Mitch And Jane In "Call Me Maybe"

File this under "Things You Thought You'd Never See A Public Radio Host Do." But hey, a bet is a bet! Mitch Wertlieb and Jane Lindholm make good on their promise to make a Call Me Maybe video if we met this morning's $25,000 challenge. Who says public radio people don't have rhythm? Enjoy!

Get Your Stats Here!

Peter Biello captured this photo of Mitch Wertlieb &
Jane Lindholm during the first day of the membership drive.

For those in the audience who love numbers, we've go you covered!

Here are some stats from the winter membership drive (as of 12 pm, Feb. 7, including pre-drive):

• $123,851 raised
• 1,479 pledges
• 419 pledges by phone
• 257 pledges by web
• 803 pledges by mail

If you follow our pledge goals and challenges, here's an update:

• Last night we had a goal of 125 pledges before 7 p.m. We received 131.
• This morning, we had to receive 175 pledges before 9 a.m. to receive an additional $5,000 challenge. We made the challenge with 192 pledges!

We also had a lot of fun on the first day of the drive with our chocolate hearts from our friends at Lake Champlain Chocolates. Everyone who made a pledge could request one (and many did!).

Tonight at 7 p.m. we have our first drawing prize, a $1,000 gift certificate to Small Dog Electronics. Pledge now to be sure you are entered in the drawing! Sustaining members are automatically entered into all membership drive drawings. You don't have to pledge to be entered, but we certainly hope that you will. You can check out all of our drawings on our website here.

You Did It!

Thank you, VPR members!

You did it! On behalf of everyone at VPR, thank you so very much for making VPR’s summer membership drive a huge success! We ended the drive last Friday and surpassed our goal of $485,000 to pay for the all the news, music, conversation, and entertainment you love from VPR News and VPR Classical.

You power VPR with your financial support, but your comments and reflections also keep us going. We get many listener comments during membership drives and throughout the year, but this one-liner really summed it up for us this time around:

Please never stop bringing us such good programming!

So long as there are generous and passionate listeners like you, we won’t! We promise we’ll work harder every day to bring you the best independent, innovative, community-supported news, music, and conversation in Vermont. Thank you so much for all you do for VPR – we couldn’t do it without you!

Update: Cut The Drive In Half

Typically, receiving half of something is a bad thing.

But what about half of a membership drive?

By now, you've surely heard about our effort to cut the upcoming membership drive in half by raising $245,000 before it even begins. To date, more than 500 of you have voted with your wallet in favor of shorter membership drives, and we have great momentum to meet this important goal by June 18th.

Listeners are always telling us they would like less on-air fundraising and more programming. So, we launched this experiment to see if we could raise at least half of our overall goal before the drive, and cut the number of days we need to spend fundraising in half (to just five days).

However, the deadline is fast approaching! In fact, there are only 14 days left to meet this mark, so it’s vitally important that we hear from you TODAY.

Without listener support, VPR wouldn’t exist. And without listener support today, we won’t be able to realize this important goal.

Thanks in advance for supporting Vermont Public Radio and shorter membership drives!

$25,000 Community Challenge Announced for VPR Classical in Central Vermont

We've been working behind the scenes to raise $300,000 to fund the purchase and maintenance of our VPR Classical station at WVXR 102.1 FM.

Last weekend, we kicked off the public phase of the campaign at Chandler Center for the Performing Arts in Randolph, prior to a concert by pianist and Beaux Arts Trio founding member Menahem Pressler.

During the event (and with 100+ in the audience) we announced a special "community challenge" to build on the campaign’s momentum: when VPR Classical listeners come together to raise $50,000 for WVXR, two local and generous supporters will contribute an additional $25,000 to the campaign.

VPR purchased WVXR in 2010. It was a leap of faith; we are confident that our community of classical music lovers will come together to meet this challenge and support this important campaign. This challenge opportunity may make it possible to meet our goal by the end of the calendar year!

Based in Randolph, WVXR reaches about 92,000 Vermonters across a large swath of central Vermont, from Berlin to Woodstock north to south and from Route 100 to Interstate 91 from east to west.

Last summer, WVXR underwent a major antenna upgrade that allowed VPR to consistently operate the station at full power, resulting in a stronger, higher-quality signal for the WVXR coverage area. With the addition of WVXR, VPR Classical can now be heard all along I-89 in Vermont, from north of Burlington all the way into New Hampshire.

To date, $191,000 has been raised for the WVXR campaign. For information on how to help with this campaign, contact Retta Huttlinger at 1-800-639-2192 or email rhuttlinger@vpr.net.

DJ Mitch Lays Down The Funk, Yo

As most Morning Edition listeners know, host Mitch Wertlieb can sometimes get a little, well...excited during membership drives. He's the kind of guy whose enthusiasm for public radio and the importance of listener support is so intense that he just can't keep it in.

Which is how he sometimes gets himself in (metaphorical) trouble.

Two mornings in a row, he's brought out his now-famous impression of Grandma Wertlieb, reciting what his grandmother would say if Mitch didn't support his public radio station.

There was also the great Pushups for Pledges incident of 2011. And the now-infamous shower scene from last October. And the beard-shaving fiasco of 2009.

So no one was really surprised when Mitch promised that if we met our morning pledge goal, he'd recite a little rap sent to us by VPR members Diane and William Ferriter of Thetford.

Unfortunately we came up a mere 7 pledges short - but despite, in Mitch's words, his "profound lack of beat rhythm, cadence, and timing," we convinced him to record it anyway. Enjoy!

If you haven't had the chance, we hope you'll make a contribution today online, or by calling 1-800-639-6391. We promise to not let Mitch rap anymore but we can't vouch for what he'll think of next.

Listen to Mitch Wertlieb rap here.

The ($100k) Challenge Is On!

There’s a buzz in the pledge room.

Phones are ringing off the hook.

Volunteers sit elbow-to-elbow taking pledges.

Then, a dramatic countdown…

There’s just NOTHING like a challenge to add some excitement to membership drives – and to give VPR an important financial boost.

So why wait?

When you and fellow listeners come together to contribute $100,000 to VPR before the drive begins on February 15, a member of VPR’s Board of Directors, and listener Neda Nobari of Meriden, NH, will contribute an additional $15,000 to VPR.

Click here to make your pledge now, or call 1-800-639-6391!

Why $100,000? We’re working to keep our membership drives as short as possible by raising more support without interrupting programming. Your gift will go directly to pay for the programs you enjoy and rely on every day.

So, exactly what does $100,000 pay for?

• Eleven weeks of Morning Edition and All Things Considered.
• One year of tower leases to operate our VPR Classical network of 13 transmitters and translators.
• One year of the weekend programs, including Car Talk, Wait, Wait… Don’t Tell Me, A Prairie Home Companion, and This American Life.
• Five years of web streaming service at VPR.net.
• One year of electricity to power our 23 transmitters and translators statewide.

As a member of the VPR community, you know full well that when people work together, great things happen. $100,000 will go a long way towards paying for the programming you love – and when we raise $100,000 by February 15th, VPR will receive an additional $15,000.

Every pledge will help VPR meet this important goal. Whatever amount is right for you, please call 1-800-639-6391 or pledge online today.

Thank you so much. Together, we can do it!

Do You Listen To VPR In The Shower?

Sing along to the Morning Edition theme music? Do a victory dance when the Eye on the Sky forecast is for sunshine? It's okay - so do we. Then we wondered what would happen if VPR literally was with you in the morning - check out this video below!



This morning we're giving away 20 Sangean waterproof radios so you can listen in the shower and never miss a minute of VPR or VPR Classical - all you have to do is make a pledge to be entered to win. Thanks!

VPR Listeners Rally To Raise $628,000 For The Vermont Disaster Relief Fund

All we can say is, “wow.”

Thanks to the tremendous generosity of our listeners, Vermont Public Radio raised more than $628,000 for the Vermont Disaster Relief Fund during our special one-day fundraiser.

I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised, after all, we know that our listeners are community-oriented folks – but still…wow. Your outpouring of support went beyond anything we imagined.

Thanks also to the more than 150 volunteers who helped take donations over the phones from very early in the morning to very late at night. (And, for bringing food for the biggest potluck VPR has ever seen!)

If you didn’t get a chance to donate yesterday and would still like to, you can do so here.

And, you can keep up with our coverage of Irene recovery online here.

It has been inspiring to see Vermonters from all walks of life reaching out to one another for support, and we were so pleased to carry that spirit of community at VPR through this special fundraising effort.

Thanks again to everyone who made a donation to this effort, and to everyone who is supporting other recovery organizations through their donations and volunteer work. We are so proud to be a part of this tremendous state of Vermont.

VPR Fundraiser For Irene Recovery September 13th

• Donate Here
• Volunteer Here

In response to the statewide devastation caused by Tropical Storm Irene, Vermont Public Radio will hold a special one-day fundraiser next Tuesday, September 13th, to help our communities and neighbors rebuild and recover from this natural disaster. Donations received from listeners will benefit the Vermont Disaster Relief Fund.

The outpouring of concern from listeners over the last week has been tremendous. – on the air, online, and through email and phone, we’ve heard from dozens of listeners wanting to do something to help with recovery efforts by volunteering or making donations, but weren’t sure of the best way to do it.

As a public radio station, VPR has vast experience with on-air fundraising efforts and the complicated logistics that go along with such an operation: processing donations, established phone lines, and hundreds of dedicated volunteers. In addition to our comprehensive news coverage of the aftermath and recovery from Irene, we felt giving listeners a trusted, secure place to make a donation would be another way to help our neighbors. We were granted a one-day waiver from the FCC to make this effort possible.

The Vermont Disaster Relief Fund was created by the United Ways of Vermont in cooperation with the executive board of the Vermont Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (Vermont VOAD) and Vermont Emergency Management (VEM) to be used specifically for long-term recovery. The fund will be used entirely for the unmet long- term needs of survivors from the Irene disaster, and decisions will be made by Long Term Recovery Committees recognized by VOAD and Vermont Emergency Management.

We know VPR listeners are passionate about Vermont and their communities, and hope you’ll make a donation today to help your neighbors. If you’re looking for other ways to get involved, please consider joining us on September 13 to take donations over the phone from listeners next Tuesday - you can sign up for a shift online here.
If you’re looking to volunteer directly with recovery efforts, please visit our resources page here.

And of course, you’ll find the latest news about recovery efforts at VPR.net.

Despite the enormity of this disaster, it is inspiring to see Vermonters from all walks of life rising up and reaching out to one another for support. Thank you so much for all you do for Vermont and your community!

Appreciating The "Little Moments" This Summer

I’ll admit that I take summertime for granted, even though in just a few short weeks I know I’ll proclaim, “Where did the summer go?”

Chatting with friends and family at our local creemee stand, it’s easy to forget that not so long ago, we were scraping ice off our windshields and navigating snowstorms. But this summer, I’m determined to spend more time appreciating the little moments that might otherwise pass me by.

As I listen to VPR in the car or to VPR Classical on the back porch after dinner, I will relish all of the great little moments that I hear: the hum of Garrison Keillor on A Prairie Home Companion, the way that one of the Car Talk brothers (is it Click or Clack?) snorts as they diagnose an ailing car, and the delicate vibration of a cello during a live studio performance.

I also appreciate the fact that VPR’s summer membership drive is going to be short, taking just three days in late July. But even though it’s short, it’s incredibly important: VPR needs to raise $150,000 to stay on track with its fiscal-year budget.

We’ve put together some great reasons for you to listen during this drive, including chances to win some prizes that would be a perfect complement to summertime in Vermont:

• A family bike package from Earl’s Cyclery & Fitness
• Tickets to a live performance of The Moth including hotel accommodations
• A paddleboard package from Canoe Imports
• Four airline tickets to anywhere in the continental U.S. thanks to Milne Travel
• A trip for two to Scotland in September with All the Traditions host Robert Resnik and other VPR listeners
• And a few other surprises along the way...

I hope you find time to savor your little moments this summer. Please show your support for the little moments you enjoy on VPR and VPR Classical by making a pledge today by calling 1-800-639-6391 or online by clicking here. Not only will you be entered to win some fantastic prizes, but you’ll be helping VPR meet its budget goal for this fiscal year!

If you are a sustaining member, you are automatically entered in all of our membership drive drawings. And if you are not a sustaining member, it’s a great reason to become one!

Thank you so much in advance for your support.

May Membership Drive to Promote Children's Literacy

At VPR, we pride ourselves on connecting the community with our news, music, and conversation. But occasionally, we have the opportunity to connect our community in another way - through a membership drive!

In the past, our listeners have come together during membership drives to help the Vermont Foodbank as well as the CVPS Shareheat and Warmth programs. For our upcoming May membership drive, VPR has partnered with two other Vermont-based organizations to promote children's literacy.

Here's how it works: For every pledge that VPR receives during the drive, the Children's Literacy Foundation (CLiF) will give a new book to a low-income or at-risk child in our region, thanks to Casella Waste.

CLiF is based in Waterbury and, since their founding in 1998, they have given away over 100,000 new books to children and libraries across Vermont and New Hampshire. After spending just an hour with CLiF Executive Director Duncan McDougall and his staff earlier this year, we had moved way beyond the exploratory stage and were discussing deadlines and trading email addresses.

We knew that we needed a third partner organization to agree to donate to CLiF based on the number of pledges we received during the drive. We typically receive between 5,000 and 6,000 pledges, so it would take a significant commitment. We turned to one of our underwriters, Casella Waste, who was just finishing up their holiday sponsorship of the Toys for Kids program. After talking it over with Stephen McDonnell, their director of sales and marketing, Casella decided they had to be involved. We were ready to go.

We know that our listeners don't look forward to membership drives (okay, we actually have heard from a few of you who DO look forward to them), but we hope this partnership encourages you to support your public radio station, knowing that your pledge will also help foster a child's love of reading.

But why wait for the drive to begin? Make your pledge right now, your gift will give us a head start on the drive, as well as provide a new book for a child in our region.

Please click here to make your pledge to support VPR and this important effort - and thanks!

Alec Baldwin Says Don't Give.

Alec Baldwin doesn't want you to pledge...or does he? How much do you need to pledge for Robert Siegel to bake you cookies?

What would you do if Nina Totenberg was reassigned to sports, or Terry Gross to Wine Fancy, or Ira Glass to a Spanish pop station? Trust us, listen to these hilarious fundraising spots produced by WNYC and Ira Glass, and learn why you don't want that to happen!

We think you'll feel inspired to make a pledge, so we'll make that easy for you, too. Here's the link, and thanks for keeping VPR's news, music, and humor on the air!

You Know You're A Die-Hard VPR Listener When...

During this morning's fundraising on Morning Edition with Mitch Wertlieb and Jane Lindholm, we got to talking on and off the air about how you know if you're a VPR die-hard. Here were some of our thoughts:

Jane: You know you're a VPR die-hard when you say "Goooooood morning!" along with Mark Breen during the Eye on the Sky forecast.

Mitch: You know you're a VPR die-hard when you not only have a VPR sticker on your car, but also on your home appliances, and sometimes on your pets and children.

Jane: You know you're a VPR die-hard when you can not only pronounce but spell the names of reporters like Sylvia Poggoli, Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, or Snigdha Prakash.

Sustaining Member Carrie of Montpelier: You know you're a VPR die-hard when you can't even conceive of having your VPR Artist Mug collection interrupted by even one mug.

Mitch: You know you're a VPR die-hard when you've perfected your Lynne Rosetto-Kasper impression from The Splendid Table.

Me: You know you're a VPR die-hard when your roller derby name is Susan Slamberg, and your number is 107.9 FM.

How do you know you're a VPR die-hard? Let us know! One sure way is to make a financial contribution. Please make a pledge today online, or by calling 1-800-639-6391. Thanks for all you do!

And The Winner Is....

Congratulations to Bob Moulton of Duxbury, winner of VPR's Summer Car Raffle! Bob is the winner of a 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid from Heritage Automotive Group.

Bob came to VPR on Thursday with his wife, Barbara, and their daughter, Lucy, when he admitted that buying the raffle tickets was actually Barbara's idea. "I was feeling lucky," she said.

They told us that their luck could not have come at a better time. The Moulton's are the owners and operators of Moulton Custom Door of Vermont, and like many small businesses they've been struggling with effects of the economic crisis. Their business takes them all over the northeast, driving their 1996 Toyota T-100 truck. Bob said he had been saving up for more fuel-efficient car, and that they were actually on their way to buy a new (used) car when they got the call from VPR.

Barbara also travels to Quechee once a week to run errands for her elderly mother, and they have a few long-distance family gatherings to attend in the fall.

(At left: VPR's Brendan Kinney, Barbara, Bob, and Lucy Moulton, and VPR's Robin Turnau at VPR Studios)

Bob said his family plans to donate their truck to the Good News Garage. "When you get a blessing like this you have to pass it along," he said. "These days we all have to help each other."

We are so happy for the Moulton family, and so pleased with the success of VPR's first Summer Car Raffle! Thank you for supporting VPR in this new and fun way.

How Many VPR Staffers Can You Fit in a Ford Fusion Hybrid?

A few of us went to Heritage Automotive Group today to check out the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid we'll be giving away in just a few days in VPR's Summer Car Raffle. We took the liberty of tuning all the radio presets to VPR and VPR Classical, and the lucky winner will also find a bunch of VPR euro bumper stickers tucked throughout the car. (You're welcome.)

Here are some photos of our field trip. And if you haven't gotten your tickets yet, the deadline is this Saturday, July 17th at noon. Tickets are $50 each can be purchased online, or by calling 1-800-639-2192. All proceeds benefit the programming you enjoy on VPR!

Announcing the VPR Summer Car Raffle!

Turn the ignition, roll down the windows, and crank up the radio: there’s nothing quite like a summertime drive.

It doesn’t matter if I’m running to an appointment, dropping the kids off at day camp - or ideally, going to the beach - as long as the sun is shining, the music is soothing, and the wind is blowing through my hair.

Of course, driving is a daily necessity for many of us living in a rural state, but that doesn’t take away my appreciation for a good road trip. But the people I know also share my concern about the impact our driving has on the environment.

This summer, let Vermont Public Radio help you connect the dots with the VPR Summer Car Raffle! Starting on June 14, you can purchase raffle tickets for a chance to win a 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid, provided by our good friends at Heritage Automotive Group in South Burlington.

The VPR Summer Car Raffle is a first for VPR, and we’re hoping to make it just as fun as a summer road trip. Over the next four weeks, you’ll hear from people in the community about the many great reasons to participate, and we’ll share your favorite summer road trips, road tunes, driving tips from Car Talk, and more. And to top it off, all proceeds from the raffle will support the programming you value on VPR.

The VPR Summer Car Raffle is open to residents of Vermont and New Hampshire and you must be 18 years old to participate. Please see our website for the full contest rules. Unfortunately, due to the specifics of certain state and national laws, we are unable to offer raffle tickets to residents of New York, Massachusetts and Canada.

Why is VPR doing a raffle? As you know, we are constantly working to reduce the amount of time we spend fundraising on the air. We’ve looked closely at the success of other public radio stations that have held car raffles and think it is something that our listeners will respond to.

We will spend just a couple of days on the air in July encouraging listeners to get their hands on some tickets, but it will be a far cry from a membership drive and it will be much, much shorter! If our raffle is a success, we hope that we can reduce the length of membership drives in the future.

I hope you’ll participate in the VPR Summer Car Raffle; you have until noon on July 17, 2010 to get your tickets. We’ll announce the winner during Car Talk on July 24. I also welcome your feedback and comments on this important effort for your public radio station.

Start your engines!

Sincerely,

Brendan Kinney
Vice President of Development & Marketing

Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Me A Match!

Some things are just natural matches for one another: peanut butter and chocolate, Simon and Garfunkel, Click and Clack.

And, as our membership drive draws near, I want to remind you of another match-up that has special importance: VPR and you.

We are asking you and fellow listeners to be matchmakers for VPR. We’re pooling your pre-drive contributions into a Member Match Fund. We'll use the fund to challenge other listeners to give during the upcoming membership drive. So far, listeners have pledged $55,000 to VPR’s Member Match Fund, and we're counting on you to help us reach our goal of $60,000 by midnight tonight!

The larger we can grow the VPR Member Match Fund, the shorter we can make our on-air fundraising! There are other benefits too: every dollar you give helps deliver the stories that matter most to you on VPR and NPR, you will be entered in all the drawings held during the drive, and…did I mention a shorter membership drive?

Please contribute online right now, before the drive begins. Thank you so much!

From Pledging to Plunging

By some happy coincidence, last Saturday was both a work day for many of us at VPR during our winter membership drive, and also the day of the annual Penguin Plunge in Burlington - a fundraiser of a different sort for the Special Olympics.

VPR had already put a plunging team together when we discovered the double-booking, but VPR Penguinis team captain Ric Cengeri was undeterred. We showed up to work early on Saturday, gym bags packed with warm clothes and our bathing suits on under our sweatpants. When our shift ended at 10, we piled into cars and headed to Burlington's Waterfront.

Except for Ric, we were a team of rookies: Joe Goetz, David Warren, my sister Lauren (a WBUR Boston listener and volunteer, visiting for the weekend), and myself. As we waited for our turn we huddled together, drinking coffee, trying to stay warm despite the 15-degree temperature, and watching other groups plunge. I impressed my colleagues by singing along when the DJ played Ice, Ice Baby, since I know all the words (I'm not proud. Actually, I kind of am).

Eventually, we were called in to a makeshift, mercifully warm "locker room" and gathered in a staging area, where we chanted things like "VPR! VPR! VPR!" and "1-800-639-6391!" and "Chanting! Chanting! Chanting!"

As for what happened next? I think the pictures are worth 1,000s of words.



I think perhaps a tradition has been born. Can't wait for next year's plunge!

How Groundhog Day Is Like VPR's Power Morning

As you may have heard by now, tomorrow is Power Morning on VPR. We’re going to try to complete an entire day’s worth of fundraising by 9 a.m. If we reach our goal of $48,000 by then, we’ll stop fundraising for the rest of the day.

We plan our dates for our membership drives several months in advance, but we only recently realized that tomorrow is also Groundhog Day. Scenes from the classic Bill Murray movie (and its undeniable comparisons to public radio pledge drives) flashed through our minds, and chaos ensued. That’s how we ended up with this sketch of VPR’s weight-lifting groundhog from VPR’s Dave McGown and the following haikus composed by VPR volunteer Carol Young and family:

Was ever a name
So perfect for haiku as
Punxsutawney Phil?

Punxsutawney Phil -
Tough name for limericks, yet
Perfect for haiku.

If the groundhog sees
His shadow does that mean six
More weeks of pledge drive?

His shadow sighted,
Groundhog returns to dreams of
Nina Totenberg.

A weather forecast
Made by a sleeping rodent
Can't be all that good.

Groundhog asks that you
Please join us in supporting
Public radio.

Why are there pledge drives?
There must be a good reason -
Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me.

"All Things Considered,
Occasional pledge drives are
not so bad," mused Phil.

"The thing I miss most
When I am hibernating,"
thought Phil, "is Fresh Air!"

Groundhog, shmoundhog! Feh!
For weather forecasts I'll take
Mark Breen any day!

Robert Resnik, George
Thomas, and Phil the Groundhog
Walk into a bar.

VPR shows Phil
Likes best: Living On Earth and
American Routes (Roots!).

"Groundhog Day is nice,"
Thought Phil. "But of course, I like
All The Traditions."

All joking aside, Power Morning and Groundhog Day actually do have something in common. Tomorrow morning, Punxsutawney Phil will climb out of his warm bed to have a look around. If he doesn’t see his shadow, spring is on the way. If he does, winter will stick around for a bit. VPR’s Power Morning is based on the same principle. If we reach our goal by 9 o’clock, we’ll stop fundraising for the rest of the day. If we don’t, the drive will continue throughout the day. I hope you’ll help us out tomorrow morning by making a pledge online or calling 1-800-639-6391. Your pledge helps pay for the VPR and NPR programming you rely on each and every day, whether you can see your shadow or not.

Thank you!