This afternoon KUSP completed a three-day on-air drive to wrap up Upgrade 2011. Between Thursday morning and Saturday afternoon over 300 donors contributed $30,000 to the project.
This was the last piece of fundraising for a project that started in 2010, when KUSP received one of the last matching grants awarded by the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program (PTFP), which funded critical technology projects at public radio and TV stations for almost 50 years until the White House and Congress eliminated it in April.
PTFP projects usually require the station to raise an equal or greater amount of money for the project in the communities they serve. We began raising the required $75,000 from our listeners over the winter. An event for donors in Big Sur in January, and another at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History in February, got things underway; many Leadership Circle contributors added their support this spring.
With the June 30 deadline for matching contributions approaching, we turned to our entire listening audience to provide the last piece of the fundraising puzzle, and we’re delighted (as always) that you responded so quickly.
We’ve already begun lining up the Upgrade 2011 equipment; major work will happen over the summer, with final project completion set for September.
If you haven’t yet made a gift to support Upgrade 2011 you still can – just follow this link and select “Upgrade 2011″ when you check out.
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