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top 4 fundraising ideas

August 20, 2004

Recently, FolkAlley/WKSU general manager Al Bartholet posted a message to this site about the funding challenges FolkAlley is facing. He's turned over the task of coordinating the fundraising to me. Thanks Al. Luckily you folks have come up with some great ideas, everything from doing a drawing for a pick-up truck, to selling stuff on e-bay.

Here's how the fund-raising ideas stack-up, in reverse order of the number of times suggested:

4. Look for corporate or foundation sponsors
3. Conduct on-line auctions, giveaways, or e-bay merchandising
2. Sell artist CDs or make downloads available at a price

And by far the most popular suggestion:

1. Ask listeners to pitch in to pay for the service.

I think one listener summed up the situation best of all:

"I think the key is to communicate with your contributors. If you need money NOW, let us know. In any case, keep [the] listening free, because that's the spirit of folk alley in my opinion." - Robert Adjemian

Our goal is to keep the music on FolkAlley free for everyone to discover. To make that happen we have another goal - raise $27,000 from listeners by the end of September. While we continue to explore other options, we're taking your advice and letting you know the financial needs of the station and what you can do to help. We've also contacted a couple of artists who have agreed to help - Mark O'Connor and Janis Ian are making their music available to those who donate $70 or more to FolkAlley. You can contribute any amount, every donation helps, just click here to make a pledge. Thank you to the listeners who have already pitched in. With your help I know we can meet this goal.

Thanks again,
Jeff St.Clair
FolkAlley fundraiser

Posted by Jeff St. Clair at August 20, 2004 3:46 PM


Comments

i just found this site by complete accident yesterday and now my tv no longer spews drivel in the background--i've got streaming folk music now! a donation (a small one, gotta lower your expectations [g]) is forthcoming as soon as i finish typing this note and click on the link. keep up the good work. /guy

Posted by: Guy Teague at August 21, 2004 5:23 PM

Here's another fundraising idea (I've already ponied up my own donation - you're that good!):

I just navigated (with some extra effort) to find a CD of an artist you guys played a few minutes ago. It wasn't easy - the playlist isn't yet as complete as it could be and this wasn't a mainstream CD. But I liked the music a lot, and was in just the right mood to follow through, another night and I might have given up and gone to bed.

So - link up with the (preferably alternative) companies that are selling CDs or downloads online - make a deal so that every time a folk alley listener clicks on a link to their site (make it easy - part of what you get when you click on the "now playing" link) and buys a CD or a download, folk alley gets a cut. Amazon's been doing it for years...and it's important that we support the artists also (I've a box full of vinyl I can't replace in my shed as proof, many of the artists are still out there but the old recordings I covet have never been rereleased on CD) - here's a way to support both folk alley and the artists that we hear.

Good luck and keep the music coming. And do tell us about it on the air, not everyone logs into the web site when we turn the music on...

Cheers,
Lelani

Posted by: Lelani Arris at August 23, 2004 1:53 AM

I think Idea#2 is best of all - making songs available to purchase & download as singles. I can't tell you how many times I read a song I really like, but don't want to buy the whole CD to get. To pay a few bucks for just the one song would be wonderful. And, if I knew that a portion of that went directly to FolkAlley... :)

Posted by: Mike Thorn at August 24, 2004 11:01 AM

Suggestion: If Folk Alley is a certified 403C tax exempt outfit you should says so. Some people work for companies that will match donations to such organizations, and it would also mean a tax deduction for many. And if you are not, well you should say that too!

Posted by: Roy Harvey at September 8, 2004 9:26 PM

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