October 6, 2009
WBAA to shorten pledge drive with Power Hour
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - WBAA public radio at Purdue University will begin its fall pledge drive with just one hour of on-air fundraising from 7 – 8 a.m. on Oct. 16, when listeners can call in or visit the radio station's Web site to make or pledge donations.This is the first time WBAA is using the concept of Friday Power Hour to encourage donors to give early and help reduce program interruptions, 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, Lutes said. Requests for pledges won't be made for the rest of that day, she added.
"Donations from listeners are vital for us," Lutes said. "They pay for about 80 percent of our program costs."
Listeners' donations also help pay for improvements to the station.
"We now broadcast digitally using HD Radio Technology and also have increased the power of our FM signal," Lutes said. "Those changes benefit listeners by providing better and farther reaching reception and also give WBAA the option of adding new programming on supplemental digital channels. Some funds for those improvements came from listeners' contributions."
For more than a decade, WBAA has been hosting pledge drives for a week or longer in fall and spring. This semester the pledge drive is from Oct. 16-22. But on Oct. 16 -- unlike the other days of the week -- requests for pledges will be restricted to the Power Hour. Listeners, however, may donate online any time, Lutes said.
"Our goal this fall is to raise $150,000," she said. "We've already raised $40,000 through mail, web and Purdue employee donations. In addition, we have more than $20,000 pledged as matching gifts."
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 AM and FM signals are available digitally. The programming can be heard globally via the station's Web site at https://www.wbaa.org
Writer: Soumitro Sen, 765-496-9711, ssen@purdue.edu
Sources: Sally Lutes, 765-496-7794, lutess@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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