“People love what we do and want to give us money,” Preston said. He manages a database of 85,000 members, 27 percent of which contribute as sustainers. Sustainers now make up 4.6 percent of MPT’s overall membership program and have contributed 6 percent of its year-to-date revenue.Īt Twin Cities Public Television, donations from sustainers provide nearly a third of the station’s revenue, according to David Preston, membership director. Since Lore arrived at the Owings Mills–based state network in fall 2011, sustaining memberships and the revenues they bring in have increased tenfold, from 300 sustainers contributing about $34,000 annually to 3,000 who now donate $338,700, he said. “If this is not a silver bullet, it’s as close to it as a lot of us have ever experienced,” said Rick Lore, chief development officer at Maryland Public Television, which has made a concerted push to expand its sustainer program over the past two years. Veteran fundraisers say the effort pays off over the long haul: “Sustainers,” as this increasingly commonplace breed of member is called, renew at higher rates than those responding to traditional pledge pitches, and their monthly gifts help to even out the roller-coaster financial cycles of on-air fundraising. Instead of receiving cash infusions at pledge time and dealing with fulfillment of high-dollar premiums, they have to change the language they use in asking viewers to support their service throughout the year and develop new systems for tracking credit-card expiration dates.īut the biggest hurdle, according to fundraising specialists, is adjusting for the change in their cash flow when membership contributions come through monthly donations of $10 to $15, rather than much higher gifts tied to premium offers. While a steady flow of contributions from a donor’s credit card sounds like a great idea in principle, it’s challenging for many local stations to adjust to this new method of charitable giving.
Public TV stations looking to reduce their reliance on transactional fundraising will get more assistance from PBS this summer, when for the first time pitch breaks for its pledge specials will include messages inviting viewers to join as sustaining members - providing donations that arrive every month with no end date, although in smaller amounts than a Doo Wop show might inspire. The number of sustaining members contributing to the San Diego station has more than doubled during the past year. Reach the people who count! Join the many businesses and non-profit organizations that value being able to reach the appreciative audience that only public television offers.įor more information, call the Blue Ridge PBSĬorporate Support team toll-free at the KPBS-led pilot testing appeals for sustainer gifts during pledge, travel host Rick Steves, left, appeared in pitch breaks with KPBS’s Maura Daly Phinney. 2006 PBS Sponsorship Awareness Studyĭon’t just count the people you reach. 68 percent of PBS viewers believe companies that fund PBS have a commitment to quality and excellence.PBS viewers are more likely to buy a product from a PBS sponsor, all other things being equal.
With an average of just four minutes of non-programming content per hour on Blue Ridge PBS, your organization’s message stands out in a program-rich, clutter-free environment.2011 Hart Research and American Viewpoint For the eighth consecutive year, PBS has been ranked as the nation’s most trusted institution among all nationally known organizations.When your organization supports Blue Ridge PBS programming and special events, you earn the trust and respect of a valuable audience. Be part of the nation’s most trusted brand