Occidental’s student fundraising organization, Telefund, paused operations for the Fall 2025 semester after nearly 25 years of operation, according to Occidental’s Senior Director of Communications Rachael Warecki.
“After several years of declining return on investment, Telefund experienced a negative net revenue,” Warecki said via email. “This is consistent with trends at other colleges and universities, many of which have closed their call centers to refocus on more modern approaches to donor engagement.”
Warecki said Telefund was not solely created with the goal of raising money for the college.
“It was created to establish and maintain connections with alumni, current parents and parents of alumni and to fundraise for various causes that support the college,” Warecki said via email.
Former Telefund employee and Rising Occidental Student Employee (ROSE) Bargaining Representative, Casey Scott (junior), said Telefund was one of the most sought-after on-campus jobs. Scott said the competitive pay, call time and ‘Telefam’ made for a great work environment. Scott said the student union’s bargaining lawyer Josh Adams forwarded him an email Aug. 6 from the college’s labor lawyer John McNutt which detailed that Telefund had closed.
“I found it was kind of strange that I had to disseminate this information that their jobs were no longer existing,” Scott said. “There wasn’t an email from the [Institutional Advancement] office for another week and a half.”
Scott said Telefund’s closure was worrisome for student employees relying on work study on top of financial aid.
“Now the highest paying job on campus that could earn you up to five extra dollars per shift for three and a half hours of work is no longer in existence,” Scott said. “It’s very hard to meet work-study requirements based on the job availability on campus.”
Josey Kelley (senior), a former Telefund employee, said from the start, their shifts were fun and the environment was warm. Kelley said they were shocked to learn that Telefund would not be operating this fall.
“One semester of hard work, then it’s just gone,” Kelley said.
Last spring, a break-in occurred at Telefund amidst Day for Oxy, followed by an LAPD investigation. According to Warecki, the break-in did not factor into the decision to close Telefund because there were existing plans to renovate Telefund’s space, the Tiger Den.
According to Scott, it was not clear to the employees that Telefund was struggling financially until the end of the semester, when the student employee supervisor took a leave of absence.
Moving forward without Telefund, Warecki said the college plans to alter its approach to student-donor fundraising relations.
“During this period, the college will be envisioning how to engage students in more high-impact fundraising work,” Warecki said via email. “We will be looking at models from other liberal arts schools and other institutions within and outside of higher education.”
Former Telefund employees have received emails regarding employment opportunities within the Department of Marketing and Communications since Telefund’s closure, according to Scott.
“They don’t offer the same amount [of hours], and they don’t have any bonus opportunities,” Scott said.
However, Scott said that the college noted students could reach out to the HR Head of Student Employment Jessica Ochoa if they are having trouble finding employment.
Kelley said as a senior, they do not have any interest in applying for another on-campus job before they graduate.
“The pay is generally similar [off-campus] and we get some decent pay here at Oxy, but there are better opportunities,” Kelley said. “They’re going to have to train someone to work for two semesters, and that doesn’t feel like a risk that anybody wants to take.”
Since the start of the semester, Scott said he has found employment at the Tiger Cooler but was disappointed by the last-minute nature of finding the job and the shorter shifts.
“I had […] to scramble around for another job — which I was lucky enough to get — but my former coworkers were not as lucky,” Scott said.
Contact Lucinda Toft at ltoft@oxy.edu
