Maryland's All-Classical Music Station
If we reach $60,000 before May 5th. we will shorten the drive by a day! Instead of pitching, you will hear the music you love on May 6th.
If you renew your membership, it counts!
If you make an additional gift, it counts!
If you join as a new member, it counts!
If you increase your sustainer pledge, it counts!
What an OUTSTANDING pledge drive!! When we ask classical music lovers to turn out, boy do they ever! Thank you to each and every one of you who gave during the buy-back campaign for shortening the drive, the Challengers who put up matching funds to motivate pledges, and to all of you who helped us exceed our goal during the very short drive!
Thank you to all the hard-working volunteers manning the phones, and a special thanks to the Handel Choir for coming out on Sunday!
Thank you wonderful Food Donors Roggenart, Bmore Pies, and The Omelette King for keeping us sustained (and to Jennifer LaFleur for coordinating!)
And as always, thank you to our staff, both on-air and behind the scenes, THANK YOU all for your dedication and hard work.
and now the numbers:
10/5 update: WOOHOO! You did it! You have shortened the 4-day pledge drive down to TWO DAYS!!
UPDATE: You’ve reclaimed a day of music from the upcoming pledge drive!! We’re well on our way to buying back a second day. We can do this!!
It’s nearly time for WBJC’s Fall Pledge Drive!
YOU have the power to shorten this pledge drive. If we can raise $60,000 before October 7th, we will drop a day of pitching. That means you will hear MUSIC and not fundraising on that day!
Maybe you’ve never given… now would be a fantastic way to make your donation even MORE impactful.
If it’s time for you to renew… that will count!
If you’d like to make a additional gift… that goes towards the goal!
If you’re a sustainer and you would like to upgrade your monthly amount… do it now to shorten the drive!
Click the blue DONATE button at the top of the website right now and move this thermometer up!
WBJC’s final fundraiser of Fiscal Year 25 happens in May and now is your chance to shorten the drive!
If we can raise $60,000 before May 13th, we will drop a whole day from the drive! Instead of 4 days of pitching, you will reclaim a day of the music you love.
And who doesn’t love more music?
All pledges made between now and May 13th count! If you’re a new member who’s never joined, that counts! If you may have been a member some years ago, but fell off the roster, that counts! If you’re renewing your current membership or would like to make an additional gift… yep, that counts too! If you’re a sustainer and you’d like to increase your pledge, that will count as well!
Remember, there is NO minimum to be a member of WBJC. If you feel that a single musical note isn’t much, remember that all together, our members make a symphony of difference to classical music and WBJC.
Wowza!! What a great drive!
We decided to be a bit experimental and try a drive without monetary goals, just appealing to new and rejoining members to help beef up the membership numbers. We started out with a conservative goal of 200 members, and started out the month-long drive with short messaging here and there on-air.
As the month went on, and that number was looking very far away, the hosts started hand-off appeal breaks between each shift, to talk about how important joining is for the station’s long-term health.
Then the last two days of February. we held a more traditional Drive, albeit with shortened hours, without membership minimum amounts, and no hourly financial goals. Challengers were happy to put up a whopping $22,750 to match pledges as another incentive. Volunteers came in and manned the phones, happily chatting with all the new members calling in. It was such a positive experience!
The numbers:
month long new/rejoin goal: 200
number reached: 344
Challenge dollars: $22,750 (~$11,000 each drive day)
funds raised: $52,101.42 (this does not include challenge dollars!)
Thank you each and every one of you who made this a truly amazing drive!
February is New Member Month!
WBJC is appealing to those who have never joined WBJC’s membership ranks to do so in the month of February! We have a goal of 200 NEW members before the end of the month, and we are feeling pretty confident that there are 200 listeners who will step up.
We have several things to offer new members in addition to our assortment of Thank You gifts… All new members will receive an invite to a special movie screening in March, and a baseball cap (to wear to opening day?)
This is a format you love. You already listen. You turn to classical music when you need to escape a chaotic world. Having WBJC available 24/7 to everyone regardless of income, political leaning, race, or culture is so very important to our community. Music is something that binds us all together. And love of classical music in particular is something we share!
Join the ranks of stewards of this resource. Maybe you’d like to give a one-time gift? Maybe you’d like to give a small amount monthly? Maybe you have an old car you can donate? Support the music you love in a way that fits your budget and your lifestyle.
Click the Blue DONATE button at the top of the page to join us right now!
1/6/25 – the fulfillment company is starting to receive the finished thank you gifts and should begin shipping as they come in! Again, our apologies for this extreme and unanticipated delay!
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There have been some unforeseen production delays and we anticipate being able to send the Thank You gifts out in December rather than November. We apologize for the delay!
Thank you each and everyone who made our last drive of Fiscal Year 24 a resounding success!
From the people who gave during the Drive, the Buyback donors in the weeks before who shortened the pitching, the volunteers who answered the phones, the food donors (and the hard work of Jennifer LaFleur to get that food to us), the Challengers who put up matching funds to motivate others, the building facilities crew who made sure we didn’t sweat to death in Pledge Central, to the WBJC staff who (whether on-air or behind the scenes) all work tirelessly to make these campaigns and this station a success… My hat goes off to all of you. I don’t think there is ever a pledge drive that goes by that I’m not in awe of how everyone works towards this singular goal… to keep classical music on the air in Baltimore and beyond!
Here are the numbers:
387 pledges
38% were online pledges!
64 new members (and another 11 from the Buyback)
59 lapsed members who rejoined (and another 97 from the Buyback!)
$124,959 Spring Buyback ($120k goal)
$18,750 Challenge dollars
$68,381 Pledge Drive ($65k goal)
We are all truly grateful to all of you!