On Thursday, Oct. 24, an evening celebration of the members was held at the Kimball Art Center.
If former KPCW General Manager Larry Warren had looked at the station’s cash flow before taking over in 2010, he may have had second thoughts about accepting the job.
Still feeling the effects of the Great Recession of 2008-2009, Warren said what was traditionally a stable three-legged stool with funding from listeners, underwriters and grant dollars, was wobbling. Most funding sources had been hit hard by the economic downturn and contributions dried up.
“Because of the churn, previous general managers had neglected to file a couple of critical accountability reports. So, we were docked heavily by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which issued a fine to us, and by the [Summit] county, which really wanted to know how we had spent their money in the previous year, justifiably," Warren said. "And then the other leg is underwriting, and businesses were going broke, so they weren't advertising, and there weren't any customers out there to advertise too. So, all three legs had collapsed almost. We were still bringing money in, but more money was going out.”
What he and the board of trustees realized was that the station couldn’t make much progress with individual $25 contributions during a week-long pledge drive. But since Park City is a prosperous community, Warren said he knew residents were capable of more than phoning in a pledge twice a year.
“We needed something bigger and better and more sustainable, that we could count on, year in, year out, good times, bad times,” Warren said.
With the help of KPCW board chair Bob Richer, they began tapping for deeper and wider funding. They began by asking what Richer called “the usual suspects” to lunch.
“We had a series of, I don't know, four or five lunches. We had it at Ruth's Chris, because we wanted to have a nice lunch, a nice presentation. But we also realized in the newspaper they had two-for-one coupons,” Richer said.
Richer went on to serve nine years on the KPCW Board, eight of those as board chair. Due in part to the launch and rapid growth of the Broadcasters Club, KPCW’s finances stabilized within a few years.
“There are so many great nonprofits in our community, but KPCW is right up there, because it truly does bring the whole community together. It truly is the voice of our community, and it just needed to not go away," he said. "And, you know, kind of secretly and quietly, the board and just a few people knew that times were really tough, and we reached out to the community, and boy, did the community come through.”
The number of Broadcaster Club members has continued to grow since 2014, and the major donor program now includes more than 360 memberships. Each two-person membership starts with an annual contribution of $1,000 or more to the station.
Members are invited to several events throughout the year, including an annual summer BBQ, winter kickoff party, receptions and shows. At higher contribution levels, members are also invited to ski days at Park City Mountain and Deer Valley.
On behalf of the staff at KPCW, a big thank you to those who have ensured the station’s continued ability to provide local news and information, snow and traffic reports and of course, great music.
If you are interested in learning more about the Broadcasters Club, contact KPCW Development Director Sarah Ervin (sarah@kpcw.org).
