A Reflection of my spring 2011 semester – Project In Media

A Reflection of my spring 2011 semester – Project In Media

This semester I was working for WUSB as the Radiothon Coordinator. I started the semester with the task of catching up with the last Radiothon. I called each person who made a donation by credit card to confirm their pledge, apologize for the delay, and advise them that their credit cards will be processed in the coming weeks.

This task presented a few minor problems. The first was attempting to reach everyone by telephone and waiting for many return phone calls. The second was the explanation of why it had taken so long and when they would be receiving the premiums they asked for. I really wanted to use this opportunity to thank these supporters for their support and generosity to the radio station as well as remind them of the upcoming Radiothon that was beginning in April.

Everyone I spoke to was wonderful. They were all big fans of the programming and happy to help out. Once we were able to process the credit cards, I worked with a team of interns to mail out every premium that was promised. In the gift package we included a thank you note with a reminder of Springs Radiothon quickly approaching as well as an invitation to the Chili’s fundraiser night we held on April 28, 2011 where Chili’s donated 10% of all receipts to the station if they brought in a flier saying they were there to support WUSB.

Although I had hoped for greater success, it was a fun evening where many DJ’s and a few fans came out to say hello and support WUSB. We had t-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs, caps, scarfs and CD’s for sale. As of today, I do not have the exact number for what was raised that evening but I am only expecting a small return. The reason for this is that since some DJ’s are only on every other week, they should have been given more time to announce the event on-air, we didn’t sell any promotional items since most of the attendees already have the items. It was difficult for many who live on campus to get to Chili’s and it was a rainy, foggy night and I think that prevented a lot of people from coming out. We are already planning one in September as a welcome back get together/fundraiser so hopefully it will have more success.

After Spring break, the interns and I worked vigorously, to get the new pledges into the computer, credit cards and checks processed and premium gifts out. Within three weeks 99% of this had been accomplished. We are hearing great feedback from DJ’s and listeners about how quickly the process took this time and I hope to continue streamlining the process for next semester. One of the ways I was able to do this is by reducing the amount of paperwork. I condensed the pledge sheets to one form and made it easier and less time consuming for the DJ who was taking the pledge over the phone. After the pledges were entered into WUSB.fm they then get entered into the Radiothon computer by an existing DJ named Jim Weiner. I had Jim train myself, Lorraine and Caeley so between the four of us the pledges were entered in record time. As the information was entered into the computer, we immediately filled out a form for the Stony Brook Foundation so that credit cards would be able to be processed just days after the Radiothon ending. We were also able to mail invoices to those listeners who pledged over the phone and requested an invoice be sent; and we have already begun to receive checks back from that.

Another project we worked on was a mass mailing to restaurants and service industries within a 15 mile radius asking for gift certificates to be donated and offered as premiums. We are now starting to see a high return on that effort which we plan to continue and offer during Fall 2011 Radiothon. This has also opened communications with restaurants to host fundraising events and offer underwriting promotions. I hope to work more on this over the summer and into next semester.

I was also able to attend some of the media sponsored events as a representative of the media office. It was a great opportunity to network with other media organizations and promote WUSB - on and off campus.

Although I learned a lot this semester, there is still a lot of work to be done. Ultimately I would like to work on the following next semester:

* have the pledge form online with a database that securely processes credit cards, creates mailing labels and keeps track of inventory.

* I would like to create an email list of all of our previous supports and promote Fall 2011 Radiothon and any special events.

* I would like to increase listenership by use of facebook, promoting more local bands on-air and using their fan base to increase our audience.

* Work on digitizing the music library

* Continue to search for grants for funding of digitization and new equipment

* Hold several fundraising events throughout the year.