Seventeen cars. Seven $5,000 checks. One $25,000 donation.
And more than 400 other donors to boot.
The Summit FM raked in more than $165,000 after the public radio station appealed to listeners beginning last Friday following federal cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
In less than a week, the all-music station at 91.3 FM in Akron more than made up for the $130,000 budget gap created by a congressional vote.
General Manager Tommy Bruno said he was flattered and stunned by how quickly people showed up and how much they donated. A normal fundraising drive, he said, brings in about a third of what this one garnered.
“Everybody’s in really good spirits here, and it’s really encouraging,” said Bruno, who had originally hoped to raise $100,000 over the weekend.
“I would have had to let some people go, and I don’t think I’m going to have to do that now. It’s a good day for Akron.”
In addition to online and over-the-phone pledges, Bruno said he got a stack of checks in the mail two inches high. Most included handwritten letters telling him to stay strong, or bend but not break. “Here is a PBS-funding cancellation replacement payment,” one said.
“I have long appreciated the music on The Summit and hope that it continues,” said another.
And those car donations? The station will get 80% of the proceeds once the vehicles are auctioned off.
Will Akron radio station’s budget gap be filled?
More than half of the 417 donors as of midday Tuesday who gave something other than a vehicle became sustaining members, with recurring donations. Bruno said that could help the station figure out how to manage the ongoing implications of the lost grant, which The Summit had received annually for decades.
What he’d like to be able to do is raise money for the year ahead to ensure the budget gap left by the grant’s cancellation would be filled each year.
For now, fundraising continues as Bruno still expects changes in the station’s operations. In addition to the federal cuts, Bruno said some corporate supporters pulled away — one due to tariffs causing the company to rethink how it markets its brand. Also, Bruno is worried his expenses could rise. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting negotiated what public radio stations have to pay to artists to play their music; it’s a much-reduced rate that Bruno said he expects to increase if stations aren’t able to negotiate collectively.
‘Part of the solution’ at The Summit
Watching donors increase their giving from $5 a month to $1,500 at once, or donating $5,000 with no prior history with the station, helped Bruno realize how important The Summit is to the community.
Bruno said listeners come to the station, which focuses on the healing power of music, for a healthy distraction from the world. He wants to continue to provide it.
“I don’t know when it ends; I just know I’m enjoying the momentum,” Bruno said. “It will go on. I think we make Akron a better place to live, I truly do.
“I think we’re part of the solution.”