News

Okay, this is certainly cheating, but I am mostly going to launch this 100-day campaign blog (on day 12) by sharing the letter we recently had printed in the Columbia Daily Tribune. It explains what we are doing and why we are doing it pretty well, so it seems like a good place to start.

Moving forward, I will share what is going on each day in a new blog post, and will do my best to give you the ups and downs — and, believe me, there will be plenty of both! Raising so much money in 100 days is a huge challenge, but it is doable — really, I have worked with several campaigns that have raised more money in just 30 days. We can do it. We will do it. Together.

Special thanks to long-time KOPN listener and volunteer John Steiger for designing the campaign logo!

Here is the letter intended to kick the whole thing off…

KOPN kicks off 100-day fundraising campaign (printed in the Columbia Daily Tribune, 6/29/18)

People are going to say we are crazy – and somebody might even be mad at me – but KOPN is officially, very publicly, kicking off a 100-day campaign to raise $152,409 by Sunday, September 30th.

No, this is not some arbitrary amount or deadline.

If we succeed, we will have a very good chance of receiving an additional $70,000 grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (seriously, raising the money by that date is a requirement to get the grant).

If we then get that grant, then KOPN will be well on its way to returning to our glory days, serving this entire community with in-depth news, diverse talk, and music of the world. We will have the resources to build in a long-term way, continuing to expand our service to Mid-Missouri and keeping us on the road to another 45 years of great, independent community radio.

Why write this letter? Why take a chance on missing the goal and embarrassing ourselves (myself)? I am writing this letter because this is important and because we need help; and you do not get help unless you ask for it. We need you, not to survive, but to prosper, to really reach our potential and become what we all know we can be.

Thank you to the community that has supported us for 45 years. Thank you to everyone who is going to help us reach our goal. Stay tuned; it is going to be an incredible 100 days for KOPN and for this community. Let’s build a brighter future, together.

Sean Spence
KOPN General Manager