Travel with Rick Steves Fundraiser Modules 2017-2
Funder #2017-2
Released September 1, 2017
- Overview and Description of Segments
- Fundraising Premium Packages
- Formatting Rundown for Airing the Segments
- Download Segments
Overview
Let one of the top fundraisers for public television, put his expertise to work in raising support for your radio station. The latest set of Travel with Rick Steves fundraiser modules feature excerpts from Rick's popular talk, "Travel as a Political Act," delivered live before an enthusiastic audience. Rick closes each segment by pitching the value of public radio, and the need for your listeners to show their support.
If your station offers the Rick Steves premium package for your contributors, you can let Rick pitch them for you by inserting the separate set of premium-specific pitches during your local pitch breaks. As some affiliates have demonstrated, you can even get great results using the Rick Steves premium package for a Rick Steves-themed premium hour in your news magazine programming, too.
These fundraising modules are designed to be used at any time of year. The modules each contain an excerpted interview with popular guests from the show, with a variety of tones and topics. They can also be combined with material from previously-released fundraising modules to create a two-hour fundraiser special, or to run over consecutive weekends.
The suggested rundowns give you options for airing the latest Travel with Rick Steves fundraiser modules, which allows you to pace your local pitch breaks so that everything times out to one hour. You can gain more time for your local pitch breaks by using rundown Option 2, which removes module C. You can also shorten or eliminate the hourly newscast to add to your local pitching time.
We recommend you include the Billboard at the open of the show. It sets the same tone for the show as during non-fundraising weeks, to make listeners eager to hear the material coming up, and less likely to tune away "because it's a fundraiser."
Each module ends with a generic public radio fundraising pitch from Rick. Rick opens the segment B, C, D, and E modules with a brief re-statement of the need to support public radio.
If your station is offering the Rick Steves premium package, you can include Rick's premium pitches during your local pitch breaks to let Rick promote the content of those packages.
- Fundraiser 2017-2 modules (released September 2017)
- Fundraiser 2016-1 modules (released March 2016)
Rick Steves Fundraiser Premium Packages
The Travel with Rick Steves premium packages include DVD boxed sets of Rick Steves TV productions, offered at an attractive wholesale price to stations, with no minimum order required. You simply add these recorded premium pitches from Rick to your local pitch breaks to get Rick to sell them for you. These Rick Steves premiums are otherwise not mentioned in the fundraising modules, for stations that wish to fundraise using other thank you gifts.
Note that the Rick Steves-themed fundraiser premiums have proven to be significant money-raisers for public radio and television. We strongly encourage each Travel with Rick Steves affiliate to offer the Rick Steves premium package. There is no minimum required order on your part — just order what you need when it's time to fulfill your pledges. Station wholesale costs are kept low to help you raise funds for your station.
Let your station's development department know about this link, so that they can see how the latest Travel with Rick Steves premium package can raise money for your station.
Rick is offering thank you gifts at three support levels: $60, $90, or $180. He has voiced two versions of his premium pitch. We recommend you alternate between the longer Premium Pitch A and the somewhat shorter Premium Pitch B in your local pitch breaks. Each pitch is available as voice-only, or mixed with music to enhance the tone.
Some Travel with Rick Steves affiliates have also offered the Rick Steves premium package as a special Rick Steves-themed incentive during their local talk shows, and even during Morning Edition, with remarkably strong results. Let us know how it works for you.
Airing the Travel with Rick Steves Fundraiser Material
The following rundowns give you options for how to program the Travel with Rick Steves fundraiser modules, released September 1, 2017. We suggest start times for each segment, and lengths for your local pitch breaks, in order to time out correctly to one full hour. Option 2 provides you with longer local pitch breaks, by removing module C.
We've also provided you with a 30-second promo for the fundraiser.
The modules in this Travel with Rick Steves fundraiser are appropriate for airing at any time of year.
Formatting Rundown for Airing the Fundraiser 2017-2 Segments
Rundown Option 1 — "Travel with Rick Steves" Funder 2017-2
- Uses billboard, five-minute newscast, and five segments
- Provides five local pitch breaks of roughly three to four minutes each
| Run Time | Segment | (Length) |
|---|---|---|
| 00:00 - 01:00 |
Billboard — Funder 2017-2
|
(1:00) |
| 01:00 - 06:00 |
NPR Newscast |
(5:00) |
| 06:00 - 13:16 |
Segment A — Funder 2017-2 "Beyond Cruise Ship Media"
|
(7:16) |
| 13:16 - 17:00 |
Local Pitch Break |
(3:44) |
| 17:00 - 25:27 |
Segment B — Funder 2017-2 "Fear is For Those Who Don't Get Out Much"
|
(8:27) |
| 25:27 - 29:00 |
Local Pitch Break |
(3:33) |
| 29:00 - 35:37 |
Segment C — Funder 2017-2 "Know Thy Enemy"
|
(6:37) |
| 35:37 - 39:00 |
Local Pitch Break |
(3:23) |
| 39:00 - 45:45 |
Segment D — Funder 2017-2 "Unamerican Dreams"
|
(6:45) |
| 45:45 - 49:00 |
Local Pitch Break |
(3:15) |
| 49:00 - 55:36 |
Segment E — Funder 2017-2 "Life-Changing Travel"
|
(6:36) |
| 55:36 - 1:00:00 | (4:24) |
Rundown Option 2 — "Travel with Rick Steves" Funder 2017-2
- Uses billboard, five-minute newscast, and four segments
- Provides five local pitch breaks of around six or seven minutes each (skips segment C re: Iran)
| Run Time | Segment | (Length) |
|---|---|---|
| 00:00 - 01:00 |
Billboard — Funder 2017-2
|
(1:00) |
| 01:00 - 06:00 |
NPR Newscast |
(5:00) |
| 06:00 - 13:16 |
Segment A — Funder 2017-2 "Beyond Cruise Ship Media"
|
(7:16) |
| 13:16 - 19:00 |
Local Pitch Break |
(5:44) |
| 19:00 - 27:27 |
Segment B — Funder 2017-2 "Fear is For Those Who Don't Get Out Much"
|
(8:27) |
| 27:27 - 33:00 |
Local Pitch Break |
(5:33) |
| 33:00 - 39:45 |
Segment D — Funder 2017-2 "Unamerican Dreams"
|
(6:45) |
| 39:45 - 46:00 |
Local Pitch Break |
(6:15) |
| 46:00 - 52:36 |
Segment E — Funder 2017-2 "Life-Changing Travel"
|
(6:36) |
| 52:36 - 1:00:00 | (7:24) |
Download "Travel with Rick Steves" 2017-2 Fundraiser Segments
Released September 2017
| .MP3 files | .MP2 files | |
|---|---|---|
| Billboard (1:00) | Download mp3 | Download mp2 |
| Segment A (7:16) | Download mp3 | Download mp2 |
| Segment B (8:28) | Download mp3 | Download mp2 |
| Segment C (6:37) | Download mp3 | Download mp2 |
| Segment D (6:45) | Download mp3 | Download mp2 |
| Segment E (6:36) | Download mp3 | Download mp2 |
| Promo (:30) | Download mp3 | Download mp2 |
| Premium Pitch A (vox only) (2:14) | Download mp3 | Download mp2 |
| Premium Pitch A (mixed) (2:14) | Download mp3 | Download mp2 |
| Premium Pitch B (vox only) (1:30) | Download mp3 | Download mp2 |
| Premium Pitch B (mixed) (1:30) | Download mp3 | Download mp2 |
Note: Fundraiser audio files are also available in the .wav format, from a different online site. E-mail producer Tim Tattan to request access to the page where .wav files of the fundraiser and weekly shows are stored.
You can also ask Tim for suggestions on cutaway cues during any of the regularly-scheduled weekly programs. We keep track of the optional points where you can cleanly edit to insert local fundraising breaks. Credits for the incidental music used in the fundraiser are also available on request from Tim.