KRWG-FM

FALL 2004

ON-AIR

FUNDRAISING

MANUAL

WHO’S LISTENING?

NPR LISTENERS ARE CHARACTERIZED BY THE FOLLOWING:

  • 85% of NPR listeners made a contribution to a non-profit organization last year.
  • 56% male vs. 44% female
  • Median age of listeners is 46
  • 64% obtained a bachelor’s degree
  • 30% has obtained a graduate degree
  • 62% are married
  • 68% have household incomes over $50,000
  • 29% have household incomes over $100,000
  • 32% own a home worth $200,000 or more
  • 79% are employed
  • 33% are professionals
  • 59% consider themselves middle of the road or somewhat conservative, politically
  • 79% voted in the past year
  • 59% listen to music
  • 55% purchased musical recordings in the past year
  • 96% read some sort of newspaper or magazine
  • 81% own a personal computer
  • 60% use email, 20% of which to track their investments
  • 93% own/leave a vehicle, 52% of which bought the vehicle with cash
  • 53% follow a regular exercise routine
  • 72% traveled domestically in the past year; 40% traveled outside the US within the past three years
  • NPR hobbies include dining out, reading books, listening to music, gardening, entertaining, going to museums

Source: Simmons Study from NPR Profile 2000/2002

NPR LISTENERS’ VALS TYPES

Value and Lifestyles

ACTUALIZERS

  • Successful and sophisticated
  • Active, take-charge people
  • High self-esteem and abundant resources
  • Interested in growth and seek to develop, explore, and express themselves in a variety of ways – sometime guided by principle, and sometimes by a desire to have an effect, to make change
  • Image is important to Actualizers as an expression of their taste, independence, and character
  • Established and emerging leaders in business and government
  • Seek challenges
  • Range of Interests
  • Concerned with social issues
  • Open to change
  • Lives have richness and diversity
  • Possessions and recreation reflect a cultivated taste for the finer things in life
/

FULFILLEDS

  • Mature, satisfied, comfortable, reflective people
  • Conservative, practical consumers
  • Open-minded to new ideas and social change
  • Tend to base their decisions on firmly held principles and consequently appear calm and self-assured
  • Income allow them many choices
  • Look for durability, functionality and value in the products they buy
  • Value order, knowledge, and responsibility. Well-educated and in (or recently retired from) professional occupations
  • Well-informed about the world and national events
  • Alert to opportunities to broaden their knowledge
  • Content with their career, families, and station in life

THINGS TO CONSIDER

  • In light of current events, please be mindful of others’ political sensitivities (this includes listeners AND guests.
  • Be considerate of your on-air guests…in other words, include them in your conversations and remember that you’re representing KRWG-FM at all times.
  • Work with your community guests…and make sure there is a KRWG-FM staff person with them at all times.
  • Please DO NOT leave the Pledge Studio in between breaks unless the next break has been planned.
  • Listen to your pledge partner(s) and make eye contact as much as possible. Remember…you are having a conversation!

PUBLIC RADIO CORE VALUES

Does your on-air presentation reflect these values?

QUALITIES OF THE MIND/INTELLECT

  • Love of lifelong learning – a desire to learn something new every day
  • Substance – expand understanding of and connection to the world
  • Curiosity – the need to dig deeper, to ask why, not just what:
  • Credibility
  • Accuracy
  • Honesty – listeners trust that we are non-manipulative, non-sensational
  • Respect for the Listener – intelligence/values require sharing not browbeating
  • Purpose – clear understanding of why we do what we do

QUALITIES OF THE HEART AND SPIRIT

  • Humor – always has a purpose and is never mean-spirited
  • Idealism – we believe in the power to find solutions
  • Inspired about public life and culture
  • Civility – belief in public discourse
  • Generosity – content has center state and the guest is the star

QUALITIES OF CRAFT/EXCELLENCE IN OUR USE OF THE MEDIUM

  • Uniquely human voice – conversational, authentic, intimate.
  • Pacing – deliberate, thoughtful, appropriate to the substance of the content
  • Attention to detail – music, sound elements, language

CONCLUSION – successful programming, including pledge weeks, can mix these three qualities in a variety of ways, but all three must be present. It is the fusion of these three sets of core values that creates public radio’s “signature” sound and the fundamental appeal of our programming to core listeners.

IT’S FUND DRIVETIME!

  • The on-air pledge drive needs to be considered one of KRWG-FM’s most important programs – by every staff member.
  • The goal is not to fundraise better…but more efficiently.
  • It’s no secret…listeners don’t like fund drives.
  • Development, programming, and on-air talent HAVE to work together! We have been very successful in the last five drives and I am confident that we can come together and reach our goal during pledge week.

COMMUNITY HOSTTIPS &

ANATOMY OF A GOOD PLEDGE BREAK

“It’s not what you add to fundraising that makes

a difference…it’s what you take away.”

(In other words…KEEP IT SIMPLE!)

  • The most effective “ask” is made by those who have experienced the joy of giving first!
  • REMEMBER – YOU ARE RAISING MONEY!
  • FOCUS! FOCUS! FOCUS! And make sure you keep your guests focused!
  • Listeners love to laugh – when they understand the humor – keep it clean and keep it simple and use it sparingly. Not every one of us is a Bob Hope – and what we might consider humor may not appeal to all our listeners and donors.
  • Talk about the benefits of giving.
  • Know the giving levels – but don’t cover more than two in a break.
  • Make a statement the listener agrees with.
  • ASK DIRECTLY FOR A CONTRIBUTION!
  • Tell the Listener how wonderful he or she is.
  • Never use the word “if”…instead use “because”.(“Because you like public radio,” not “if you like public radio.”)
  • Sound like you enjoy being here, even if you are cranky and tired!
  • Never say “out there”… when referring to the listener, use “you”!
  • Never beg or plead or threaten!
  • Give a reason to pledge – keep programming as the main reason
  • Ask for pledges in specific dollar amounts – For example, $6.25 a month for a total of $75 a year
  • Keep the mood light and professional
  • Always note the positives. Never say that the phones aren’t ringing. Instead, say that “we have all phone lines open” or “there are five volunteers ready to take your call.”
  • Don’t forget to identify yourself and your title from time to time. People want to know who you are.
  • Have a conversation with your on-air partner(s). The audience is then part of the conversation. A conversation is a lot more interesting than a monologue, and if people are engaged, they will listen and pledge.
  • MAKE SURE YOUR CONVERSATION INCLUDES THE LISTENERS.
  • Be specific – not general. Create the feeling that a person from our audience is seated next to you and you are conversing specifically with him or her.
  • Use concrete examples. Talk about real things that people can relate to. Reading the newspaper, driving to work, making dinner, buying CDs all serve as metaphors for the listener to relate to, agree with, and then pledge.
  • Liberally use imagery. You’ve heard “radio is the theater of the imagination” so much that it makes you sick – but it is true. Paint pictures when you converse with the listeners. Your verbal imagery will touch a wide ranch of emotions, and help motivate the listeners to pledge.
  • At least once every break, explain why we’re having a membership drive on-air. “We’re having this drive to raise the money that makes possible the programming you like on KRWG FM; public radio is funded by listener contributions, so we are asking you to pledge now to KRWG.”

  • Relate your on-air conversation to programming and programming current content. It might be a recent story covered on Morning Edition or All Things Considered. It might be a reporter or host (Fred Child’s is a great classical music host; I love Sylvia Poggoili’s reports from abroad; Click and Clack really know their cars, etc.) – show the listener you know your public radio and appreciate it. Use POSTIVE – not negative – language. Always talk about:
  • KRWG-FM
  • Our programs
  • Our volunteers
  • The fund drive………..IN POSITIVE TERMS!
  • Sound Professional in what you say & in getting in/out of the breaks. Don’t lower your standards because it is a fundraiser. The audience hates a lame announcer as much as you do.
  • Know your “product.” Be well versed about the program(s) you are hosting. When you are asking people for money, listeners feel insulted if they know more about the show than you do.
  • Cover only one point at a time. Effective salespeople know that presenting too many benefits at once confuses the customer. The best hosts aim only one point at a time to the listener. So target the heart, head, or wallet, but not all three at once.
  • Make a statement the listener agrees with. The audience needs to agree with what you say before they will make a pledge. If you can get them nodding their head in agreement, it will be easier to get to agree to go to the phone. Eamples:
  • You enjoy the classical music you hear on KRWG FM
  • You appreciate a station that doesn’t take up your time with commercials
  • You find out what is happening in our community by listening to KRWG FM
  • No other program covers the news like Morning Edition/All Things Considered
  • ASK DIRECTLY FOR A CONTRIBUTION. Call the listener to action. If you don’t ask for the contribution, you will never get it! “Call now and make your pledge to KRWG-FM.”
  • Give the phone number often, clearly, and S L O W L Y. Tell the listener what to do. Direct them to telephone or web site. Cash, check or credit card, they can be billed monthly, etc.
  • Tell the Listener how wonderful he or she is. Positive reinforcement makes people feel good and that helps get them to pledge. The truth is, they are wonderful people, helping to make KRWG a wonderful listener supported public radio.
  • Say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. Thank listeners at least three times during every break.

THE BIG NO-NO’S

  • DON’T GET PERSONAL! Listeners are supporting Public Radio and the programming they love – assist in that process. They want to know about the programming, not about us or our lives.
  • DON’T PREACH OR TRY TO CONVERTTHEM! The people who will hear you are the ones that already know, love and support public radio. We are trying to motivate them to support KRWG-FM and public radio. Sell them on the need to support!

HOURLY CHECK LIST

  • Read the thank you information. (Volunteers, Challenge Grant, Food suppliers, etc.)
  • Suggest pledge levelsincluding the ask for $1,000 every hour. Be sure to include an “ask” at the lowest level, which is “whatever you can afford,” frequently as well.)
  • Give our phone number & mailing address & the web address of the KRWG home page (Some people may not want to call in.)
  • Speak S L O W L Y and C L E A R L Y when giving the telephone numbers or web site. (When speaking the telephone number pretend to write it down S L O W L Y – which is what many listeners might be trying to do – particularly older listeners – please be considerate.)
  • Inform our audience of KRWG expenses
  • Make new member appeals at least one time in a show
  • Encourage credit cards as a payment method for pledge
  • Issue any challenges
  • Discuss “talking points”
  • Make the $1,000 ask once an hour! – It works – we now have 10 $1,000 annual donors.
  • Make a point of announcing major miles stones in the current campaign:
  • “We have reached our HALF WAY point during the previous hour.”
  • “We are three quarters of the way there… at $55,000. Only $20,000 more to go!”
  • “Only $10,000 left to go to reach our goal of $75,000.”

THANK YOU FOR BEING PART OF THE KRWG – FM FAMILY!

THANK YOU FOR BEING PART OF THE FALL PLEDGE WEEK 2003!