Membership

Benefits of Membership | Membership Levels
Ways to Give | Sustaining Membership
Fundraising Techniques 

Fundraising Techniques

The single largest source of funding for the Maine Public Broadcasting Network and Maine Public Radio is from individuals who live in Maine, New Hampshire, New Brunswick, Massachusetts and many other places. The largest portion of membership revenue is realized through the generosity of individuals who renew their support annually.

We use both mail and telephone phone contact to secure the ongoing support or renewal of current members. MPBN has its own in-house telefundraising office based in our Lewiston facility. These are employees of the Maine Public Broadcasting Network who have a wealth of information about our programs and services. In addition to membership calls, these staff members contact former members to ask them to rejoin as well as current members for additional gifts.

The second largest portion of membership revenue comes through on-air and online membership or "pledge" campaigns. For television, pledge takes place in March, August/September, December and, if necessary, in June. For radio, pledge occurs in either late March or early April, and in July and October. The primary objective for pledge campaigns is to encourage new and former members to join or rejoin, so that the membership base continues to grow.

Online membership enrollment through the MPBN Web site continues to increase as a percentage of total revenue raised. E-mail renewal notices are sent out monthly to offer members the most cost-effective way to continue their support.

Current members are asked for additional gifts over the course of the year. We continuously strive to identify those members who would like to receive additional gift solicitations, while coding accounts accordingly for those who would prefer not to receive such appeals.

We have extensive on-going efforts to appeal to former members. Every month through mail and telephone contact, we ask past members to again support public radio and/or television for Maine.