Radiothon Mistake #6
Getting the Facts Wrong
(updated for 2012)

Every year during the telethon there are people on our station who just don’t “get it.”

They don’t pay attention to what to say about the telethon.

They don’t attend “How to Beg”.

They don't attend the required staff meetings.

They don’t prepare outlines or scripts so they “wing it.”

They don’t bother to click the link to read these telethon mistakes.

And they damage the credibility of what everyone else is saying on-air about the fundraiser.

I find it very irritating to hear ‘facts’ about the station on Monday that don’t jive with ‘facts’ I hear on Wednesday that are completely different than ‘facts’ I hear on Saturday ... that are all different from the REAL FACTS!

So, this message is designed to “get the facts right” so that we are all delivering the same message to our audiences during the telethon.

Top 10 Funding Facts about WRUW

1. WRUW’s annual budget varies between $70,000 and $80,000.

2. WRUW’s primary funding for the budget comes from two sources: the Media Board (Student Activity Fee), and the telethon.

The split is approximately 50 percent Media Board, 50 percent telethon (plus or minus 3 percent). The split USED to be 70 percent Media Board, 30 percent telethon, but times have changed. More media groups on campus are competing for funds so we get less from the Activity Fee (and Media Board) than in years past.

Over one-half of our funding comes from the telethon. That means the telethon is even more important to keeping the station going and growing over the year.

3. Underwriting brings in a very small amount of money relative to the other two sources. (5% or less)

4. CWRU, the school itself, provides NO MONEY to the station. They provide the space for the station, the glorious heat, the electricity and network access at no charge.

5. The CWRU Alumni Association provides NO MONEY to the station.

6. We do not receive any federal funding of any kind whatsoever.

7. The Media Board funding pays our “survival expenses” ... office supplies, minidisks, CMJ subscriptions, telephone bills, software, general maintenance parts and equipment, and so on.

8. The Radiothon pays for expenses related to “improvements and bonus activities”. Radiothon pays for new equipment, live concerts like StudioArama, CD’s and other music recordings, and printing the Program Guide.

9. We are all volunteer, so no telethon money is used to pay for any salaries. The General Manager and Business Manager receive a stipend for their work throughout the year out of the Media Board portion of funding.

10. Our goal for the 2012 fundraiser is $55,000 in pledges (promises to pay). After the telethon is over, about 95 percent of that pledge amount (+/- 5%) actually comes in.

Top 5 Programming Facts

1. We will NOT become a commercial station if we don’t have a successful fundraiser. We are licensed as a non-commercial station, and we reside in that portion of the radio band reserved for such stations.

2. We will NOT go “all top 40”, “all hot hits”, or homogenize our format to one genre if we don’t reach our goal.

3. We will NOT “go NPR”. There are already two stations in Northeast Ohio that provide that format.

4. If we do not have a successful fundraiser, we will NOT stop broadcasting or shut down.

We WILL still survive and stay on-air, but we won’t be able to buy as much equipment as we need, we won’t be able to buy the music we want to play for our listeners ... and we won’t have StudioArama.

5. We work to stay on air 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We always want to be a viable option to other stations on the dial at all hours of the day.

Top 5 Radiothon Facts

1. We only do this one time a year. Unlike other several stations that have multiple fundraisers each year ... we only have one.

Last year (2011), I heard a couple of people say on-air, “I THINK we only do this once a year.”

WHAT PLANET ARE YOU ON, FOLKS???!!!

There's nothing to "think" about.

It's a FACT: “We only do this ONCE a year.”

2. Listeners can donate on their credit cards, as long as they use Mastercard and Visa. We do not take Discover or American Express.

3. In return for donations, listeners can CHOOSE to receive a gift from us. We call that gift a “premium”. Listeners are not “buying” these items. The are not giving to "GET" these items. Listeners are donating, and we are thanking them. Some listeners may not want premiums. Others will give specifically to get them. It is always the listener’s choice.

4. As Technical Director, I can say that we will be buying the following equipment with telethon money:

• Upgrade our air signal chain to all-digital
• Start working on the transition to High Definition FM

5. In the past year, we purchased over $20,000 worth of equipment to improve the sound of the station.

In previous years, telethon monies have paid for a giant chunk of the record library (no one really knows how much), as well as the transmitter and power increase, just about every piece of equipment in both studios, plus live music production equipment, and studio renovations. We really put the money to work each year.

65 Final Words

A couple of years ago, Dr. Phil McGraw wrote a book titled Life Strategies. In that book he lists "10 Life Laws": the 10 rules by which the world plays.

Life Law #1 is: You either 'get it', or you don't.

I'm hopeful that this information helps you 'get it' about the WRUW fundraiser. Please be sure to deliver a consistent message during the telethon.

Mistake #1 | Mistake #2 | Mistake #3 | Mistake #4
Mistake #5 | Mistake #6 | Mistake #7