KACU kicked off its annual spring pledge drive Monday with new incentive for its supporters.
“We’ve essentially made a promise this time to the public that if they will help us hit our goal, then we’ll stop the pledge drive,” said Nathan Gibbs, general manager of KACU.
The goal has been increased to $45,000, $5,000 more than the last pledge drive. Gibbs said, as a station, there has been a lot of change over the last 16 months, so new expenses have to be taken care of.
“When we add new programming, we have a ramp up in the cost,” Gibbs said. “We currently do pledge drives because they are a reliable source of income.”
Along with the promise to end pledging if the goal is reached, Gibbs said the station will give away thank-you gifts such as coffee mugs and portable chargers for donations of $60 or more.
“Typically, we don’t give away a lot of these gifts,” Gibbs said. “People often want to give, and they want all their money to go to programming. So we’ll see. We haven’t tried giving people new things in a while.”
This is the first pledge drive since KACU transitioned its frequency from 89.7 to 89.5, which widened its broadcast range. It is also the third drive since shifting programming to all-day talk format in January.
Business manager of KACU, Caleb Robinson, said he hopes the change in frequency will produce more donors, but more importantly, keep more people informed on what is happening with our local, state and national news.
“The response from our listeners continues to be extremely positive,” Robinson said. “We’re excited to continue connecting Abilene to the world.”
KACU has found success over the last few pledge drives, raising an average of $37,500. However, Robinson said he knows fundraising isn’t fun to listen to.
“I’d love to see us hit our goal way before 6 p.m. on Friday,” Robinson said. “Other stations around the country have started fundraising like this and have had tremendous success.”
This will also be the first time KACU will be offering a student level of membership at $25.
The pledge drive will continue to run from 7 a.m.-6 p.m. through Friday or until the station’s goal of $45,000 is reached.
