KUT 90.5 Concludes Record-Breaking Fall Fundraiser
AUSTIN, Texas-Oct. 27, 2010-More than 7,000 individuals and businesses pledged more than $900,000 in support of the news and music programming at KUT 90.5 during the station’s semi-annual membership drive, which concluded Wednesday morning, setting a record for the 52-year-old public radio station.
The membership drive, which began Oct. 19, was marked by a record number of online contributions. Hundreds of listeners pledged online in the two weeks leading up to the drive in hopes of winning one of two Apple iPads being given away. The pre-drive promotion raised $120,000.
KUT depends on individuals and businesses for 86 percent of its annual operating budget. One hundred percent of those contributions are used for direct programming and broadcasting expenses, such as maintaining a news bureau at the state capitol, reporting on Central Texas news and paying for programming such as Morning Edition,Fresh Air, Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me and A Prairie Home Companion.
Special KUT thank you gifts offered to donors this year included a limited edition KUT Live Volume 9 CD featuring live performances in KUT’s Studio 1A from artists including Corinne Bailey Rae, English Teeth, Nneka and Patty Griffin; and tickets to the November KUT Live concert featuring Carrie Rodriguez in the Austin City Limits studio.
One unique and very Austin donor thank you gift was a handful of promotional posters for the Armadillo World Headquarters signed by artist Jim Franklin.
As with every KUT event, volunteers and members of the community played a key role. Nearly 200 volunteers answered phones in the pledge room from 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., while 40 local restaurants donated food and beverages to sustain them.
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.
