KPCW Radio, a public radio station and NPR affiliate, has served Summit and Wasatch Counties since 1980. This week through their Summer Pledge Drive, they’re asking for help: “We rely on community support to stay on the air,” says Renai Bodley Miller, president and general manager of KPCW. And, true to its mission, KPCW uses this necessary fundraising week to showcase local businesses and nonprofits — so everybody wins.
As a station, KPCW has three focuses: local news, NPR programming and music. Its music streaming is admirable — with more than 15,000 songs in its playlist, KPCW plays AAA (“Adult Album Alternative”) from classic rock to current hits, explains Bodley Miller. Though their attention is local, KPCW also reaches the world. Because of Park City’s ski community and the use of internet streaming, “we have people who tune in from all seven continents,” Bodley Miller says with a laugh.
During pledge drives, held each year in March and in August, KPCW partners with nonprofits in the area to help host the four-day event. This year, the Summer Pledge Drive runs from Monday, Aug. 21 to Thursday Aug. 24, and the team has recruited more than 20 nonprofits to help.
“It’s a celebration of the nonprofits in this community,” says Bodley Miller. Groups such as Early Childhood Alliance, Swaner Preserve & EcoCenter, National Ability Center and People’s Health Clinic each host an hour, speaking on the way KPCW has supported them and is essential to elevating voices in the community.
Partnering with nonprofits isn’t the only unique part about KPCW’s take on the pledge drive.
“You know the joke about the coffee mug and the tote bag? We do things a little different,” says Bodley Miller. Instead of offering the traditional NPR gifts, KPCW solicits local businesses for donations, which serve as thank-you gifts for those who pledge. Some of these gifts include tickets to the Park City Museum, lift tickets to Park City Mountain, bottles of oil or vinegar from Mountain Town Olive Oil or gift cards to local restaurants like Salt Box and Riverhorse.
While the start of school may serve as a slight hurdle for attention and pledging, the team is already off to a great start. With a goal of $340,000 for the Summer Pledge Drive, day one put them at $129,000 as of Tuesday morning, and Bodley Miller hopes to continue that momentum.
The schedule of hosts is available here and listeners can tune in at 91.7, 91.9 or 88.1, or stream from the KPCW app and website. To donate, call 435-649-9004 anytime between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. until Thursday, Aug. 24, or donate online at kpcw.org anytime until Sunday Aug. 27.