This week I wrote an email to close friends & family asking them to help during the Freeform Portland Fall Fundraiser. I pointed out that no one gets paid by the station - there's no accountant, no Station Manager, no one who gets a regular salary. We're all volunteers.
Also I pointed out we have a surprisingly small budget. It's amazing we're on the air, frankly. I remember lean times at KVRX & KOOP in Austin, & Freeform has half the budget of those stations at the time, which was like the late 1990s & early 2000s respectively. It's a tribute to the dedication of the station's volunteers that so much time & money has come from those involved to keep this wonderful, anarchic radio experience on the air.
Of the ten people I wrote the email to, four people donated to the station. It was incredibly fucking kind of them. One person called to tell me they couldn't donate, which was sweet. I felt awful writing the email. I've never asked anyone to give money to the stations I've been involved with.
Someone about Freeform Portland is different. It is young, it has more possibilities, it just seems closer to my ideal of what independent radio should be. It has issues, to be sure, & there are many challenges it needs to overcome. But that's what this Fall Fundraiser is about - making sure we're there to confront the challenges.
Nobody reads this blog but if you're reading this & you want the crazy freedom-of-expression & crazy music lover's dream that is Freeform Portland to survive, maybe throw a few bucks our way at this place on the web. There are many ways to throw your money away. This is not one of them.
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