calling you--so if you really have no idea, just say 10 bucks. You're more than welcome to contribute more than what you originally pledge) and let us know that you'll send it back in two weeks. Or a month, if you need more time.

5. I get "We don't take phone solicitations" about 100 times a day, but no one has ever given me a good reason as to why they are so opposed to phone solicitations. Do me a favor and think about it. Like I said before, we can send out pledge packets so we don't need you to give us your cc info. We already have your name and address, so we won't be asking you for that either. So what is it? You don't want to make a promise you might not be able to keep? If you support the cause and you're fairly certain you'll be able to spare 10 bucks or more in the next couple of weeks (I'm a recent college graduate with a mountain of debt living on minimum wage and I can spare 10 bucks if the cause is important) just pledge the 10 bucks. What's the big deal?

6. Yes, we interrupt you when you're busy. But so does almost anyone that calls you. Friends and family members call you unplanned, but do you freak out at them and tell them that you're "very busy" in a tone implying that they should have a copy of your personal schedule etched into their brain? No? Well what the [***]? I know we're strangers, but we're not trying to do horrible things to you. We're just fundraising for nonprofit organizations who are trying to get financial backing to do the things they do. Let me put it in perspective for you: there are millions of people dying because their healthcare sucks. When I'm calling on behalf of a group like DNC that's trying to change that, it really pisses me off when people act like I'm trying to ruin their lives by calling them.

7. We're trying to make a living like everyone else. Because we work for nonprofits, we only make minimum wage, but I'd rather do this than work some meaningless job that I have no interest in. In order to keep our jobs as fundraisers, however, we have to pull our own weight and make quotas. Look, if you can't make a donation at all, fine, but it really sucks when you've spent time talking to someone and they want to donate but say they'll "just do it online" because they "don't like to do things over the phone," because, guess what? No credit for you on that pledge.

8. If you ignore the calls and don't pick up, the automatic dialer keeps calling you back until you answer. Yeah, it's a pretty stupid machine and if I were in charge I'd definitely make the calling much less frequent. But like I said, no one calling you has made the rules on this stuff.

9. We're not machines for you to unleash your anger on. We're people, even if you can't see us on the other line. I'm continually amazed at the way people behave towards me when they have no idea who I am and they can't see my face--it's really kind of depressing. It seems sometimes like we're just angry, selfish, paranoid animals. I like to think that people have more inherent grace and altruism than that.

THANK YOU!
people complain and complain but here is something we can do.
If we fill out these quick complaint forms, they can go after these people and fine them-I think it's $10, 000.00 per call. So if 5 of us complain, that would be 50,000.00.

HAve called me twice and left no messages, hear some sounds in the background.  Both times while at work.  Wish I could block or report them.

Got a call today. Has been calling the last 3 days.

They have called me SEVEN times in the last month (from November third to today). I am a student and everytime was during class; that gets ME in trouble. They don't leave messages and the one time I answered all I heard was a decidely human voice that said YOU CAN in a very hesitant manner and then the hang up sound.
I tried calling them back and got the message saying that their inbox is too full and that they can't accept mew messages at this point.
By the way, Telefund (this number) assists/represents several non-profit organizations like ACLU, ASPCA and others.

Nov 20 09 5:57 pm received a call, they didn't leave a message.  first time they called me

This number keeps calling my cell phone everyday, think it's a marketer.

They call very often... sometimes 3 times a day.  They never leave a message but just hang up.  Should not be calling because number is on the DO NOT CALL list but they continue to call.

I have found this number on my caller ID.  No message on my answering machine.  If this is a fundraising effort, it is a bad one.

To Sandy, the telephone solicitor: you're eloquent and thank you for the good information in your post (like that fund-raisers have a separate DNC list), but sorry, no sympathy for you if people are angry when you call them.  Just because we donate to what we consider a good cause that doesn't mean that all "good" causes should have carte blanche to call us, and just because our FRIENDS and FAMILY have the right to call us without regard to how busy we are doesn't mean that some random stranger does.  Are you equally cavalier about having your own phone (or doorbell) rung by solicitors at random times?

You may not set up the policies, but you are the face of the company and you are the agent that does the direct intruding into our homes.  If you cannot politely cope with people's sometimes angry reaction to being intruded on, like taking them off the call list when they ask, you are not acting professionally.

And as for why I don't take phone solicitations?  (1) because it INTRUDES on me in my home and puts me on the spot when I want to think about when and to whom to donate, and (2) because it involves giving my credit card number to someone who called me.  As for promising an amount and having you send me the card -- see #1 about being put on the spot.

Sorry, but you seem to have forgotten that when an organization is soliciting donations, it's both courtesy and good sense not to be high-handed with the donors.

What I get from this message is that there needs to be a DNC call list for non-profits as well as for commercial organizations, since the non-profits don't seem to be policing themselves appropriately.

I'm sick of tired of hearing this "We're just like you" BS from you scumrags.  

YOU ARE NOT LIKE US.

WE DO NOT CALL STRANGERS AND TRY TO GET THEIR MONEY.

It is an absolutely DISGUSTING way to make a living, you deserve all the abuse you get AND THEN SOME.

YOU ARE NOT LIKE US SO PLEASE STOP LYING ABOUT THAT.

These people just wouldn't stop calling. I finally had to do something about it. I called 619-292-7700 (I was actually called from -7701 but -7700 was listed on telefund.com). I got an actual human being and asked him to stop calling me. He took my name and number and said I'd be off the list within 24 hours.

Called my house asking for my father who moved out 15 years ago....

I clicked to speak to a representative after the recording advised me that this was my last chance to lower my credit card interest.
I let the darn thing ring 54 times before I gave up.

I too am on the national list.

Please stop calling us because you never aswer and still call mon,tue,wend,thu,fri,sat, and sun ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.