KACU conducted its semi-annual fall pledge drive last week and raised $42,467, exceeding the station’s $40,000 goal.

“We kicked off the drive with some bigger donations,” said Nathan Gibbs, general manager of KACU.

214 donors gave to KACU, and of that group, 54 were first time donors.

The station relies on the financial support of its listeners and the community of Abilene to function because it’s a public radio station, despite being on ACU’s campus. The drive is crucial to gaining the funds and support needed for the high-quality programming that the station produces.

KACU is a National Public Radio affiliate and much of the content heard on the station comes directly from NPR.

“It’s expensive since it comes from national agencies, so KACU asks the public to donate to help relieve some of the financial burden,” said Savanah Silva, junior convergence journalism major from San Antonio.

KACU hosts this drive once in the fall semester and then again in the spring.

During this weeklong drive, the station had community guests on the show that help remind listeners why they support KACU and why they are donating. Some of those guests included Abilene Mayor Norm Archibald, ACU President Phil Schubert and KTXS anchor George Levesque.

Last spring, the station managed to meet their goal of $40,000 during the spring pledge drive but in fall 2014, they fell short of the goal. Still, Gibbs said the dollar amount they raise has increased at each drive since he took over at KACU.

The majority of KACU’s funding comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting but the drive is still an integral part of the station having the budget to fund their programming.

KACU has been a fixture on ACU’s campus since 1986 and can be heard around the big country on 89.5 FM.