Utah Public Radio works toward $75,000 goal
At Utah Public Radio, programming and satisfied listeners are the priority, so UPR urges the listening community to support the station during the current fundraiser.
The annual fundraiser going on right now at UPR is in the form of a pledge drive and Cathy Ives, general manager at UPR, said that despite all the volatility in the economy, donors have really stepped up to the plate during the fund drive.
While every pledge is gladly accepted, the financial goal UPR is trying to reach by Wednesday, the final day of the week-long drive, is $75,000, said Ives.
Ives and other UPR staff members had a strategy meeting before this fundraiser to decide whether or not the pledge drive should be postponed or if goals should be lowered, however, the UPR workforce was determined to keep sights set high because of the confidence and trust in the UPR members.
Listeners have been extraordinary about telephoning in or pledging online over the past week, Ives said, and she believes UPR will make or slightly exceed this year’s fundraising target.
As of Tuesday morning, Ives said more than $60,000 had been raised and these funds will go toward programming.
Josh Lockhart, senior majoring in human resources, said he has been an avid UPR listener since 2006, and has been volunteering this week accepting phone calls of listeners wishing to pledge.
“I don’t listen to anything else on the radio except for UPR,” said Lockhart. “I listen in my office for probably four hours every day.”
UPR offers the real stories, current events and information about political issues one does not hear in magazines or from other radio stations, Lockhart said.
Ellie Edwards, senior at InTech Collegiate High School, said she is planning on coming to Utah State in the spring and also volunteered this week during the pledge drive.
Edwards said she and her family love listening to UPR and even her 4-year-old brother saves his pennies and nickels and gives them to his mom and tells her to donate.
Every pledge is important and appreciated, Ives said.
“We are blown away here at UPR by the support of our listeners in light of everything going on in the economy,” she said.
Bryan Earl, development director at UPR, said that although the Dow has been down, but the majority of members were not affected and were consistent with their donations when compared to previous years.
Earl also said there are approximately 2,500 active contributors and about 60-65 percent of those contributors are from North Logan.
There are about 3,200 people on the USU campus that enjoy the benefits of UPR, Earl said, and at least 10 percent of those people are contributing members.
“What I enjoy most is extending service to areas that are not served,” Earl said.
UPR is located on campus as a service of USU and broadcasts through 31 translator stations from Montpelier, Idaho to St. George, Utah.
KUSU, the student station, works with UPR and benefits from the HD programming that is offered from UPR on three different channels.
UPR is a member of National Public Radio and offers a variety of information, said Ives, and in Logan one can listen to 91.5 FM or 89.5 FM for two different broadcasts of news information or fine arts programming.
Earl, a USU graduate, has worked at UPR since 1989 and loves offering listeners the intelligence that commercial radio stations simply cannot, he said.
Those who feel like they are recipients of the intelligent programming service UPR offers 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 356 days a year, are invited to support UPR by donating because every little bit helps reach the goal, he said.
–courtney.schoen@aggiemail.usu.edu