Travel with Rick Steves Fundraiser Modules 2022-1

Funder #2022-1

Released March 30, 2022

Overview

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

In the latest set of Travel with Rick Steves fundraiser modules, Rick does most of the heavy lifting for you, in making a strong case for listeners to support your station. 

This fundraiser edition of Travel with Rick Steves includes a set of "Best of" interviews from the program, as well as excerpts of an interview that affiliate WGBH did with Rick.  That segment focuses on material in Rick's new fundraiser premium book, "On the Hippie Trail." 

If your station is offering the Rick Steves Premium Package, you can emphasize Rick's "On the Hippie Trail" book as part of the thank you gifts offered at the $120 and $240 levels in the local pitch break at the end of segment C. 

Note that Rick does not pitch the fundraising premium packages during the fundraiser modules; just in the separate clips that you can include in your local pitch breaks.

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.

This latest fundraiser is designed to fill an hour, including your local pitch breaks. The rundown options we provide will help you to format it to time out correctly while you are live on the air.

The suggested rundown helps 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.

These latest fundraising modules can also be combined with material from previously-released fundraisers to create a two-hour fundraiser special, or to run over consecutive weekends.

We do recommend that you try to include the Billboard at the open of a Travel with Rick Steves fundraiser. It sets the same tone for the show as it would 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 B, C, and D modules with a brief re-statement of the need to support public radio. It creates an appropriate transition from your local pitching back into the program.

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 provide clean cutaways for local pitching. Contact executive producer Tim Tattan in advance of your airdate to find out the cue points you can use to shorten each segment of one of the weekly programs.

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. The current premium package features Rick's three latest books, and are ideal for "travel dreaming".

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 each vary in length from :22 to 1:04, and can be used at any time and in any program. You can include them in your longer local pitch breaks too.

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.

Rick is offering thank you gifts at three support levels: $60, $120 or $240. He has voiced two versions of his premium pitch. Each pitch is available as voice-only, or mixed with music to enhance the tone. Rick emphasizes the value of $10 or $20 monthly sustainer contributions in these premium pitches.

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 2022-1 Travel with Rick Steves Fundraiser

The following rundown helps you to program the Travel with Rick Steves fundraiser modules, released March 30, 2022. 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.

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. It promotes the content in segments A and D.

The modules in this Travel with Rick Steves fundraiser should be appropriate for airing at any time of year.

 

Rundown — Travel with Rick Steves Fundraiser 2022-1

Run Time Segment (Length)
00:00 - 01:00

Billboard — Funder 2022-1


outQ: (theme music out)

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

NPR Newscast I & II

Note: 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 - 15:42

Module A — Funder 2022-1

"Terry Tempest Williams & Pico Iyer"


inQ: "A few years ago, when we heard that the Chinese proverb…"
outQ: "Can we count on you, too?"

 (9:42)
15:42 - 20:00

LOCAL PITCH BREAK

 (4:18)
20:00 - 29:10

Module B — Funder 2022-1

"After Dinner in Italy"


inQ: "Thank you for making a real difference for your public radio station."
outQ: "…the ongoing work of public radio in your community."

 (9:10)
29:10 - 34:00

LOCAL PITCH BREAK

 (4:50)
34:00 - 43:52

Module C — Funder 2022-1

"Afghanistan 1978"


inQ: (music notes) "Your financial support for public radio is making a real difference…"
outQ: "Thank you so much for doing what you can."

 (9:52)
43:52 - 49:00

LOCAL PITCH BREAK

Note: You can intersperse Rick's funder pitch spots with your local pitching in these longer pitch breaks.

 (5:08)
49:00 - 56:23

Module D — Funder 2022-1

"Cool Cats and Hot Dogs in Iceland"


inQ: "Public radio is strong in our community because…"
outQ: "…and it just cant' happen without your financial support."

 (7:23)
56:23 - 1:00:00

CLOSING PITCH BREAK

 (3:37)

 

 

Download "Travel with Rick Steves" 2022-1 Fundraiser Segments

Released March 2022

  .MP3 files .MP2 files
Billboard (1:00) Download mp3 Download mp2
Module A (9:42) Download mp3 Download mp2
Module B (9:10) Download mp3 Download mp2
Module C (9:52) Download mp3 Download mp2
Module D (7:23) Download mp3 Download mp2
Promo — Funder 2022-1 (:30) Download mp3 Download mp2
Premium Pitch A (mixed) (2:11) Download mp3 Download mp2
Premium Pitch A (vox only) (2:11) Download mp3 Download mp2
Premium Pitch B (mixed) (1:14) Download mp3 Download mp2
Premium Pitch B (vox only) (1:14) 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 20-sec Rick extra pitch (mixed) (0:20) Download mp3 Download mp2
Generic 20-sec Rick extra pitch (vox only) (0:20) 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