Twice a year, WEMU-FM 89.1 invites the folks who gave
$150 or more during the radio station's semi-annual fund
drive to a special reception. It's a chance for public
radio supporters to get together, eat hors d' oeuvres,
enjoy some good music and talk to each other and to the
people who run the station and its programs.
It's intended as a thank-you from WEMU to its supporters,
but general manager Art Timko never ceases to be amazed
by the way the gratitude gets turned around.
 |
PLEDGE DRIVE: (above, from left) Brighton
City
Mayor Dana Foster joins WEMU-FM Station
Manager Art
Timko and "Jazz in the Morning" host
Linda
Yohn for the first day of WEMU's annual fall,
on-air
pledge drive. This year's drive, which ran
Oct. 17-26,
raised $139,207, approximately
$2,000 more than last
year. |
"You meet people who say, 'Thank you for taking my money,'
basically," Timko said. "I'm sure they know we'll do good
things with it but, still, I can't believe many industries
are like that. It's pretty overwhelming. You've just got
to be humbled by it."
Even in an uncertain economy, WEMU's fall fundraising
drive brought in $139,207 between Oct. 17-26. The drive
fell short of its $165,000 goal, a high target made necessary
by rising staffing and programming costs. Nonetheless,
the station raised $2,000 more than its 2007 drive. The
station also has raised $50,000 toward its Fall 2008 mail
campaign goal of $140,000. Mail totals are counted separately
from the funds raised on-air, and the station plans two
more mailings before the end of the year.
"I think the surrounding economic conditions gave us a
lot of question marks," Timko said. "We tried not to talk
about that. People are fully aware of what their financial
situation is; we didn't have to remind them. But, we did
have to remind them of our financial situation."
"Morning Edition," in the 5-9 a.m. slot Monday through
Friday, raised the most — $32,410 over the course
of six days. The news program, hosted since 1994 by David
Fair, also had the drive's biggest hour, from 8-9 a.m.
Oct. 23, when listeners pledged $4,330.
"Sunday Best," the weekly jazz and blues journey hosted
by Arwulf Arwulf (Sundays 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.) raised $17,000
in two Sundays, the most productive of any of WEMU's music
programs. Music programming overall landed $86,925 in pledges,
while news programs brought in $52,282.
"People are giving you anywhere from $50 to $500, and
they don't do that unless they believe in you. Even if
they're critical of something, they're giving that financial
support and saying 'We believe you can be better in this
way,'" Timko said.
This year's Fall Fundraiser Finale Party is scheduled
Nov. 20, at the EMU Student Center. Donors can enjoy
live jazz from the Pat Prouty Quartet and special guest
Nick Spitzer, host of American Public Media's "American
Routes."
Prouty was among the many musicians and community leaders
who joined in the on-air drive, which included live performances
by bassist Paul Keller and boogie-woogie piano player Mr.
B.
WEMU is a listener-supported NPR, PRI, and APM affiliate
with a format of local news, jazz, and blues in addition
to network news, information and cultural programming.
The station broadcasts to an eight-county area that includes
all or part of Washtenaw, Wayne, Oakland, Livingston, Jackson,
Lenawee, Monroe and Lucas (OH); broadcasts WEMU2 on HD
Radio and Webcasts live 24 hours a day at wemu.org.
