Posted by chicagomedia.org on May 24, 2009 at 19:52:06:
WBEZ20: Chicago Public Radio doubles its donation request
Fundraising effort solicits $20 contributions
Steve Johnson | Tribune Internet critic
May 23, 2009
Past pleadings by public radio station WBEZ have focused on getting listeners to drop $10 a month or $1 a day out of their wallets.
But these aren't those times.
So, as regular listeners might have noted, the station is aggressively pushing "WBEZ20," a campaign and Web site designed to attract new donors and lighten the burden on repeat ones.
It's a move being watched closely in public-media circles nationwide -- and certainly a recession gambit.
"We know that people are thinking about the cost of everything," said Daniel Ash, vice president of strategic communications. "I wanted to ... give the message that if we all do a little bit, we can keep the service viable."
But more than that, it's a new attempt to try to push the level of contributors up past that 10 percent sticking point. For all the on-air pleading, which will annoy us again in June, only about 1 in 10 of the roughly 500,000 regular Chicago Public Radio listeners typically gives money, officials say.
"That first act is really, really hard to get," Ash said. "It's easy for someone to sit in a car and say, 'There'll be other folks who'll respond.' "
The average gift runs about $150, but the station's thought is that if you dare to ask for a modest $20, most will give more and others will have been coaxed into the giving tent.
WBEZ has sweetened the pot with a Web site, wbez20.org, loaded with humorous videos, created by the local comedy troupe Schadenfreude, about the meaning of $20. Where would personalities such as Peter Sagal and Carl Kasell be without your 20?
Launched a couple of weeks ago, the campaign's success can't yet be assessed, Ash says. But he's confident he's not just granting previous high donors permission to give a lot less.
"That is the risk," Ash said. "I assume people just aren't going to opt out of [higher-level giving] because I've given them permission to do so. I actually think the opposite is going to happen."
If -- big 'if' -- it does, and if a recent WBEZ automatic pledge renewal initiative catches hold, it could mean fewer annual on-air pleadings. That's tough news for those who need a new tote bag but a happy possibility for everyone else.