Fundraising Success at Music Stations Carissa Ciuca, Director of Individual Gifts at WXPN Liz Meyer, Fundraising & Events Specialist at Minnesota Public Radio Virginia Alvarez, Development Manager at KMFA Austin August 11, 2016
What s Working at WXPN Carissa Ciuca, Director of Individual Gifts
What s Working @ WXPN MEMBERSHIP GROWTH Grow sustainers, keep them happy, keep them around, and grow overall membership. UNIFIED POSITIVE MESSAGING Awareness and identity campaign, public goals, enlist members in successes and milestones, and celebrate with members.
Sustaining Member Growth 22000 16500 11000 5500 0 FY12 (15%) FY13 (34%) FY14 (50%) FY15 (67%) FY16 (71%)
30,000 Member Milestone 31,000 XPN Members 29,500 28,000 26,500 25,000 FY12 FY13 FY14 FY15 FY16
Unified, Positive Messaging - Marketing and awareness campaign gave unified messaging and sense of identity. - Very public about our goals, and enlisted member excitement and ambassadorship. - Celebrated with our members!
Awareness & Identity Campaign
Quality Premiums
Public, Transparent Goals
Enlist Members in Success
Frequent, Real Time Goal Updates
Celebrate with Members
Celebrate with Members https://youtu.be/_9awap0hiwk
Fundraising for The Current & Classical MPR Liz Meyers, Fundraising & Event Specialist
About MPR 45 station network serving nearly all of Minnesota and surrounding states. 3 services The Current Classical MPR MPR News
Our mission Our Mission is to enrich the mind and nourish the spirit, thereby enhancing the lives and expanding the perspectives of our audiences, and assisting them in strengthening their communities.
#1 Your primary message is about value Money and member goals are for you to worry about not the audience. Focus on the value your station brings to the listener and to the community. Investment in the mission as a primary motivator for giving.
April 21, 2016
July 14, 2016
#2 Drives should be a great time to listen Collaborate! Work together to ensure that programming drives prospective donors to listen. Programming should support your case. No apologies for fundraising and no bargaining. Your message: tune in for the Member Drive!
$2,200,000 Total Drive Revenue YTD $1,650,000 $1,100,000 $550,000 $0 Feb May Oct 2016 YTD 2015 YTD
#3 Quality, consistency and connection Train key staff on the messaging and the philosophy. Coordination of all channels detail matters! Membership is a year-round relationship.
Review: Three questions What makes your service valuable? How do you capture audience? How do you communicate your message?
Fundraising Success at Music Stations Virginia Alvarez Development Manager KMFA Classical 89.5 August 11 th, 2016
10 Ideas to Amp-Up Your Fundraising Success
About Us KMFA is a local listener-supported station in Austin, TX that was created when the city s first classical station, KHFI-FM, switched to a commercial popmusic format. A small group of dedicated classical music lovers in Austin launched KMFA in 1967, slowly building it into what is now the only remaining listener-supported and locallyproduced classical station in Texas. Broadcasting 22 hours of locally curated programming each weekday, 85% of on-air programming is created in-house.
Idea #1 Focus on sustaining membership. Consulted with Appleby Arganbright to develop a plan to increase our sustaining membership in 2014 Within one year s time, sustaining membership increased by 193% Sustaining members now account for 36% of KMFA s entire membership
KMFA Annual Membership and Retention $1,000,000 69% 72% $825,000 65% 64% 66% $650,000 $475,000 $300,000 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Annual RetenWon Rate for All Individual Givers ($1 - $1,000+) Total Individual Revenue from Sustainers ($1 - $1,000+) Total Individual Giving Revenue from TradiWonal Donors ($1 - $1,000+) Year
Idea #2 Use an In-Bound Call Center. Switched from in-house volunteers to an in-bound call center for pledge drives Experienced no monetary recourse from relinquishing inhouse volunteers Has improved upgrades Guarantees PCI compliance
Idea #3 - Outsource Direct Mail. Outsourced all monthly renewals and solicitations for members and sustaining members to a printer Used in-house printing only for major donor acknowledgements, cultivation and stewardship event invitations, etc. Keeps mailings on schedule
Idea # 4 Have fun with your listenership! With quirky car donation spots thanks to some creative license taken by our programming team, we received twice as many car donations between January June of 2016 vs. January June of the year prior
Idea # 4 Have fun with your listenership!
Idea # 5 Keep it local. The Biggest Key to KMFA s Support: Staying local Broadcasting 22 hours of locally curated programming each weekday 85% of on-air programming is created in-house Being a listener-supported music station in the Live Music Capital, local programming and strong roots in the community and with our members is essential
Idea # 5 Keep it local. Classical Yoga Month on Town Lake in Austin KMFA Sponsored SXSW Showcase
Idea #6 Use a wealth screening service. Unlock new information for prioritizing major donor prospects and tailoring asks for current and new donors New insights for prospects Wealth screening data has assisted with recruiting committee members, finding potential venues, and potential sponsors for our 50 th Anniversary fundraiser in 2017
Idea #7 Make good stewardship a priority. 2016 Initiatives: Thank you calls from the booth from KMFA on-air hosts New Donor Happy Hours following each pledge drive Hand-signed, hand-addressed thank you cards sent within 48 hours of gift New donor/major donor welcome packets sent within 48 hours of first gift
Snapshot of a standard A2 thank you card for all gifts of $500 and above, hand-signed and hand-addressed, and mailed within 48 hours Snapshot of major donor welcome letter
Idea #8 Invest time & effort in special events. Special events can double as stewardship & cultivation efforts and give you the chance to get to know your donors more closely Survey your attendees afterwards to better tailor your events to give your listeners what they want Community is so key to listener-supported radio; give your listeners the opportunity to meet one another and truly feel that they are a part of the station family!
KMFA s Annual Member Appreciation Breakfast
New Member Happy Hour with on-air hosts CD Giveaway and Meet-and-Greet at KMFA s 49 th Birthday Party
Idea # 9 Consider launching a Travel Program. Since taking our first group trip in 2008, KMFA has received over $40,000 in direct donations from the 5 Travel Program trips we have hosted Majority of Travel Program members were listeners or members giving under $500 annually Travel Program attracts a different group of listeners and gives them a way to support the station with a substantial donation that benefits them and their interests
2016 Travel Program Attendees 2016 Travel Program Attendees 32% 45% 23% Major Donors Members Listeners 32% Top Major Gi^ Prospects Other Prospects KMFA Travel Program Members in Italy in 2014
Idea # 10 Develop a Planned Giving program. Music stations are well positioned for planned giving Greater Public s Legacy Builders program Airing planned giving spots regularly Develop a Legacy Society and a Gift Acceptance Policy Since 2013 we have realized three very significant bequests, and received word of three additional beneficiary designations Brochure for KMFA s Planned Giving program
Speaker Information Carissa Ciuca - WXPN Director, Individual Gifts 215.573.3338 Carissa@xpn.org Liz Meyers Minnesota Public Radio Fundraising and Events Specialist 651-290-1433 lmeyers@mpr.org Virginia Alvarez/KMFA Classical 89.5 Development Manager valvarez@kmfa.org
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