The Best of Public Radio: The Lighter Side

A funny fundraising show hosted by two news guys?

You bet.

The second installment in the Best of Public Radio fundraising series will be available this month and its hosted by All Things Considered host Robert Siegel and NPR Justice correspondent Ari Shapiro.

The Best of Public Radio is a turn-key on-air fundraising special for public radio stations. It requires very little effort on their part to broadcast the show and raise money from listeners.
The program features the humorous side of public radio including segments from Car Talk, A Prairie Home Companion, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, This American Life, and Whad Ya Know.

Unlike last December's inaugural program, this Best of Public Radio show goes beyond web pledging and includes a toll-free number to provide listeners with more ways to give. Station results are expected to increase up to 300% for the same investment they made in December.

Stations can use The Best of Public Radio as a stand-alone special, as part of their fall fund drives, or both. This project is part of a collaboration among NPR, PRI, APM, DEI, Public Interactive, John Sutton & Associates, and Jay Clayton.

More details are coming in the next few days. If you have questions, please write john@radiosutton.com or find John Sutton, Jay Clayton, or Sonja Lee at the Public Radio Development and Marketing Conference in San Diego.

1-Day Fund Drives

A few weeks ago, I posted that we'd put some resources on-line for stations thinking about trying a 1-Day fundraising drive. The 1-Day Drive was pioneered by Carol Young at WSKG in Binghamton, NY. It was replicated in places such as Scranton, Erie, and Homer, Alaska.

A free 1-Day Drive resource kit is now available at radiosutton.com. It's free. No registration is required. Parts of the kit, including sample audio promos, are on-line. Be sure to download the PDF as it includes sample direct mail, promos, scripts, and pledge break planning materials.

Sonja Lee, former Program Director at KBBI in Homer, Alaska helped produce several successful 1-Day drives and helped put this kit together. She is available to help stations who want to reduce their drives to just one day of traditional on-air fundraising. We think this will work best for stations with goals of up to $100,000 per drive.

Many thanks to Carol Young at WSKG and Jonathan Coke at KBBI for providing materials and advice on creating the 1-Day Drive kit.