GM Update

Dear WPM Members and Listeners--

Thank you for your dedication and support for Wyoming Public Media!  You often hear us say that YOU, the individual, are our most stable source of revenue.  I can't stress this point enough.  While state and federal funding reacts to the economy, your individual support remains true.  It supports our tower infrastructure, and keeps programs like Morning Edition, Open Spaces, and Car Talk on the air.

During this fall drive we will once again ask for your generosity. In addition to purchasing programs you enjoy, we have to secure the future of our state network, the third largest in the nation.  Wyoming is dotted with towers that bring public radio into remote areas where no other media penetrates.  As towers and equipment age, they need replacement.  We also factor in unanticipated costs like the ones incurred this summer when heat and fires affected the cooling systems in many of our remote locations.  Some listeners found themselves without public radio service temporarily, while our engineers crisscrossed the state to repair malfunctions.  

Though individual and business support continues to pay for programs, federal matching grants for infrastructure build-out and repair are no longer available to us ever since the PTFP (Public Telecommunications Facilities Program) was eliminated by the President and Congress.  In response, we created a multi-year plan to meet our needs and make sure that no Wyomingite loses public radio service.   It will take every penny of our federal, state, and corporate funds.  It will also take you, the individual. 

So what can you do to help?  Here are some suggestions:

• Make a pledge to WPM.  Join the nearly 6,600 individuals who already support this station.  You are the “public” in public radio!
• Encourage other listeners to support WPM.  Our state network is only as strong as the people who support it.
• Persuade friends who do not support WPM to take the plunge!  They just might like that feeling of “doing their part.”
• Consider a sustaining gift - one that reflects how much you rely on our service every month and day of the year. These ongoing commitments allow you to spread out the payments to best meet your budget needs, and empower us to plan ahead; knowing that our programming costs will be met by our generous donors.
• Invest in WPM with a gift of $1000 or more, if you happen to be financially secure and able to share your good fortune.  Your generous gift will enable you to enjoy all of the benefits of our Leadership Circle membership.  In addition, your donation helps to offset the difference for donors who may be unable to donate as much as they would like.
• Encourage businesses that you frequent to become underwriters or corporate fund drive sponsors.  It’s a wonderful promotional opportunity for them, and a great help to WPM.  (And when you frequent their business, don’t forget to thank them for their support!)

Here’s what you should NOT do.

• Decide not to pledge because you believe others will.  This is wishful thinking, and it’s counterproductive.  Imagine what would happen if all WPM listeners had that same thought!
• Assume that your pledge is too small to make a difference.  This is totally wrong.  Every single dollar funds a portion of the broadcast day, and last time we looked, all dollar bills were created equal.  In public radio there is no such thing as a gift that is too small, or a gift that is too large. 

WPM reaches underserved rural areas with programming and services where many broadcasters have no economic incentive to reach. In many areas, WPM provides the only source of local broadcasting.  Just ask the late-night driver on the road from Rawlins to Rock Springs!

Strong public radio is a life-line in Wyoming.  Our fall fund drive goal is $310,000.  This may seem like an insurmountable amount, but not if you think of it in one-dollar increments.  You can claim as many as you want, and you will have fellow listeners joining you to reach that goal.    

WPM is a team effort, and it can win only with your help and loyalty.

Christina Kuzmych
General Manager, Wyoming Public Media