Below are the six major components of an effective fundraising pitch. The order below is relatively important because it helps create a logical flow to the listener.
Part 1: “This is a special day at WRUW …”
Start with calling attention to the fundraiser. This is usually how you might start your pitch after you’ve read the list of songs you just played.
This is the third day of the WRUW on-air fundraiser …
We’re in the middle of our annual on-air fundraiser …
This is the first day of our annual on-air fundraiser …
This is the last day of our annual telethon ….
This is a special edition of my show this week …
Big things are happening this week here at WRUW. This is a special time for us …
Part 2: What We’re Doing and Why
This is where you focus on the importance of the fundraiser to the station and why we need to do it.
Example: This is our once-a-year effort to raise money to fund the station for the next year. We depend on listener support to make up about 60 percent of our annual funding. We get about 40 percent of our budget from a student activity fee here at Case, and we come to you for the other 60 percent because you listen to us, love us, and enjoy what you hear.
Example: This is our yearly effort to fund growth and expansion of WRUW. We do this once a year to fund our station for the next 12 months. This telethon brings in 60 percent of our budget! More than half of the funding we need each year to stay on the air, grow and improve. We are all volunteers, so none of it goes into our pockets. What you donate comes back to you in more music and a better sound.
Part 3: “Maybe you’re one of our listeners who …”
In the part, you’re calling attention to how listeners might listen to WRUW. Remember, the goal is not to read a giant list. Pick ONE of these for each pitch, expand upon it, and dig deep into that reason someone might listen. For example:
“… likes radio without commercials. The big benefit of listening to us is you won’t hear toothpaste ads, or insurance ads, or car ads on our station. That lets us play more music! On the flip side, because we don’t make money airing commercials, we rely on you to show your support each year by donating to the station. (continue)”
“… goes to a lot of local shows to support local musicians. Maybe you heard us play an artist here on this show, and then you went to see them perform at the Beachland or the Agora. We’re all about helping new musicians get airtime, and we love playing their music and giving away tickets to their shows. Suppose you and a friend went to see a show at the Beachland. You might have spent 50 dollars for the complete night out for tickets, drinks, and food. Today, we’re asking you to support us with a donation because we’re the ones who turned you on to new artists.”
“… has been asking for us to do something about the air signal. This past year we did some major upgrades and invested a lot of money in enhancing WRUW’s sound. For example … (continue)”
“… likes what we do to keep you engaged as a listener. This past year, we were able to put together the technology to push artist and song titles out to your radio on a ‘song scroll’. We are the only college station who has been able to do that across all of our programs, formats, and shows. We also invested in a new place to host our website so now it runs faster. Pages load faster and you can find things easier. Last year we invested in a new streaming server so our online listeners can listen at a high-quality 256K, with minimal hiccups or dropouts. That’s the kind of things we invest in here on the technology side of things. Technology upgrades that you can see, hear and appreciate.”
“… listens on third shift at work. Remember, we’re here 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. When you’re working that lonely 3rd shift, we’re your companion with great music to keep you alert and entertained. I come down to do my show at this time with a goal to … (continue)”
“… can’t stand the mainstream media, and want to know the stories behind the big stories of the day. We have special programs that we air that are nothing but news and information. We have the award-winning Democracy Now which explores new viewpoints on the hot topics of the day. We have Voices and Choices on Tuesday night …(continue)”
“… likes how we support local musicians. One of our strengths as a station is we have the equipment, people, and interest to go out and broadcast live local music. In the last year, we brought you the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Summer Solstice Concert, various shows at the Power Station, a bunch of live bands on our Live From Lakewood Showcase, and the Hessler Street Fair. Every Thursday night we have a band perform live in our studios on Live From Cleveland, and we have our annual StudioArama concert, too. Local, live music broadcasts are very important to us because we know that you and our other listeners love hearing these performances. (continue)”
“… likes the wide variety of music we play on this show and on the station. On my show I cover a lot of genres. Everything from ____________ to _____________. I try to blend together new music and old favorites from new artists as well as established musicians. I love exploring new music, and I’m pretty sure you like hearing it, otherwise you wouldn’t be listening! Here at WRUW we have the freedom to play music like this that reaches smaller audiences …. (continue)”
“… likes that we’ve been here for 50 years. We are one of the oldest college stations …”
Part 4: “So call us now at 216-368-2208, or donate online at wruw.org”
Part 5: “When you call, we have some ways to thank you for your donation …”
This is where you talk about premiums. Premiums are “gifts” or “thank yous” for our listeners. They breakdown into a few main categories:
- Music premiums (generally CDs) for donations of $40 or more.
- Logo items (generally t-shirts, mugs, caps, etc.) at various price points.
- Airtime on the show of their choice. Usually $100.
- Other special things.
Your goal should be to talk about ONE of the categories listed below, mention a specific dollar amount, and focus on things that might appeal to your audience or to match the things you have talked about up until this point in Parts 2 and 3 above.
AGAIN … mention a specific dollar amount because you are more likely to get what you ask for
“When you give at the 40-dollar level, we have this as a gift …”
“When you pledge 50 dollars or more, we can thank you with …”
“When you give 20 dollars, we can send you …”
“Maybe 100-dollars is where you’re thinking you want to give. We have a variety of gifts we can send you such as a 50th anniversary t-shirt, and some CD’s. Or you could do the half-hour of airtime. Or, if you just want to donate with no specific gift from us, that’s fine too. Your choice. Our phone operators in the other room can help you pick something great …”
For specific ideas on how to talk about premiums, click here.
Part 6: “So call us now at 216-368-2208, or donate online at wruw.org”
Time check!
At this point, if you’ve planned everything out, you will have probably been speaking for about 4 to 5 minutes. So now you can go with optional add ons for no more than 2 minutes.
Optional Add-Ons
“We have some thank you’s to announce. Thanks to Bruce in Mayfield Heights for his 40 dollar donation. Bruce chose the new CD from John Prine as his thank you gift. Thanks also to ….(continue). All these great people have chosen to support us. Now it’s your turn to call us at 216-368-2208, or go to our website at wruw.org and pledge online.”
“Think about this … if you went to see a local show, you probably spent about 50 dollars or more in one night. Two tickets. Dinner. Drinks. Maybe bought the band’s CD direct from them at the show. Just for one night’s entertainment. WRUW is here playing that band’s music all year so you know about the new things they’re releasing, as well as learning about new bands, too. We’re hoping you get at least 50 dollars of entertainment from WRUW during the 12 months of the year, and we’re asking you to call us now and make a pledge at 216-368-2208.”
“If you put 25 cents into your radio to turn it on every day, at the end of the year, you would have put 91 dollars into your radio! Aren’t we worth at least 25 cents a day?”
<reiterate any points you made earlier.> “So, if you’re one of our listeners who … (likes … , listens to us for …, enjoys …, supports ….) we know this station is important to you and we’re hoping you’ll support us. We’ve been here for 50 years, and we want to continue to be here for another 50 bringing you great music with a great broadcast signal and we can only do that with your support! Call us now at …”
“You know, I recognize that having a show here is a privilege. The training program to get on the air here is pretty involved. We have to spend 4 months shadowing another show programmer, we have to attend seminars, we have to take a test, we have to submit an aircheck and jump through all kinds of hoops. Then we get to apply for a show, because having a show here is a privilege, and we take it seriously. So now, here I am week in and week out, trying to put together a good show for you. Here’s why I do it … <give your reason.> I do it without getting paid. This is all volunteer. And we’ve got lots of people on staff who put in lots of time outside their shows as volunteers to keep us on the air. So we hope you realize your donation is truly going to the things you care about … how we sound … the variety of music we can play … live concerts and events. Support our volunteer efforts here and let us know what we do is worthwhile to you.”
<and anything else you can think of >
END WITH: “So call us now at 216-368-2208, or donate online at wruw.org”
If possible … play music from one of the music premiums we’re offering that fits your genre.
For more ideas on creating your show outlines, click here!