WBAA to kick off fall pledge drive with 'Power Hour'
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - WBAA public radio at Purdue University will begin its fall pledge drive with a Friday Power Hour from 7-8 a.m. on Oct. 15, when listeners can call in or give online.
Anyone who gives before the end of the day on Oct. 15, or has already donated for the campaign, will be entered in a drawing for a Sony HD Radio with an iPod/iPhone dock, as well as an iPod Touch 4G. The on-air pledge drive will continue Oct. 18-21 and will include other donation incentives early in the drive. Gift cards for travel and shopping will be offered on Oct. 18 and 19.
WBAA successfully shortened its fall 2009 pledge drive with a Friday Power Hour and will continue with the same format this fall. The Power Hour and giveaways encourage donors to give early and help reduce program interruptions and costs associated with a longer pledge drive, said Sally Lutes, WBAA's director of development. The goal of the Power Hour is to receive a full day's donations in one focused hour.
"Donations from listeners are vital for us," Lutes said. "They pay for about 80 percent of our program costs. Membership attrition is a fact of life for a lot of organizations, so we constantly need to work on ways to attract new members."
The station also is promoting its Sustaining Membership this fall. Members can support the station through ongoing monthly donations with credit card or bank deductions, or through Purdue payroll deductions.
"Members are used to paying for other information and entertainment services this way, so it makes sense for us to offer this easy, cost-effective way of giving to WBAA as well," Lutes said.
One benefit of being a sustaining member is automatic entry into pledge drive giveaways.
"These members are passionate enough about WBAA and public radio to give every month, and we want to show our appreciation for that," Lutes said.
Since the Sustaining Membership is a greener way of giving, WBAA will be offering a selection of environmentally focused thank you gifts including a stainless steel water bottle or a coffee mug made from biodegradable corn plastic at the $60 membership level, and a lunch tote made from 100 percent recycled fabric at the $120 level, all with the WBAA logo.
The WBAA fall pledge drive goal is $150,000.
"We've already raised more than $45,000 through mail, Web and Purdue employee donations, but we're about 10 percent behind from this time last fall," Lutes said. "We really need to meet our goal to fund current programs."
WBAA-AM, licensed in 1922, is Indiana's longest continuously operating radio station, and 920-AM provides news, jazz and other eclectic music. FM 101.3 airs classical music, NPR news plus "Car Talk" and "A Prairie Home Companion." The station also began airing a second FM stream, 101.3-2, which features an alternative mix of music available on HD radio receivers and online at WBAA.org.
Source: Sally Lutes, 765-496-7794, lutess@purdue.edu