KUT 90.5 Wraps Up Spring 2010 Fund Drive
AUSTIN, Texas – April 15, 2010 – KUT 90.5 has wrapped up its spring 2010 membership drive after hitting its goal at noon yesterday. More than 6,000 individuals and businesses pledged $802,200 to support programming that helps make KUT the most trusted radio source for news and music in Central Texas. The membership drive, which began April 6 and ended yesterday following Eklektikos with John Aielli, garnered pledges as small as $5 and as large as $10,000. Thanks to a challenge pledge from KUT advisory board member Patrick Cantilo, KUT was able to raise more than $40,000 online on April 12 to stay on track to end the drive Wednesday.
Two special KUT thank you gifts were offered to donors this spring: a limited edition “KUT Live Volume 8” CD featuring live performances in KUT’s Studio 1A from artists including Rufus Wainwright, Slaid Cleves, Ryan Adams and Bob Schneider; and tickets to next month’s KUT Live performance featuring the Gourds in the Austin City Limits studios.
Many businesses pledged their support in the weeks leading up to the drive to take advantage of having their name read on the air the week preceding the drive, during the drive and for the week following.
As with every KUT membership drive, this was a community event with more than 200 volunteers answering phones and nearly 40 local restaurants donating food and beverages to sustain the volunteers.
Eighty-six percent of KUT’s annual operating budget comes from listeners and local businesses. One hundred percent of listener contributions are used for direct programming and broadcasting expenses.
About KUT Radio
For 50 years, KUT Radio, 90.5, Austin’s listener-supported public radio, has striven to be the most trusted radio source for news and music in Central Texas. A founding member of NPR, KUT established a news department in 2002. Since then, KUT News has won more than 50 state, national and international awards for journalistic excellence. KUT is nationally known for playing a unique blend of hand picked, homegrown and uniquely Austin music, while its signature music journalism program, Texas Music Matters, uses the highest standards of public radio journalism to report on Texas music. For more information, go to www.kut.org.
