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« Happy President's Day | Fund drive day five » Our first fund driveFebruary 24, 2005 Today marks a very important day in the early life of the new 89.3. As you can already hear on the air, we’re participating in Minnesota Public Radio’s winter fund drive. For the next several days we’ll be asking you, our listeners and web visitors, to contribute to the station and to help it grow. Fund drives are a festive time around the building. Phone room volunteers ride the elevators with us and they’re energetic and fun to talk to. Answering phones puts you in direct contact with Minnesota Public Radio’s fans and supporters, and their comments offer important insight into how we’re doing. During fund drives we make sure the on-air and production staff have plenty of food and good cheer, and so there are heaps of food donations that make meal-times more communal and more social than they are at other times of the year. And last but not least, during this time we get to state our case to you, and find out whether our programming is making a difference to you. One of the things I like best about radio is that it is free. We work as hard as we can to bring listeners the best possible programming, and then we give it away. There are no tickets required for entry. It’s available whenever you want to turn it on. You can wear anything you want to it, and you can take it with you more often than not. If you’re learning something from it, you didn’t have to pay tuition, or subscribe to it, or buy it on the newsstand. It’s there, 24 hours a day, just waiting for you to hear it. Public radio exists because a generation ago our federal government decided it would be wise to set aside a portion of the radio spectrum for cultural, educational, and public service broadcasting. Our license to operate 89.3 as a public radio station mandates that our station cannot air the type and quantity of commercials that support the businesses on the rest of the radio dial. The federal legislation creating public broadcasting is inspiring. We are asked to do everything we can to educate, inspire, and enlighten, and to operate with high ideals and aspirations. When you contribute to Minnesota Public Radio, and in particular when you become a Founding Member of the new 89.3, you are helping us in several ways. The money is the most obvious but perhaps not the most important. By making a contribution of any size you are placing a vote of confidence in us and you are joining us in our aspirations for quality programming and public service. Please help us make the station grow. Posted by Sarah Lutman at 10:21 AM
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Before I pledge, I'd also like to know if our dollars are for 89.3 only, or does it go into a some sort of general fund. And thanks for being the least annoying pledge drive I've ever heard. Posted by: kwuark at February 24, 2005 12:46 PMI just donated for the first time to MPR. I went through the Current's web site. Thank you for bringing this station to the airwaves! It feels so good to give to something that I've listened to and enjoyed everyday since it began. Thanks again. Posted by: Eden at February 24, 2005 12:53 PMIt sounds like the best way to get money going to a specific place—or to get questions answered about that—is to call in to the pledge line, rather than doing it online. As for monetary amounts, I can understand MPR folks being skittish about saying how much they'd like to raise. It's definitely more than I'm likely to find in my couch cushions. Of course, simply running a big transmitter all day long can be a tad spendy (perhaps not as bad as you'd think due to the funky physics of it all, but still quite a chunk of change). The hosts have mentioned today that they hope to get 15,000 members. Multiply that by a reasonable donation amount, and you've got an idea. It looks like quite a large number, but it seems to be achievable since there are already ~85,000 members of MPR's other services. Best of luck in getting to the magic 100k ;-) Posted by: Mike Hicks at February 24, 2005 01:08 PMOur goal is to receive contributions from 15,000 listeners and raise $1,820,000 between all three services. You can find answers to a lot of your questions here: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/about/mpr/financial.php - Michael Wells You know, nothing says 'style' during a pledge drive like Gary Eichten. Something about his voice at hours other than 11am-1pm evoke a Pavlovian response to attempt to insert any loose bills in my wallet into my computer's A: drive. Perhaps I should go Macintosh to save me from this. Posted by: Drew J at February 24, 2005 02:10 PMI've been an MPR member for years -- even when I couldn't afford it. This year, I'm doubling what I've contributed in the past because the Current is so incredible. My entire family has been thrilled -- in fact, my kids are both volunteering to answer phones at some ungodly early hour of the morning tomorrow! They figure they can't afford to contribute cash, but they've got time! I LOVE this station! I'm such a news junkie, though, I'm in a continuous quandary about which station to listen to! -- Melissa Hi: I've been a long time MPR member and followed the Morning Show over to the Current (i'm one of those crunchie granola types). I must admit that although I am unfamilar with the majority of the bands/musicians you play, I have really enjoyed a number of them - Martin Zellar and Atmosphere to name a couple. Sign me "old dog learning new tricks" Posted by: Diane at February 24, 2005 10:41 PMAgain the question must be asked. Will the money we pledge directly to 89.3 go to The Current or will it be put in the general MPR fund (which I would not like). Inquiring potention donors want to know. Posted by: Steve at February 25, 2005 01:46 PMWorking the phones, by the bye, is a blast. If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend it. Posted by: Drew J at February 26, 2005 11:54 AM
... Did some surfing: HOW WE PAY FOR 89.3 The Current The Purchase of the 89.3 The Current Frequency Day-to-Day Expenses This means sharing the space and staff of our Classical Music and News and Information services. Plus, it means sharing existing Minnesota Public Radio support staff including engineering, marketing, operations, membership, finance and human resources. Sharing resources and realizing great efficiencies by doing so is the only way we have been able to operate the Classical Music and News and Information services for 38 years. The financial support listeners provide is combined and leveraged across all three. THE IMPORTANCE OF LISTENER SUPPORT The future of 89.3 The Current is directly linked to the number of listeners who contribute to Minnesota Public Radio. The more who help pay for the music, the better the music. The strength of 89.3 The Current lies in its unique collaboration with members and our community. For 38 years, listeners have supported Minnesota Public Radio's classical music and news service. Now, we're asking listeners to contribute to Minnesota Public Radio because they love the music on 89.3 The Current. We are a non-commercial radio station. Instead of commercials, we rely on listeners to help pay the bills. Contributions from new listeners will sustain the music on 89.3 The Current as well as help us focus on the great local music of our community. This will better serve the public by building localism and encouraging greater involvement in our communities. Support from new listeners is critical especially now as the loan payments and the bills for the day-to-day expenses come due. The success of 89.3 The Current from Minnesota Public Radio means building a solid foundation of member support. This base of support from listeners helps to attract other funding sources including income from the business community.
Steven Clift Posted by: Steven Clift at February 26, 2005 06:29 PMI've never donated to MPR (or PBS) in my life. Until now. The Current has already become an important part of my day-to-day life, and I'm proud to be a "Founding Member". Thanks for the great tunes! E Does anyone know what all is on the vinyl? Posted by: Beth at February 28, 2005 09:43 AMREV105 was my favorite commercial radio station of all time. I have to say, freed of all commercial constraints, The Current actually surpasses the mighty REV. Welcome back, Mary Lucia! Welcome back, Thorn! For the record, I wandered a musical wasteland for 2,875 days between March 11, 1997 (Black Tuesday) and January 24, 2005. At long last, joy is mine once more. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Posted by: Whitney A. Strus at February 28, 2005 11:29 PMI really hope the Twin Cities reponds with much love to this beautiful airwaves treat we have! I became a "founding member" last night, and sent out an email to over 1,200 people on my indie rock email list to do so as well. It's crunch time now, and I'm crossing my fingers that we hit the mark and more! Jake Posted by: Jake at March 3, 2005 11:03 AM
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Sarah, if I may ask a tender question...how much are you looking to get from us for the first pledge drive? And when folks call in to contribute, how do folks make sure that it is earmarked for the Current? I seem to recall that 89.3 has a different 'kitty' of money than the rest of MPR. Is that correct?
Posted by: Drew J at February 24, 2005 10:51 AM