Having recently expanded its listenership with a...

Having recently expanded its listenership with a power boost that allows it to cover much of Orange County, KUCI (88.9 FM) will now ask its new audience to help pay for the programs it offers. The nonprofit, student-run station, based at UC Irvine, begins a weeklong, on-air fund-raising drive at noon today.

The immediate goal for the drive is $10,000, according to Kevin Stockdale, a university employee who serves as the station’s paid adviser. But Stockdale said that is just a start: KUCI needs to raise $210,000 over the next three years to pay for new equipment involved in the power increase, and to meet its regular operating expenses. The annual operating budget is approximately $125,000, about half of which is currently paid by the university. KUCI will become totally reliant on donations after the 1994-95 academic year, when university subsidies are scheduled to end.

Listeners who donate $25 will receive a program guide and gift CD or cassette. More goodies, including T-shirts and sweat shirts, will go to those who pledge more, and a $200 gift gets your name engraved on a plaque in the KUCI studio.

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The George Hoag Family Foundation has given $50,000 to the Orange County Philharmonic Society to help underwrite concerts for children at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa and the Irvine Barclay Theatre. The foundation has previously helped support the Society’s two music mobiles, which take instruments and music programs to Orange County schools.