5 Things I Love About the KCRW Subscription Drive
Laura Shumate, KCRW’s Drive Director.
Greetings all! My name is Laura Shumate. I am KCRW’s Drive Director and I absolutely love the Pledge Drives – the 11-day event where the entire station, business communities and listeners all come together to help keep this vital resource alive and kicking. If you’ve ever participated as a pledge drive phone volunteer, then you know the drive is all that – alive and kicking! Wonder what I’m talking about? Well, here are my 5 Favorite Things about the KCRW Pledge Drives:
1. Coffee
I have one vice. It’s not even a vice. It’s a pleasure. I have one pleasure and it is caffeine. I enjoy it most in its completely invigorating form – coffee. So I’m understandably excited that the pledge drives feature “The Endless Cup,” a constant flow of coffee on tap, provided by one of L.A.’s many fine coffee providers. We feature three distinct flavors: strong, regular and decaf. Damn good coffee. And hot too!
2- Food
I have a second pleasure/vice and that’s eating. The debate is open as to whether eating is actually a vice or necessity, but during the drive it’s a regular Fellini “Roma” debacle. KCRW pledge drives feature the generous support of restaurants throughout L.A. On any given day you will see a variety of the following (in no particular order): muffins, bagels, s’mores, tamales, pizza, pasta, seafood, farmers market fresh fruit, vegan, brownies, vegetarian, raw, Indian, Italian, Greek, Mexican, hamburgers, sausages, ice cream – yeesh… I’m full.
3- What’s Happening!
Subscription drives are where KCRW raises the “Lion’s Share” of our annual budget. So it’s very important that our on air pitchers are able to convince the 1,000s of listeners to call in and support. But how? With stuff! But not just any stuff – premiums! Valuable stuff from the latest and greatest of what’s happening in Los Angeles and beyond. The drive staff and I take note everything from what’s just opened to where you just went and we contact these outstanding businesses to offer a gift certificate in exchange for listener support. Vacations, spas, restaurants, stores and CDs… If you want to know what’s going on in L.A., listen to the drives – we got it! And if you support KCRW you can get it.
4 – Community
KCRW is a non-profit, member funded radio service. Without a supportive community, it’s difficult to imagine how KCRW might exist. But during the drives we see an outpouring of support and we see it in droves. From the businesses that donated their gift certificate, to the listener that pledged for it, to the phone volunteer that took their pledge, to the restaurant that fed the volunteer… This is what I find most satisfying about the KCRW subscription drives. The community that comes together to ensure that KCRW may continue for another year.
5 – Fun!!
The pledge drives are a blast! KCRW is manned by a committed group of hard-working, intelligent and very funny folk. It’s in our nature to have a good time – even during a pledge drive. We’re enjoying delicious fare, making new friends, answering tons of phone calls, showing off our basement digs, watching our favorite KCRW personalities sing for their supper…We laugh, we cry, we give away iPod Touches and we get to share in the satisfaction that we’re all helping to keep KCRW on the air one more year.
Sign up to join the fun: http://www.kcrw.com/join/drive-signup/volunteer
Pledge Drive Image from El Daybeh’s Flickr Photostream
Tags: KCRW Pledge Drive, KCRW Volunteer, Subscription Drive
