Ten and a half days after the start of its spring fund drive, Challenge 2015, Hawai?i Public Radio reached the campaign’s goal of $998,000. After the last pledge call was received on Saturday, April 25, at 12:02 p.m., the final tally exceeded the goal by $766. Including contributions made in the weeks prior to the on-air drive, there were a total 4,093 unique gifts, with 33 per cent of donors enrolling in the monthly giving program HPR calls “Sustaining Membership.” Neighbor Island members represented approximately one-third of the pledges received. Nearly 400 listeners became first-time members.
President and General Manager Michael Titterton stated on behalf of the station, “Our voices may be hoarse, but our hearts are full of gratitude for the listeners who called in their pledges of support. These hardy members accepted our challenge to determine the duration of this drive and it seems that about ten days feels just right.”
Individuals and organizations from the corporate and non-profit sectors donated thank you gifts and volunteered on the phone banks for HPR’s two program streams, lending more than 1000 man hours. Food purveyors donated more than 30 breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for the marathon fundraising event.
“These twice-a-year pledge drives are so much greater than the sum of their parts,” said Titterton. “There are intangible benefits for all the participants that extend far beyond this public radio station’s bottom line. We’re honored to be able to host these informal ‘open mic’ community celebrations and to receive such a breadth of support from celebrities and politicians, to tech start-ups and humble charities.”
Hawai?i Public Radio, like other public radio stations across the country, stages these over-the-air funding campaigns to raise monies needed to meet operating costs. Its next pledge drive is scheduled for October 2015.