KCLU Listeners Give $40,000 in Pledges

Cal Lutheran University’s National Public Radio affiliate, KCLU-FM (88.3), raised a record of more than $40,000 during its annual fall membership drive, station officials said Tuesday.

The recently completed weeklong fund-raiser brought in $41,379 in pledges, surpassing last April’s total of $36,200, said Mary Olson, KCLU general manager. The station typically collects about 99% of its pledges.

The station’s fund-raising totals normally grow by $3,000 from one pledge drive to the next, Olson said. This increase was considerably larger.

Olson attributed the 3-year-old station’s success to an increase in listeners--from 28,000 per week a year ago to 40,000.

“More people have found us,” she said. “They tune in, they like what they hear and they are staying.”

KCLU is Ventura County’s only jazz station. With a paid staff of only three, KCLU relied on 144 volunteers to take phone pledges during the membership drive. The radio station has 3,076 members, although Olson said she has not yet tabulated the number of new ones.

It operates on a budget of $364,748 a year, with $130,000 coming from Cal Lutheran. The remainder comes from support from businesses and foundations, as well as members.

Anyone who wants to make a pledge should call 493-9200.