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Volume 72, Issue 58,
Thursday, November 9, 2006
News KUHF tops donation goal Manager ascribes success to volunteers, community members by JENNIFER EARLY
KUHF-FM Houston Public Radio raised $732,945 during its semi-annual on-air fund-raising campaign in October. "(KUHF) provides really good in-depth news. (KUHF) provides all the information about the arts community and then plays classical music that nobody else does. People want that stuff," Debra Fraser, KUHF station manager, said. KUHF, which broadcasts on 88.7 FM and high-definition digital, surpassed its original goal of $700,000. The final sum comes from 1,637 new and 2,710 returning contributors to KUHF's professional radio service in affiliation with National Public Radio news broadcasts. The on-air fund-raising campaign lasted nine days, including a one-day Web Pledge Day, Fraser said. "(KUHF) tried to get a jump start on (the campaign). That was just an effort to try and get people to join online in order to cut back on paperwork," Fraser said. "This is also the first time (KUHF) had all its volunteers use computers. (The volunteers) entered all the information through a database. It cuts back on a lot of the mistakes." The semi-annual campaign involves the entire KUHF staff working many nights and weekends, Fraser said "We have a staff of about 42 full-time people, 50 all together with our part-timers," she said. "And it is literally something everyone has a role in somehow. Everyone's job, everyone's function changes for eight days. "This is a different kind of work. It's full-throttle adrenaline all the way, because (the staff) has to stay happy and positive. And somehow it always works." Corporate leaders are brought in, and recordings from high-ranking officials such as Mayor Bill White are played during the on-air campaign, Fraser said. "It's different from TV. A lot of people are accustomed to thinking of fund raising in public broadcasting as TV," she said. "In TV, they do different shows. They run different programs." The fund-raisers allow KUHF to expand its programming and sponsor more than 150 events in Houston each year, Fraser said. "The news shows that (KUHF) runs cost over $1 million. That's just the news programs -- that has nothing to do with classical music and the purchasing of CDs and paying staff," Fraser said. Approximately 89 percent of KUHF's annual revenue comes from the Houston community's contributions, because the station receives no funding from the state government or UH. "(KUHF has) people who have supported the station for over 15 years," Fraser said. "They're corporate leaders. They're civic-minded. They appreciate that (KUHF) provides for a better-informed community because of the news and the arts programs. "Many of them also volunteer their time. And they
leave their real-world jobs that pay lots of money. They do daily tasks
that (KUHF) needs done."
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