A Successful Fall Fund Drive Adds 645 New Members to New England Public Radio's Donor Rolls

New England Public Radio wrapped up its October on-air fund drive on October 27, raising over $324,000 in eleven days from donors across western New England, and as far away as Santa Monica California. The station saw an increase in first time donors with 645 new contributors - 24% of the total number of contributors during the fall on-air drive.

In step with public radio stations across the country, New England Public Radio focused largely on its Sustaining Partners program, which encourages donors to make an open-ended contribution to the station through regular monthly or quarterly contributions.

The Sustaining Partners program is an increasingly popular way for New England Public Radio donors to support their station that has benefits for both the supporter and the station. Well over half of all contributions made during the October on-air drive came in as Sustaining Partners.

"For stations, it changes the revenue stream, making expected income more reliable month to month instead of it coming in in big peaks and valleys over the course of the year depending on the fund drive schedule," says Cathy Ives, Executive Director of Development for New England Pubic Radio. "For contributors, the benefit comes in the ease of the transaction, the drop off in the amount of renewal mail received, and the benefit of being entered into all of the station's giveaways automatically." 

To encourage this type of giving, New England Public Radio gave away an iPad each day of the fund drive, along with two iPad Minis and five iPod Shuffles over the course of the drive. All donors who signed up as Sustaining Partners were entered automatically to win every day of the fund drive. They will be entered into every giveaway during every fund drive as long as they remain Sustaining Partners. 

"We are thrilled at the number of new donors and Sustaining Partners who came on board during our fall fund drive," says Ives. "Ninety percent of our operating budget comes from community support, through individual gifts and local corporate underwriting. We depend on listeners who appreciate the work that we do at New England Public Radio to help keep it well funded."