Major Donors Ignite Expansion at Shine.FM
WONU-FM/Chicago (Shine.FM), a community-supported, 35,000-watt radio station is ranked among the nation's top contemporary Christian music stations serving “generation now.”
The Situation
Shine.FM earned a national reputation for both broadcasting excellence and dynamic community service. Consequently, the station receives requests to expand coverage to their communities. Station leadership needed a solution to rapidly increase overall funding in order to multiply their community impact and launch new stations. The specific challenge centered on finding ways to engage a larger pool of major donors for the station’s current (and dynamic) stage of growth.
The Shine.fm Goal: The enhanced capacity to grow into a regional radio network offering eternal hope for the younger generation.
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| “Advocace knows the world of non-profit organizations and understands the organizational, financial and marketing challenges that managers face. This is no cookie-cutter approach--they tailor solutions to our unique needs.” |
Justin Knight
Station Manager
Shine.FM- WONU/Chicago
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The Advocace Solution
Shine.FM needed a major donor cultivation plan and a mentor. Station leadership approached Advocace Media to develop and direct a major donor fundraising program along with training staff and developing case documents for expansion.
- Advocace contributed extensive knowledge of the nonprofit landscape, including Christian-format radio, based on successful development campaigns for similar organizations across the country.
- Advocace developed a cultivation strategy to identify potential major donors, involved them in station activities and secured their financial leadership in station expansion efforts.
- Advocace drew on understanding of the motivations of donors to tailor a personal approach for donor involvement in Chicagoland station events and priority expansion projects.
The Results
Major donor financial involvement doubled, enabling Shine.FM to fund growth in primary service and expansion. In a period of cutbacks in listener-supported Christian radio, Shine.FM launched additional formats and HD (High-definition) Radio. In addition, $100,000 in capital funding for a new affiliate station was secured with more major gift opportunities that can add more affiliates.