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Frequently Asked Questions
Is WPR a nonprofit?
Yes. The Wisconsin Public Radio Association (WPRA) is the official name of the nonprofit 501(c)(3) fundraising arm of Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR). When you donate to WPR, you’re really donating to the WPRA and becoming a member of the WPRA. WPR is a service of the University of Wisconsin – Madison and the State of Wisconsin Educational Communications Board.
Visit our Wisconsin Public Radio Association page to learn more.
How much of WPR’s budget goes to pay for the WPR programs I listen to?
See above expenses graph. Sixty percent of our operating budget goes toward programming (acquiring, creating and broadcasting programs).
Does WPR receive tax-payer support?
Yes. State and federal tax dollars do support Wisconsin Public Radio (see State Support and CPB (federal) on the above revenue graph). However, without the significant portion of our budget that comes from listeners — the largest source of revenue — we would not be able to continue operations.
How does Wisconsin Public Radio rate on fundraising metrics?
WPR a four-star rating and a score of 100 on Charity Navigator. These are the highest rankings.
Where can I find more information about WPR’s finances?
Links to WPR’s annual report, as well as related financial reports by the State of Wisconsin Educational Communications Board and Wisconsin Public Media can be found here.
Is my donation to Wisconsin Public Radio tax-deductible?
Yes. The Wisconsin Public Radio Association is a 501(c)(3) organization and your donation to WPR is tax-deductible, as permitted by current tax rules, minus the fair market value of any thank-you gifts you received. Your gift acknowledgment letter will list any thank-you gifts you received and show the total tax-deductible amount. Gift acknowledgment letters are sent within two weeks after a gift is paid in full, and in January for installment gifts made during the year.
How many donors does WPR have?
WPR has more than 45,000 donors. “Donors” are defined as individuals or households who have made a financial contribution in the past twelve months.
Why do you have member drives?
Member drives are the most effective and efficient way to explain how we’re funded and ask for support.
Listeners are the largest source of funding for WPR programs! And listener support is a key reason why WPR is able to maintain editorial independence.
New members are an important part of keeping WPR healthy and member drives are the best way to communicate directly with listeners who haven’t yet become members.
Member drives are also an effective way to ask people to become a sustainer (an ongoing monthly giver) or increase their current sustaining gift. Sustainers are increasingly important to the long-term reliability of our funding.
In addition, member drives are a great way to ask those who haven’t donated for a few years to rejoin. On-air drives are also when a large number of people choose to renew their annual support or make additional donations.
We’re always experimenting and evolving to make member drives more effective and enjoyable, and appreciate listener feedback to help us do so.
How many member drives do you have each year?
We usually have four member drives a year. They raise a significant portion of the funds that create WPR programs … and they succeed with the generosity of our donors!
The drives are at similar times each year, though they vary in length as we experiment with ways to be the most effective with our on-air time. Here are the upcoming member drive dates, which are subject to change as the fundraising landscape changes.
- Wednesday, December 11 – Tuesday, December 17, 2024
- Thursday, March 6, 2025
- Wednesday, April 30 – Tuesday, May 6, 2025
How do you schedule member drives?
A lot of thought goes into planning member drives so that they’re as successful, efficient and enjoyable as possible. The main considerations for scheduling member drives are:
- Timing of charitable giving patterns throughout the year (the peak giving season is October-May)
- Timing of our other campaigns
- Holidays, elections or other big events
- Timing of national program fundraiser show delivery
Within all these guidelines, we also aim for as much separation between drives as possible.
How do you decide how long member drives should be?
The number of member drive days is determined by our budgetary needs. We’re always experimenting with new approaches to make our member drives more effective, which usually means our drive lengths and total days will change from one year to the next.
Most public radio stations have found that they must have 27 member drive days a year for optimum financial health. WPR generally has 18 to 28 member drive days per year.
There’s a big emphasis on sustainers … do one-time gifts help, too?
Yes, all kinds of gifts help!
Sustainers provide long-term, stable, predictable funding. We’re happy to report that more than half of our members are sustainers.
However, one-time gifts are also crucial to WPR’s budget and we always want members to donate in the way that’s most comfortable for them. We’re thankful for gifts of any amount, made in any way.
Will member drives go away with more sustainers?
Member drives will continue to be part of our strategy. Drives are still the single-most effective way to ask listeners for financial support. They’re the best way to get new members, new sustainers and to ask current members to increase and renew their support. About 25 percent of listener support comes in through the member drives … so they’re really important!
How do you decide how much time to spend talking in a member drive?
We follow best practices established by research in public radio, which say that about 20 minutes per hour is the most effective amount of time to spend making these requests. We do spend a little more or a little less time based on timings within an individual program.
Do you have a member-drive-free stream available for current members?
We are not able to offer a drive-free stream. The resources to create a drive-free stream are significant and our members would not want their money spent this way.
Aside from member drives, how else do you raise money from listeners?
We raise significant funds through mail (renewals, end of calendar year, end of fiscal year, other special mailings, and acquisitions mail). We also ask for support via door-to-door canvassing, email, on-air promotions, telemarketing, texts and tile ads on wpr.org. Sustainers (donors who give automatic, ongoing monthly gifts) are an ever-more important source of funding for WPR.
Do you have a suggestion for additional funding FAQs?
Revenue Terms
Members
Voluntary contributions from individuals and families, including major gifts and bequests.
State Support
Money received from the state and university in the form of General Purpose Revenue (GPR).
Other
Investment income, public broadcasting carriage fees, merchandise, ticket sales, production fees and other miscellaneous revenue.
Business Support
Contributions made by businesses, sometimes referred to as “underwriting” or “business sponsorship.”
Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)
Community Service Grants (CSG) based on the amount of Non-federal Financial Support (NFFS) generated by WPR.
In-Kind Support
Primarily administrative and facilities support that are allocated costs incurred by the UW System on behalf of WPR.
Capital Contributions
State Building Trust Funds.
Expense Terms
Broadcasting and Programming
Acquisition, production and transmission of programming, as well as related expenses.
Fundraising
Costs incurred in the solicitation of membership and business sponsorship revenue.
Administration
Management and administrative costs, including costs incurred by UW System on behalf of WPR.