Public Broadcasting reaches goal in drive
CMU Public Broadcasting met its goal.
As of press time, the station raised $130,313 during its 11-day fund raiser.
"We're very happy with the audience response," said Thomas Hunt, director of Public Radio. "We're all tired, but we feel good. It's been 11 days, it's been very intense."
The money raised is within the goal of $120,000 to $150,000. It is also more than the $130,000 raised in October 1999.
The fund raiser occurs twice a year, once in October, once in April.
Hunt said the largest sum - $1,000 - came from a private donor.
"This being the last day, we've been very busy," Hunt said. "This is what we want."
The amount will be used to help pay for programming and operation of the station, Hunt said.
It will be used for things such as power, maintaining equipment and locally produced broadcasts in music and news.
A total of 30 volunteers and 25-30 paid staff members worked on the fund raiser, Hunt said.
"We put in hundreds of hours collectively," he said. "We all work very long hours during the fund raiser."
The 24-hour fund raiser that ran from March 30 through Sunday asked area residents to call in donations, Hunt said.
Callers usually donate anywhere from $25 to $1,000, Hunt said. The average donation was $75.
Fund raising usually covers 54 percent of the budget said JoAnne Boulier, fund-raising coordinator for Public Broadcasting.
Fifteen percent of the budget comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and 20 percent comes from CMU. The remainder comes from miscellaneous sources.
CMU public radio can be heard on 89.5 FM Mount Pleasant, 90.1 FM Bay City, 95.7 FM Oscoda, 91.5 FM Alpena, 103.9 FM Harbor Springs, and 98.3 FM Sault St. Marie.
CMU public television includes WCMU Channel 14 Mount Pleasant, WCMV Channel 27 Cadillac, WCMW Channel 21 Manistee, W46AD Channel 46 Traverse City, W69AV Channel 69 Leland, and WCML Channel 6 Alpena.
