You’ve heard us talk about “matching grants” and “matching pledges” during our semi-annual membership drives. But who are the people making these grants and do they really impact the bottom line?
The answer is anyone can participate and matching grants definitely help us meet our fundraising goals, which in turn enable us to deliver the programming you depend on every day.
“Matching grants are great at inspiring others to give,” says Membership Director Holly Gaete. “In fact, they account for nearly 25 percent of our funds raised during a membership drive.”
Here’s how it works:
In the weeks leading up to a membership drive, Holly and the membership team reach out to Leadership Circle and Business Circle members asking if we can pair their annual donation with another Leadership or Business Circle member to create a matching grant.
Those matching grants are used throughout the membership drive to incentive listeners to donate to meet the match and make their donation go further.
“Matching grants are helpful during slower times, such as the early afternoon, because they inspire listeners to give at that time to help us meet the match,” Holly explained. “At the same time, they can boost giving during high listening periods, such as morning or afternoon drive time. People feel really good about helping us meet a matching grant because it’s more support for the stations they love.”
“We joined the Leadership Circle in 2013 after attending KUTX Live at the Four Seasons during SXSW,” said Dave Bench. “We’re happy the station uses our annual Leadership Circle gift to inspire other listeners to donate. It feels great to hear your name on the air for a matching grant, knowing it’s supporting the music we love on KUTX and the news and information we rely on from KUT.”
“Matching grants can certainly amp up the excitement to give. If my Business Circle donation can be part of a matching grant to motivate others to donate – then all the better for me and the community as a whole,” said Dr. Lauren Crawford of Personique Plastic Surgery. “I’m excited about the prospect of my business keeping KUT healthy for many years to come.”
About 50 businesses and individuals fuel matching grants each membership drive. While anyone can participate, $750 is the minimum donation, which will be combined with another Leadership or Business Circle donation to create a matching grant.
Want to learn more? Contact our membership team. Membership@kut.org
