On-Air Pledges to Public Television, Radio Stations Hold Steady
Foundation Center
September 10, 2009
In the face of the worst recession in decades, on-air fundraising for public television and public radio stations around the country has held steady and in some cases has set records, the Washington Post reports.
For instance, public radio station WAMU-FM in Washington, D.C., has established new records with its three most recent quarterly fundraising drives, including the last one in May. And four months into the new fiscal year, donations are 50 percent higher than at the same time last year, while membership — that is,the number of people who contribute — is up 53 percent. Elsewhere in the region, Baltimore-based Maryland Public Television raised $667,000, a 3 percent increase over the previous year's fundraising results.
A similar trend has been evident in other parts of the country. Membership revenues at twelve-station Colorado Public Radio rose 15 percent in the fiscal year that ended June 30, while KPBS in San Diego, which operates radio and TV stations, has attracted a record number of donations over $1,200 this year, including a $2.5 million gift last week from Qualcomm co-founder Irwin Jacobs and his wife, Joan.
While public support isn't growing fast enough to offset declining revenues elsewhere — many stations have experienced steep declines in sponsorship revenue as companies cut back on their "this program made possible by" messages — the uptick in individual contributions has helped avert widespread calamity.
"Having been in this industry for thirty years, my gut tells me that people really value public broadcasting and its place in the community," said Helen Kennedy, whose company, Lewis Kennedy Associates, in Portland, Oregon, offers fundraising advice to public broadcasters. "They're passionate. When they can afford it, people give — even if they can only afford to give a little less."
Reprinted with permission of Foundation Center.
