February 16, 2009 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Many public-radio stations are now in the midst of their winter fund-raising drives, and Washington’s WAMU, a National Public Radio affiliate with headquarters at American University, allowed a reporter to watch on-air solicitors practice their pitches for this week’s campaign, which seeks to raise $900,000.
Figuring out what to say is especially challenging with the tough economy. Walt Gillette, the station’s director of development, told The Washington Post that the station is not pushing a minimum amount this year. (It used to urge supporters to give at least $50.)
It is also trying to do away with on-air guilt messages. “I don’t think that’s going to carry a lot of weight this time,” says Mr. Gillette, who is urging his colleagues to avoid sounding desperate. “People can smell it, and the minute they think the station is in trouble, they’re not going to give.”
Another local station, WETA, ignored the bad economy this month in its drive to raise money for its all classical-music format.
“We don’t talk about the economy, we talk about the music,” Mary Kay Phelps, the station’s vice-president of membership told the newspaper. “That’s what we hear from our listeners. They say, ‘ thank you for this music, it’s a respite for me’.”
No matter how carefully crafted the pitches, however, some donors are not giving as much as they did in the past. WPFW, a public affairs and music station in Washington, said the pledge drive it wrapped up last week probably fell 15 percent short of its $450,000 goal.
Even so, on-air fund raisers are doing all they can to devise the perfect appeal. Rob Bamberger, the host of a vintage jazz show — who is considered one of the most-effective solicitors at WAMU — says he honed his approach by thinking about how to make the case to the donor who says, “Why should I contribute when I can listen for free?”
Mr. Bamberger’s pitches are not just effective in raising money, the Post noted; he met his wife during a pledge drive, when she was answering the phones as a volunteer.
