Hawai?i Public Radio launches its semiannual on-air fundraiser on October 13 at 6:18 a.m. The original campaign goal for “Celebration 2015” of $978,000 was 25% lower than the goal for the drive just one year ago, due to the increased participation in the station’s monthly subscription-based model known as Sustaining Membership. A record amount in early donations has further reduced this fall's on-air goal and the current estimate of what remains to be raised in pledge calls and online donations is $825,000.
President and General Manager Michael Titterton remarks, “HPR is financially and operationally healthier than ever, but the lowered goal for this drive came about not because the costs of running a statewide network or purchasing national and international programming have come down. No, the real engineers of this happy event are our more than 3,300 Sustaining Members and 958 Early Bird donors who have taken to heart the idea of public radio."
HPR is a locally-based, independent nonprofit, with no state, University, or PBS affiliation. Its 12,267 members provide approximately 65 per cent of the station’s income. And, of the $4.8 million needed to run the statewide radio network, 93 per cent comes from individuals and Hawai?i-based companies.
Titterton explains, “At other public radio stations around the country, an average of ten percent of listeners financially support their local station. Here in Hawai?i, with 175,000 weekly listeners, we’re still slightly below that mark, but we’ve been trending upward, ever upward, in every category, so we’re optimistic. Why, recently, over the course of a single day, we gained 66 new Sustaining Members through our first “$5 Friday” campaign!”
From October 13 until the conclusion of the drive, the station opens its K?heka Street facility to the community: approximately 150 leaders from the business and nonprofit sectors share the microphones with HPR hosts, and more than 500 volunteers staff two “Pledge Central” phone banks. Among the organizations providing volunteer support this fall are: Hawai?i Meals on Wheels, American Savings Bank, Hawaiian Electric Industries (HEI), First Insurance, Lima K?kua, Aloha Harvest, Teach for America, and the Awesome Foundation.
"We trust that our enthusiasm for the future will be matched by those who appreciate HPR's commitment to community building," Titterton adds. "We don’t set a time limit on these drives; rather, we simply suggest to those who derive a good time from our broadcasts that this is a good time to show their support and ask that they help us make good time towards the goal.”
Pledge calls may be made to:
HPR-1: 944-8800, or toll-free (888) 970-8800
HPR-2: 941-3689, or toll-free (877) 941-3689
Online donations are accepted at www.hawaiipublicradio.org
