Hawaii Public Radio looks to set unusually short fundraising this year

Hawaii Public Radio has announced that the goal for the spring fundraiser, Challenge 2012, is to reduce the length of the usually ten-day drive to only eight days and, upon reaching the financial goal of $886,000, returning listeners to regular programming two days early. Trimming those two days has become known as the 80 precent solution.

Because advance donations against that goal have been breaking records for pre-drive gifts, there is a very good chance that the drive can be shortened successfully. The drive begins at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, April 11 and is scheduled to end on Wednesday, April 18. As of Friday, April 6, total pre-drive donations had hit $239,167, and more individuals have contributed pre-drive donations than ever before.

The other goal for Challenge 2012 is increasing the number of actual supporting members. The weekly cume of listeners is 160,000, but only about 8 percent of those are currently members of the service. The hope is that membership can be raised to 10% by the end of Challenge 2012.

HPR broadcasts two program streams 24/7: KHPR 88.1 Honolulu, KKUA 90.7 Wailuku and KANO 91.1 Hilo carry the classical music and fine arts stream. KIPO 89.3 Honolulu, KIPM 89.7 Waikapu and KIPH 88.3 Hana carry the news, information and entertainment stream. Both are also accessible through on-line streaming at www.hawaiipublicradio.org or Oceanic Cablevision digital channels 864 (KHPR) and 865 (KIPO).  

The most popular giving level among new supporters is the $10-a-month True Believer level. Becoming a member is easy with monthly installments.  

Volunteers to answer telephones and perform other necessary tasks at the station are welcome during the drive. Anyone wishing to sign up should contact Gene Evans, Community Outreach Manager, at 955-8821 or members@hawaiipublicradio.org.