Save KPLU Campaign Reaches Halfway Point With Over $3.5 Million
(Seattle-Tacoma, WA) The SAVE KPLU campaign is now halfway to its goal of raising $7 million by June 30, thanks to the generosity of over 9,000 donors—including a recent $500K listener challenge that was met in just nine days. As of the morning of April 5, the campaign has raised $3,525,746! SAVE KPLU is on track to raising the money needed for 88.5 FM to become an independent, community-licensed station. The community group Friends of 88-5 FM recently attained 501(c)(3) status as a tax-exempt organization, so all donations made to the Save KPLU at kplu.org are tax-deductible and eligible for employer matching programs.
“We are grateful and humbled by the huge outpouring of community support to Save KPLU,” said Joey Cohn, KPLU General Manager and head of the Friends of 88-5 FM community group. “A big thanks to the group of generous listeners who pooled their contributions together to offer the $500,000 challenge. It motivated other listeners to give, and the match enabled us to quickly bring in $1 million!”
Friends of 88-5 FM launched its fundraising campaign on Monday, January 11, 2016. The campaign needs to raise $7 million, which matches the amount of the current deal between Pacific Lutheran University and the University of Washington. (One million dollars in in-kind underwriting for PLU over 10 years is also part of the deal.)
A purchase of the license by the Friends of 88.5 FM means that the station will become independent with oversight from a governing board. KPLU’s award-winning, independent news department will remain intact, allowing for greater, in-depth local news coverage in the Puget Sound region. In addition, NPR programming will continue, as will the award-winning jazz and blues, including weekly live performances, and the station’s support of jazz education through local high schools and colleges.
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Pacific Public Media broadens the international content of KPLU to include all forms of listener-supported media including KPLU FM's "NPR News and All That Jazz" and its all-jazz webstream, Jazz24.org. Ranked as one of the most popular public radio stations in the nation, KPLU provides local and National Public Radio news, and jazz and blues on 88.5 in Seattle/Tacoma, 89.3 in Port Angeles/Victoria, 88.9 in Sedro-Woolley and 90.1 in Olympia. At www.kplu.org, the station provides a live stream of NPR News and All That Jazz, which is also available on HD Radio. Jazz24 is one of the most listened-to webstreams in the world and is available at www.Jazz24.org and on KPLU's HD2 channel.