Obituaries
Carl Bloom, pioneering donor-marketing strategist, dies at 79
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Bloom adapted magazine publishers’ practices of list-buying and direct-mail testing to public broadcasting membership programs.
Development
North Country Public Radio launches fundraiser for investigative reporting
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The station hopes to raise $50,000 in listener support for its “Daylight Reporting Fund.”
Development
What’s a major gift in public media? Depends on who you ask
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At most stations, individuals who contribute at least $1,000 cumulatively over a year are considered major donors. But outside of public media, major gifts involve much larger donations.
System/Policy
Pubcasters maintain opposition to looser third-party fundraising rules as FCC leadership changes
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A long-pending proposal would allow noncommercial stations to devote up to 1 percent of their annual air time to raising funds for other nonprofits.
System/Policy
West Virginia Public Broadcasting joins stations airing flood-relief telethon
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After scrambling to provide broadcast and online news coverage of the flood, the network is participating in a telethon benefiting Red Cross relief efforts.
Development
With new service, DMW seeks to help stations boost mobile giving
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A new service from DMW Direct Fundraising aims to help pubmedia stations reach members and donors through cellphones and tablets, using software for creating mobile-friendly pledge forms.
According to DMW, the new service will be more effective than the text-to-give format many stations have experimented with because it doesn’t rely on cellphone carriers to collect money and allows for larger donations. It also offers more opportunities for individualized communications. Mobile giving can be an important revenue stream, but stations should view it as more than just dollars and cents, said DMW President Debbie Merlino. “It’s really important to not just think of this as another channel for revenue only,” she said. “It really needs to be about engagement.
Development
PBS to track behavior of viewers pledging to core-schedule programs
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In an experiment signaling public TV’s resolve to address concerns about the long-term effects of transactional pledging on its donor base, PBS plans to test whether fundraising around regularly scheduled signature series can convert more viewers into loyal members and donors. Though traditional fundraising programs generate more cash for stations, many development professionals believe that pledging around core programs could yield better-quality donors who are committed to public TV’s mission. Stations such as Maryland Public Television and PBS SoCal in Orange County, Calif., have successfully pledged series from PBS’s National Program Service, as well as popular British dramas and comedies acquired from other distributors. Their results prompted PBS to take a deeper dive into the approach. “As we transition from a goal of gross dollars into a broader philosophy of the long-term value of donors, this seemed like a great time to look seriously at best practices with emphasis on sustaining donations,” said Joe Campbell, v.p. of fundraising programming.
People
Alan Sack, pubTV direct-mail pioneer, dies at 87
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Sack introduced direct-mail marketing to the pubTV system beginning with WGBH, and his methods are still used in the system.
Quick Takes
Tuesday roundup: AmGrad launches “Raise Up”; pubmedia fundraising earns middling grade
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Plus: Amazon’s set-top box includes PBS content, and OETA launches programs about Native tribes.