Good day! I'm here to report on the results of Day 1 of our fall fund drive - we've raised 30% of our goal which is a triplicate advance from last year at this time, and a truly heroic exclamation of appreciation and admiration...
Sitting here ...making my 94 year old mother's potato salad recipe and listening to your amazing groove, two things I can count on this crazy world. With thanks! Jeffrey, Putney VT
Through WBGO, I've been introduced to so many great musicians and vocalists! I can't imagine the day without listening to WBGO. - Andrea, Port Washington, NY
Whenever I need it, WBGO is there on the dial. My go-to station on the kitchen radio... Let's keep it going! - John, New York, NY
Thank all of you for making this the best station in the world! - Michael, Roxbury CT
In the two months since we received notice of the recission of federal funding for public radio, which includes WBGO, the definition of “hero” has evolved to include the thousands of individuals who have shown heroic and historic support for our mission. Compared to this time last year, there has been a triple-digit increase in contributions.
Because of this, operations here at 54 Wayne Shorter Way are upbeat and stable as we climb towar—our $400,000 goal for our fall fund drive, which lasts through Sunday evening.
The heightened awareness of our funding crisis has led to a record-setting show of hands raised to help or give. We have been awed and inspired by this outpouring of support, while recognizing that several of our public media counterparts, such as New Jersey PBS and Penn State’s WPSU, are preparing to cease operations.
This disappointing news only underscores the need for further acts of your heroism, which I believe we’ll continue to see in the coming days. Bear in mind that the measure of your grace isn’t in the size of your gift—it’s the gesture of your generosity, to give at all.
Any dollar amount will help us reach the summit of our highest aspirations. In this sense you are very much like one of my personal heroes, the great Nepalese sherpa Tenzing Norgay, who led the first expedition to Mt. Everest. WBGO would never be able to reach the mountaintop of our mission without you as our symbolic sherpa, a bright, shining source of motivation.
This year I celebrate my 50th year as a broadcaster, following a beacon of self-discovery from my southern Ohio hometown through 11 states, and dozens of unique radio stations along the way. The common thread of success everywhere was the love and support of the listeners, and the satisfaction they gained from engaging with public media. Attaining satisfaction—or santusti, as the sherpas call it—on your own journey of discovery is what we live for at WBGO. Because of you—and only with you—this grand and cherished institution of public media will never die.
To become a WBGO Member...
Call 1-800-499-9246, go to WBGO.org, or text WBGO to 243725 to make your gift.
- Become a sustaining member—they help create financial stability for us. Choose one of our most popular levels of $10, $15 or $25 a month.
- Make a lump-sum gift of $60 or more.
