Raise Your Voice
Campaign Commemoratives
What’s in a name? When you underwrite the naming of our building, performance studio or reporting initiative, that represents your values. You help sustain local, news and cultural programming. You honor a person or institution by joining their name to an essential public service that reaches more than 200,000 listeners each week.
619 South Fourth Street
$2.5 million
The historic building that is home to Louisville Public Media is a cornerstone of the Fourth Street revitalization. Originally built for the Kentucky Electric Company, the building is on the National Register of Historic Buildings.
Erected in the early Twentieth century, the Kentucky Electric Company Building became the “Service Club” during World War II, providing beds for over 65,000 soldiers in 1944 alone. Along with the snack bar, the Service Club’s most popular spot was the classical music room. The comfort and joy of classical music is still being broadcast from 619 S. 4th Street, now shared with a much larger audience.
In 1997, Louisville Public Media was given the opportunity to buy the building from the city for $75,000. As work began to renovate the space, a massive fire struck. Everything was destroyed except the façade. A successful capital campaign raised the funds necessary to renovate the building and create a home for the newly formed Public Radio Partnership, bringing all three public radio stations together for the first time.
Almost 20 years ago, the designers could not have imagined the work that would come out of this building or the ways inwhich it would be delivered. In that timespan, technology has raced forward at an astronomical pace. In the late 90’s, everyone got our content over the airwaves. Now, over half of our consumers stream our content online and read/watch/listen to our content via Facebook and other social media applications.
619 S. 4th Street serves as the home of Louisville Public Media and our three public radio stations. Every week, we welcome hundreds of people through our front doors. While it is a wonderful space, it is not very flexible or well suited for our current needs. We are in need of a remodeled lobby and first floor space. When our building was designed, the performance studio space was an afterthought. They were unaware of how many people would be gathering on a weekly basis to take advantage of our free community performances.
A renovated building at 619 S. 4th Street will enable us to better serve the public. With space that is more functional and multi-purpose, we increase the type and amount of public events we host and number of guests we welcome.
Lobby
$1 million
Every Friday, we host WFPK’s Live Lunch. These performances are almost always filled to capacity with 60 people joining us for an intimate listening experience. Before the show begins, we are unable to allow our guests in the building. We simply have no space for them. Therefore, we typically have 60 people lined up along Fourth Street year round, regardless of weather. The scene is repeated for our special Members Only and Classical 90.5 performances.
We also frequently have requests for station tours. We host Boy Scout troops, high school media classes and college students who gather in the cramped lobby awaiting their tour. While they are waiting, it is nearly impossible for other people to enter or leave the building due to the awkward configuration of the space.
Our lobby currently stores all of our satellite and digital equipment. Since the building’s design almost 20 years ago, technology has gotten smaller and more compact. Our building lobby is valuable real estate that is being wasted on large pieces of unnecessary and outdated equipment.
A naming opportunity for the lobby would be publicly recognized in the space and visible to not only those who walk through our doors, but those that pass by on Fourth Street every day.
Performance Studio
$500,000 – 5 years naming recognition
The Performance Studio is the heart of our building and a hub of activity. We welcome over a hundred people into the space each week for our weekly WFPK Live Lunch, in addition to numerous Members Only concerts and Classical 90.5 performances with special guests. The space is used for WFPL panel discussions with a live audience and major donor events. In the past 2 years alone, the space has hosted Diane Rehm, Cokie Roberts, Michael Pollan, Diane Ravitch, Jim James, Old Crow Medicine Show, The Avett Brothers, David Gray, Rachel Grimes, InonBarnatan, Julian Schwartz, Lee Luvisi, Kentucky Opera and members of the Louisville Orchestra, and countless other public radio stars. This naming opportunity is potentially one of the most valuable in terms of public recognition.
Live performances broadcast from our two music stations reach our weekly audience of over 200,000 listeners. After the building renovation, the Performance Studio will have integrated lights and cameras, allowing us to better capture the amazing performances in the space and broadcast to our global audience online.
We have member support from 43 states and five countries. Videos recorded in our Performance Studio have been seen over a million times online. That audience is rapidly growing and will value our enhanced website with more photos, more video and more audio – all recorded in the Performance Studio. All of these moments will be captured and shared with the widest audience possible, and all could have your company name attached.
For a $500,000 gift, we would be pleased to offer the following for a period of 5 years:
-All events broadcast from the studio would begin with something like – “Live from the COMPANY NAME studio on 4th Street, it’s WFPK’s Live Lunch!” We anticipate 2-3 live broadcasts a week which will be heard over our airwaves and available online to our entire audience.
-260 fifteen second on-air announcements tailored to your business needs and as changeable as necessary.[must meet FCC regulations]
-All video captured online would be identified as being filmed in the COMPANY NAME studio
Music Library
$250,000
We currently have a music library filled with walls of CDs for our two music stations. Again, technology has made major leaps in the last twenty years and the need for hundreds of CDs has diminished. We would like maintain the feel of our CD library while expanding the usability and flexibility. It could be a space for quick meetings, something that we currently do not have on the first floor. Our music guests would use it as a green room before a performance. It would also serve as a lovely space for major donor meet and greets with our special guests. It could serve all of these purposes with the right design.
A new play to air system will streamline the process for creating music programming. It will simplify what is now a 4 step process and gives on-air hosts more time to devote to their other work. This is a basic infrastructure improvement that brings us up to date with our studio technology.
WFPL Newsroom
$350,000 - TAKEN
The second floor of our building at 619 S. 4th Street will be reimagined as a digital newsroom of the future. As our audience continues to grow across all platforms, a 21st century digital newsroom ensures that we are able and ready to meet our audience with the content they want, where and when they want it. This naming opportunity will be publicly recognized in the newsroom in a way that rightfully honors the donor or organization.
Our current newsroom is designed to accommodate less than half of the current news team. Other reporters sit in a space down the hall, isolated from colleagues. The Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting staff and the WFPL staff, whose work is meant to be joint, sit on opposite sides of the second floor. LPM has increased its commitment to providing real world experience for college interns, but there is literally no place to seat them. We currently have nowhere to record more than two news people in the room at the same time. Space constraints prevent us from displaying local and national television news and live feeds showing audience interaction on digital platforms. High cubicles and segregated offices preclude communication and visibility between editors, producers and reporters.
We plan to create a modern digital newsroom in which the space is open and free of barriers and an efficient workflow is supported by technology and configuration -- as must be the case in all modern workplaces that aim to adequately support its staff and mission. Digital journalism does not necessarily require vastly new equipment and technology. Rather, it requires specific physical configurations to support the multi-faceted work of a large staff of journalists and media specialists. It also requires a space where information can be quickly shared and discussed and constant and creative contact and collaboration is facilitated. The modern, digital newsroom is not merely a large, well-designed space where reporters and editors write and produce stories for radio and web; it is also the tangible evidence of the vitality of the organization and symbolizes our organizational commitment to multi-platform journalism.
91.9 WFPK Offices
$250,000
If you have visited our building and have seen each of our broadcast studios, you know that WFPK’s studio is a little different. It is the biggest studio because they frequently host musical guests, but it also has the most personality. The walls are covered with posters, records are scattered around the room and it is immediately apparent that you are in a vibrant working environment.
We believe their workspace should reflect their personality just as much. In our current building configuration, the staff of 91.9 WFPK is scattered throughout the building. Our program director and music director have offices on the 3rd floor. Some of our on-air hosts are scattered in various departments on the 2nd or 3rd floor. Some don’t have a place to sit at all.
In our building redesign, they will come together in a unique space all to themselves. We envision a mix of offices for the senior staff and freestanding workspaces for the on-air hosts. We envision hotelling desks for part time hosts who just need a place to create their playlist and charge their laptop. We envision a welcoming space for the many visitors, from managers to artists to promoters. We envision a lounge area with a modern sound system for the weekly music meetings.
All of these needs can be met with the right design. And this new home for WFPK could have your business name on it.
For a $250,000 gift, we would be pleased to offer the following for a period of 5 years:
-Daily mentions on 91.9 WFPK
Value of $87,500 annually
-100 fifteen second on-air mentions tailored to your business needs and as changeable as necessary [Must meet FCC requirements] - Value of $6500 annually
Total value of this 5 year naming opportunity is $470,000.
Arts & Culture Reporting
$250,000
Significant support from a sponsor for arts and culture reporting would expand and develop our arts reporting. This content is heard across all three stations and serves as a vital source of information for our listeners, as well as promotion for our fellow non-profit arts organizations. A naming opportunity would be recognized daily on-air for a period of 5 years.
“Support for arts reporting comes from you, the contributing listener and LOCAL SPONSOR, proud supporter of Louisville Public and our local arts community for over xx years.”
Studies consistently show that businesses affiliated with local public radio stations enjoy an 80% halo effect, meaning listeners are 80% more likely to shop in your store, buy your product or tell someone else about you. Simply because you are supporting the same quality radio that they rely on every single day. A naming opportunity for our arts and culture reporting is both a valuable investment and a charitable gift.
For a $250,000 gift, we would be pleased to offer the following for a period of 5 years:
-Messaging attached to our arts features, heard on-air and online
-100 fifteen second on-air announcements tailored to your business needs and as changeable as necessary.[must meet FCC regulations]
Classical Music Programming
$250,000
Significant support from a sponsor for classical music programming would ensure the health and sustainability for the only 24/7 classical station in our region. As a new generation of listeners discovers the joy of classical music, Classical 90.5 enjoys a growing audience, online and on-air. A naming opportunity would be recognized hourly on-air for a period of 5 years.
“Support for Classical 90.5 comes from you, the contributing listener and KY Select Properties, proud sponsor of Classical 90.5 for over 15 years.”
Studies consistently show that businesses affiliated with local public radio stations enjoy an 80% halo effect, meaning listeners are 80% more likely to shop in your store, buy your product or tell someone else about you. Simply because you are supporting the same quality radio that they rely on every single day. A naming opportunity for our classical music programming is both a valuable investment and a charitable gift.
Classical 90.5 sees a need in our community to foster and develop active participation in the arts through classical music. Not only are the arts one of the strongest contributors to the economy of a community, those who participate in a music program perform better in non-music classes, achieve higher test scores and become positive influences in society. As a radio station, we are uniquely positioned to reach more people with classical music than all other local classical music organizations combined. We see our FM transmitters as one tool for promoting participation in music, combined with our music education initiatives: Instrumental Partners (instrument donation program), Summer Listening (encourages active listening to music) and the Young Artist Competition. Studies continue to show how music listening, performance and lessons improve our language, communication and problem-solving skills, benefits that Classical 90.5 hopes all Louisville and Southern Indiana students can experience.
With significant support from a sponsor, we will ensure that everyone in our community continues to benefit from outstanding classical music programming. Expansion plans for Classical 90.5 include creating a strong presence across a variety of digital platforms, building more original programming to serve diverse audiences, developing a staff of local on-air personalities to engage with the community, and expanding educational programs to better engage Louisville youth – especially from minority families – in classical music.
For a $250,000 gift, we would be pleased to offer the following for a period of 5 years:
-Daily mentions on Classical 90.5
-100 fifteen second on-air announcements tailored to your business needs and as changeable as necessary.[must meet FCC regulations]
On-Air Studio
$150,000
This is where the magic happens. Naming opportunities available for the broadcast studios for 89.3 WFPL, Classical 90.5 and 91.9 WFPK.
For a period of 5 years, you can enjoy daily on-air mentions across the station of your choice. An example might be, “Good morning, this is James Bickers coming to you from 89.3 WFPL’s [Company Name] Studio.”
Studies consistently show that businesses affiliated with local public radio stations enjoy a 80% halo effect, meaning listeners are 80% more likely to shop in your store, buy your product or tell someone else about you. Simply because you are supporting the same quality radio that they rely on every single day. A naming opportunity for one of our broadcast studios is both a valuable investment and a charitable gift.
For a $150,000 gift, we would be pleased to offer the following for a period of 5 years:
-Daily mentions on the station of your choice
-65fifteen second on-air announcements tailored to your business needs and as changeable as necessary. [must meet FCC regulations]
Green Room
$150,000
The Green Room space is directly adjacent to the Performance Studio. It is where people gather before and after our weekly concerts and serves as the hub of activity during our bi-annual on-air membership drives. It is the space that musicians will use as they prepare for their live performance. It is a highly visible space and would be a wonderful opportunity for public recognition of a local business or foundation.