Public Radio stations are non-commercial, and rely on federal funding, grants, listener donations, as well as business contributions and sponsorships to stay on the air.

KRNM received a foundation grant to build the station back in 1994. Currently, there is no federal funding to assist us operationally. As a result, the need to generate revenue locally has become essential to our survival.

Listeners can help by making tax deductible donations during our on-air pledge drives (as well as anytime throughout the course of the year), and by attending fund raisers organized by the station.

Businesses can assist by making tax deductible contributions, and by underwriting one or more of our programs. Underwriting is a form of sponsorship, in that a business can donate a specific sum to our station, and receive in return a message acknowledging their support during the program(s) of their choice.

Underwriting is a primary funding source for KRNM, and has proven to be successful for not only the station, but the supporting businesses as well. This revenue helps maintain the diverse and international programming that we air each day, but it also gives the business a positive image by being identified as a company / organization that helps and gives back to the community.

A business that sponsors a program on KRNM receives on-air radio publicity, and the product or service exposure contained in their underwriting credit (up to :15 per message) reaches an influential group of listeners. Public radio listeners have active lifestyles. They participate in public activities and are involved in their communities. They vote. They volunteer. They are community leaders. Statistics show that they dine out, travel, read, invest, and entertain more often than most consumers, and they spend more money when they do. Surveys have also shown that the majority of public radio’s listeners say that a company’s support of public radio has a positive influence on their decision to purchase that company’s products and services.

Most people in the business community are surprised when they’re informed of how reasonable KRNM’s underwriting rates are. It costs only $250 to sponsor a weekly show for the entire year (52 spots). A business can underwrite two weekly programs throughout the course of a year for $500 (up to 104 spots), and $1,000 allows a business to sponsor a daily program (up to 365 spots for the year).

Please contact Carl Pogue at 234-5498 extension 1520 for information regarding personal or business donations. If you’re interested in possibly underwriting a program, we’ll arrange for a sales kit (including our rate card and more detailed information about the station) to be delivered to your office.