Travel with Rick Steves Fundraiser Modules 2016-1

Funder #2016-1

Released March 16, 2016

Overview

Let one of the top fundraisers for public television, put his expertise to work in raising support for your radio station as well. In the latest set of Travel with Rick Steves fundraising modules, 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 should let Rick pitch them for you by inserting the separate set of premium-specific pitches in 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, with or without the newscast break at 01:00 into the hour, to allow you to pace your local pitch breaks so that everything comes out to one hour.

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 and C 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.

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 March 16, 2016. We suggest start times for each segment, and lengths for your local pitch breaks, in order to time out correctly to one full hour.

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 2016-1 Segments

Rundown Option 1 — "Travel with Rick Steves" Funder 2016-1

  • Uses billboard, five minute newscast, and four segments
  • Allows 17:19 of local pitching in four local pitch breaks of roughly four to five minutes each
  • Start times of segments can be adjusted if not using full 5 minute newscast (see Rundown Option 2)
  • You can insert Rick's premium pitches A and B (each are either vox only or mixed with music) into your local pitch breaks
Run Time Segment (Length)
00:00 - 01:00

Billboard — Funder 2016-1


outQ: (theme music out)

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

NPR Newscast I & II

(5:00)
06:00 - 13:03

Segment A — Funder 2016-1

"The Pleasures of Real Spanish Jamon"
Guests: Tour guides Federico Garcia Barroso and Francisco Glaria


inQ: "Hi. I'm Rick Steves"
outQ: "...compelling programming that illuminates, inspires, and spices up your life every day."

(7:03)
13:03 - 17:00

Local Pitch Break

(3:57)
17:00 - 23:58

Segment B — Funder 2016-1

"Gardens of England"
Guests: Tour guides Gillian Chadwick, Roy Nicholls, and Tom Hooper


inQ: "Thanks for doing your part to financially support your public radio station."
outQ: "Please, give us a call right now. We're counting on you."

(6:58)
23:58 - 29:00

Local Pitch Break

(5:02)
29:00 - 42:55

Segment C — Funder 2016-1

"Korean Cool;" "Breakfast In America"
Guests: Euny Hong, author of "The Birth of Korean Cool" (Picador)
Michael Stern, co-author of "Roadfood USA" (Clarkson Potter)


inQ: "Your ongoing financial support for this public radio station... makes all the difference in your community."
outQ: "We're public radio, and we're counting on you."

(13:55)
42:55 - 47:00

Local Pitch Break

(4:05)
47:00 - 54:45

Segment D — Funder 2016-1

"Lingo"
Guest: Gaston Dorren, author of "Lingo: Around Europe in 60 Languages" (Atlantic Monthly Press)


inQ: (music in) "I'm not a linguist, but I do find that my travels are enriched by the diversity of the languages and dialects I encounter when I hit the road."
outQ: "Please take a moment right now and do your part. Thank you." (music out)

(7:45)
54:45 - 59:00

Closing Local Pitch Break

(4:15)

 

 

Rundown Option 2 — "Travel with Rick Steves" Funder 2016-1

  • Uses four segments, with billboard to open, but no newscast
  • Allows 22:19 of local pitching in four local pitch breaks of roughly five to six minutes each
  • You can insert Rick's premium pitches A and B (each are either vox only or mixed with music) into your local pitch breaks
Run Time Segment (Length)
00:00 - 01:00

Billboard — Funder 2016-1


outQ: (theme music out)

(1:00)
01:00 - 8:03

Segment A — Funder 2016-1

"The Pleasures of Real Spanish Jamon"
Guests: Tour guides Federico Garcia Barroso and Francisco Glaria


inQ: "Hi. I'm Rick Steves"
outQ: "...compelling programming that illuminates, inspires, and spices up your life every day."

(7:03)
8:03 - 14:00

Local Pitch Break

(5:57)
14:00 - 21:58

Segment B — Funder 2016-1

"Gardens of England"
Guests: Tour guides Gillian Chadwick, Roy Nicholls, and Tom Hooper


inQ: "Thanks for doing your part to financially support your public radio station."
outQ: "Please, give us a call right now. We're counting on you."

(6:58)
21:58 - 27:00

Local Pitch Break

(5:02)
27:00 - 40:55

Segment C — Funder 2016-1

"Korean Cool;" "Breakfast In America"

Guests: Euny Hong, author of "The Birth of Korean Cool" (Picador)
Michael Stern, co-author of "Roadfood USA" (Clarkson Potter)


inQ: "Your ongoing financial support for this public radio station... makes all the difference in your community."
outQ: "We're public radio, and we're counting on you."

(13:55)
40:55 - 47:00

Local Pitch Break

(6:05)
47:00 - 54:45

Segment D — Funder 2016-1

"Lingo"
Guest: Gaston Dorren, author of "Lingo: Around Europe in 60 Languages" (Atlantic Monthly Press)


inQ: (music in) "I'm not a linguist, but I do find that my travels are enriched by the diversity of the languages and dialects I encounter when I hit the road."
outQ: "Please take a moment right now and do your part. Thank you." (music out)

(7:45)
54:45 - 59:00

Closing Local Pitch Break

(6:05)

 

 

Download "Travel with Rick Steves" 2016-1 Fundraiser Segments

Released March 2016

  .MP3 files .MP2 files
Billboard (1:00) Download mp3 Download mp2
Segment A (7:03) Download mp3 Download mp2
Segment B (6:58) Download mp3 Download mp2
Segment C (13:55) Download mp3 Download mp2
Segment D (7:45) 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 incidental music used in the fundraiser are also available on request from Tim.