Development
Why boosting major giving may be key to pubmedia’s success
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Experts say stations should focus more on cultivating major gifts to support their long-term growth.
Current (https://current.org/tag/major-giving/)
Experts say stations should focus more on cultivating major gifts to support their long-term growth.
Louis and Anthony Maglione, who lived in their family home in Malden, Mass., were avid fans of “American Experience.”
“The need for focused and creative marketing strategy and investment aimed at major donors cannot be understated.”
The donation is the largest in the organization’s 55-year history.
The planned gift was made as part of a larger university fundraising campaign.
The Richison Family Foundation provided the donation with “no strings attached” on how the funds are to be spent.
NPR and 15 stations are developing a fundraising pilot “in a full spirit of co-creation.”
As donors reassess giving priorities during these uncertain times, we must emphasize our time-tested values and service to local communities.
Greater Public’s Major Giving Academy will launch this fall with 20 participants.
The two-year project will develop, test and share best practices for cultivating high-wealth donors.
Two longtime donors committed the funds as the public broadcaster prepares for the public phase of a capital campaign.
After years of attempts that fizzled, NPR is reviving efforts to collaborate with member stations on major-gift fundraising.
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.
Small and midsize stations must be especially creative in developing ways to engage and grow their pools of major donors.
Findings from a new survey suggest that public media should focus on cultivating sustainers for decades to come.
The network’s Jazz Night in America and NPR One app have benefited from the effort.
A “transformational gift” from an anonymous donor through KCPT will create a digital news center in Kansas City, Mo., as well as provide support for PBS NewsHour through the PBS Foundation.
More than a decade ago, I was appearing on-air during a television pledge drive when a phone bank volunteer said a caller on his line insisted on talking to me. I picked up the phone with some trepidation and — sure enough — a WXXI member complained angrily about getting too much direct mail. He was especially upset because he had received a letter inviting him to join WXXI when he was already a member. I apologized and, to make up for his inconvenience, invited him to lunch and a tour of the station. He accepted, and took a bus to the station (he didn’t drive) to meet with me.
A review of public stations’ financial data over the past 15 years shows that, despite their widely divergent revenue trajectories, public radio and television have both made great progress in implementing structural and cultural changes needed to pursue new revenues.
While a local public broadcasting station traditionally romances big-donor prospects in its locality, it can occasionally find itself in a jealous spat with a national network courting prospects in its nation. It happened recently in Denver….