Travel with Rick Steves Fundraiser Modules 2020-1

Funder #2020-1

Released May 7, 2020

Overview

Let one of the top fundraisers in public broadcasting, put his expertise to work in raising support for your radio station.

The latest set of Travel with Rick Steves fundraiser modules features re-edited excerpts from memorable interviews that last aired five to eight years ago. Rick closes each segment by pitching the value of public radio, and the need for your listeners to show their support. Rick also emphasizes the value of the public radio "news imperative" with listeners, and refers often to the quality of news and information programming on public radio throughout this fundraiser.

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. 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 help you to pace your local pitch breaks so that everything times out to one hour. You can also shorten or eliminate the hourly newscast to add to your local pitching time.

We strongly 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."

There is also a promo for the fundraiser, to help you promote the content of program, as usual, during your regular programming.

Each module ends with a generic public radio fundraising pitch from Rick. Rick opens the segment B, C and D modules with a brief re-statement of the need to support public radio.

For Fundraiser 2020-1, you can choose from two different rundowns for this fundraiser, to time out to one hour.

Option 1 includes an open to the segment A-1 module, in which Rick puts the fundraiser in the context of "the uncertainties we've lived through in the global coronavirus pandemic."

Or, after coronavirus-related international travel restrictions are lifted, you can use the segment A-2 module, instead of A-1. It's timed out in Option 2. Rick opens the module by not referring to the pandemic, but more generically to "all of the crazy things that seem to dominate the headlines."

If you'd also like more time to fundraise during one of the regular weekly Travel with Rick Steves programs, we can let you know your options for editing the segments shorter, to have clean cutaways within each segment. Contact executive producer Tim Tattan a week or two in advance of your airdate to find out the cue points you can use to shorten the program.

If your station is offering the Rick Steves premium package, you should include one of Rick's premium pitches during your local pitch breaks to let Rick promote the content of those packages. In Rick's premium pitches, revised Sept. 2020, Rick promotes his new books For the Love of Europe and Europe's Top 100 Masterpieces as premiums. He concentrates on the higher-end levels for you by only describing the $120 and $240 packages. You can also offer one of the books alone at the $60 level by mentioning that during your local pitch breaks.

Rick Steves Public Radio Fundraiser Spots

Rick Steves also provides fundraiser spots designed to enhance your local fund drives, with a few salient thoughts from Rick to encourage your listeners to contribute. They can be used at any time, and in any program. Learn more

Rick Steves Fundraiser Premium Packages

The Travel with Rick Steves premium packages feature Rick's popular travel books and DVDs of his TV shows and specials. They are offered at an attractive wholesale price to stations, with no minimum order required. You simply add the recorded premium pitches from Rick to your local pitch breaks to get Rick to promote 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 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 optimize your station's fundraising potential.

Let your station's development department know about this link, so that they can see how the latest Travel with Rick Steves premium packages can raise money for your station.

In his recorded premium-specific pitches, Rick is offering thank you gifts at two support levels: $120 or $240 to encourage monthly sustainer contributions from your listeners. He has voiced two versions of his premium pitch. Each pitch is available as voice-only, or mixed with music to enhance the tone.

You may also offer listeners their choice of either of the two new books at the $60 level, which you will need to mention in your local pitch breaks.

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 2020-1 Travel with Rick Steves Fundraiser

The following rundown helps you to program the Travel with Rick Steves fundraiser modules, released May 6, 2020. We suggest start times for each segment, and lengths for your local pitch breaks, in order to time out correctly to one full hour. The pitch breaks are long enough for you to include Rick's premium pitches, if you are offering the Rick Steves premium package.

Note again that we have provided you with two optional segment A modules to choose from. In the segment A-1 module, Rick puts the fundraiser in the context of "the uncertainties we've lived through in the global coronavirus pandemic."

The segment A-2 module does not refer to the pandemic, but more genericallly to "all of the crazy things that seem to dominate the headlines" and presumes you are able to travel abroad again. We all certainly hope this alternate intro will become the more-appropriate version to use before long.

There are also short generic fundraising promos from Rick that you can use during  Travel with Rick Steves, or even in other programming. They promote the value of contributing to your station and do not promote the Rick Steves premium package.

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.

Rundown Option 1 — Travel with Rick Steves Fundraiser 2020-1

  • Uses segment A open (with coronavirus reference), five-minute newscast, and four segments (A, B, C and D)
  • Provides four local pitch breaks — shorten or eliminate the newscast, and adjust your start times accordingly, to get more local pitching time
  • Print the 2020-1 Funder Rundown Option 1 (pdf)
Run Time Segment (Length)
00:00 - 01:00

Billboard — Funder 2020-1


outQ: (theme music out)

(1:00)
01:00 - 06:00

NPR Newscast I & II
(or with local pitch break from 04:00–06:00)


note: Or gain two more minutes of local pitching time by starting Segment A after the first part of the Newscast at 04:00 and moving up the segment start times by 2:00.

(5:00)
06:00 - 13:38

Segment A-1 — Funder 2020-1

Guest: Hilary Bradt, "Remarkable Adventures"


inQ: "How about you? With all the uncertainties we've lived thru in the global coronavirus pandemic…"
outQ: "…by making a contribution right now to the station that brings you the world." (music out)

(7:38)
13:39- 19:00

LOCAL PITCH BREAK

(5:21)
19:00 - 26:44

Segment B — Funder 2020-1

Guest: Ferenc Máté, "Remembering Budapest, 1956"


inQ: "We're holding this membership campaign today because…"
outQ: "and, how they come together to make a difference." (2-second music fade)

(7:44)
26:45 - 33:00

LOCAL PITCH BREAK

(6:15)
33:00 - 40:49

Segment C — Funder 2020-1

Guest: Pico Iyer, "Travel is a Verb"


inQ: "Thanks for helping to recharge our batteries…"
outQ: "…or by renewing your membership today. Thank you so much."

(7:49)
40:50 - 47:00

LOCAL PITCH BREAK

(6:10)
47:00 - 53:37

Segment D — Funder 2020-1

Guests: Joanna Lumley, "Honorary Gurkha"


inQ: "It's remarkable to me how often I'm surprised…"
outQ: "…for being such an important part of this community service we call 'public radio'."

(6:37)
53:38 - 59:00

LOCAL PITCH BREAK

(5:22)

 

Rundown Option 2 — Travel with Rick Steves Fundraiser 2020-1

  • Uses segment A open with generic intro (no coronavirus references), five-minute newscast, and four segments (A, B, C and D)
  • Provides four local pitch breaks — shorten or eliminate the newscast for more local pitching time, and adjust your start times accordingly
  • Print the 2020-1 Funder Rundown Option 2 (pdf)
Run Time Segment (Length)
00:00 - 01:00

Billboard — Funder 2020-1


outQ: (theme music out)

(1:00)
01:00 - 06:00

NPR Newscast I & II
(or with local pitch break from 04:00–06:00)


note: Or gain two more minutes of local pitching time by starting Segment A after the first part of the Newscast at 04:00 and moving up the segment start times by 2:00.

(5:00)
06:00 - 13:57

Segment A-2 — Funder 2020-1

Guest: Hilary Bradt, "Remarkable Adventures”


inQ: "How about you? With all the uncertainties we've lived through in the global coronavirus pandemic…"
outQ: "…by making a contribution right now to the station that brings you the world." (music out)

(7:57)
13:58- 19:00

LOCAL PITCH BREAK

(5:02)
19:00 - 26:44

Segment B — Funder 2019-2

Guest: Ferenc Máté, "Remembering Budapest, 1956"


inQ: "We're holding this membership campaign today because…"
outQ: "…and, how they come together to make a difference." (2-second music fade)

(7:44)
26:45 - 33:00

LOCAL PITCH BREAK

(6:15)
33:00 - 40:49

Segment C — Funder 2020-1

Guest: Pico Iyer, "Travel is a Verb"


inQ: "Thanks for helping to recharge our batteries…"
outQ: "…or by renewing your membership today. Thank you so much."

(7:49)
40:50 - 47:00

LOCAL PITCH BREAK

(6:10)
47:00 - 53:37

Segment D — Funder 2020-1

Guest: Joanna Lumley, "Honorary Gurkha"


inQ: "It's remarkable to me how often I'm surprised…"
outQ: "…for being such an important part of this community service we call 'public radio'."

(6:37)
53:38 - 59:00

LOCAL PITCH BREAK

(5:22)

 

 

Download "Travel with Rick Steves" 2020-1 Fundraiser Segments

Released May 2020

  .MP3 files .MP2 files
Billboard (1:00) Download mp3 Download mp2
Segment A-1 (7:38) Download mp3 Download mp2
Segment A-2 (7:57) Download mp3 Download mp2
Segment B (7:44) Download mp3 Download mp2
Segment C (7:49) Download mp3 Download mp2
Segment D (6:37) Download mp3 Download mp2
Promo — Funder 2020-1 (:30) Download mp3 Download mp2
Premium Pitch A (mixed) (2:08) (updated September 2020) Download mp3 Download mp2
Premium Pitch A (vox only) (2:08) (updated September 2020) Download mp3 Download mp2
Premium Pitch B (mixed) (0:55) (updated September 2020) Download mp3 Download mp2
Premium Pitch B (vox only) (0:55) (updated September 2020) Download mp3 Download mp2
Rick's Riff closing pitch (mixed) (1:01) Download mp3 Download mp2
Rick's Riff closing pitch (vox only) (1:01) Download mp3 Download mp2
Generic 24-sec Rick Steves Funder Spot (0:24) Download mp3 Download mp2
Generic 29-sec Rick Steves Funder Spot (0:29) 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 do a clean edit to insert local fundraising breaks. Credits for the incidental music used in the fundraiser are also available on request from Tim. (tel. 425-608-4234 or email [email protected])