Have you ever wondered what it costs to operate Kootenay Co-op Radio for a typical one hour show? Around $25. That’s an absurdly low operating cost. But it’s still a cost, and when you add together all of those hours, you come up with an annual budget of around $120,000.

This covers everything from the mortgage on our building, gear maintenance and replacement, hydro bills, and wages for our small team of hard-working, part-time staff. If that seems like a really small amount to run a 24/7 radio station 365 days per year that features over 80 hours of original programming each week, it is.

So how do we do it? We couldn’t make it happen if not for our dedicated team of over 100 volunteers who put in nearly 300 hours each week to pull it all together.

Now, $120,000 isn’t a lot when you consider the value KCR provides to our community, but it’s still $120,000, which is a lot of money to scrounge together each and every year. But we manage to do it, by rounding up a third of this amount from grants, another third from sponsorships from local businesses, and another from your member fees.

In the same way volunteers are vital to the operation of this station, your member fees are crucial to keeping us on the air. Without member investment, Kootenay Co-op Radio would cease to exist.

And your support may become even more important in the future, because grants are in no way guaranteed. The stress around the station becomes palpable every time a grant request is written, because we never know for sure if we’ll receive the amount requested. And with our volunteers stretched so thin already, we never know how we’ll make up the difference should the grant fail, and we have to lay off a staff member. 

And truthfully, we don’t always want to barely make ends meet. We don’t want to be worrying about making payroll. And neither does our staff! And a lack of funds means we can’t always afford to replace gear when we need to. Last year, one of our aging desktop literally caught fire. And when we are dedicating resources to scrounging new ways to generate more revenue or keep gear going long past the time it should be retired, we are focusing less on programming.  

So if Kootenay Co-op Radio is important in your life, we ask that you please make this year the year you become a member. Or if you are already a member, and you can afford to top up your member fees with a gift, please consider doing so.

With this our only drive for 2018, we are looking to raise $25,000. That’s not a lot. If we only sold $60 memberships, we would have to sell just over 400. Even fewer when people choose to pay member fees of $96, $120, or $240 per year. So please help it happen by becoming a member today.

Annual memberships are available for $60, $96, $120, or $240. Or you can choose monthly subscription for as little as $5.50 per month, right up to $20 per month. Please give us a call right now at 250.352.9600, or sign up securely below.

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