HEY EVERYONE IT'S SPRING DRIVE SEASON

We're gearing up for Pitchfork and other cool things this year! I made $1K last time so let's do it again!

CHIRP is all about human connection – DJs who are passionate, curious and fun. We connect with listeners in a way AI and algorithms cannot. As many outlets become more automated, it’s CHIRP’s humanity that draws listeners in. While so many other parts of our lives move toward algorithms and AI, at CHIRP, we are real people who are passionate about music and media, broadcasting live in real time. We spend our time making great radio because we love it.

This spring is an exciting time for CHIRP! As soon as the drive ends, we’ll begin renovation and upgrades of our two studios, as well as more than doubling the workspace we have available for our 260+ volunteers! It’s because of generous listeners like you supporting the station that make these major upgrades possible. Later this year, we’ll have an open house for all our sustaining members to show off these improvements, so become a CHIRP sustainer today!

How does my $$$ help CHIRP?

• $10 covers one day of transmission from our studio to our transmitter site, half a day of streaming costs, or one album that isn’t sent to us by an artist or label
• $25 covers the cost of a replacement stylus for a turntable
• $50 covers one day of rent for the CHIRP studios
• $60 ($5/mo.) covers one month or CHIRP’s phone or DSL bill
• $120 ($10/mo.) covers a turntable tune-up
• $240 ($20/mo.) covers a hand-held field recorder for our features team, or one month of maintenance for our mobile app
• $365 ($1/day) covers just over a week of rent for the CHIRP studios
• $500 covers one month of rooftop rent for our broadcast antenna
• $1000 covers a year of insurance for our studios or our broadcast antenna

Okay, cool, but what do I get out of it?

I'm guessing you mean besides a sense of goodwill at furthering the cause of independent music radio in The Second City?

Yeah. Let's talk tangibles. I've got bills to pay, lady.

Fair enough. Well, any donation made to a 501(c)3 non-profit (like us) is tax-deductible --

-- But I already did my taxes. What do I get right now?

Okay, okay. So we've got some pretty cool donor gifts this time around. If you sign up to give $5/month, or a flat $60, you'll get this dope stainless steel CHIRP logo tumbler:

Nice, right? 

If you can manage to double that ($10/month or $120), you'll get a t-shirt designed by Chicago artist and multidisciplinary designer Alyssa Low plus our very awesome CHIRP Member Card App (good for 2-1 entrees at a ton of restaurants, as well as admissions to local museums and other great stuff!)

Things get fancy at the $20/month level (that's $240 flat if you're not a math kid):

WOW CAMP CHAIR SO COOL! That's in addition to the aforementioned CHIRP Member Card.

If you can set aside $1/day ($365), you'll get all three gifts (tumbler+shirt+camp chair) in addition to the Member Card. 

Wow, that's a lot. How do I make sure I get my sweet gift?

Either donate via this page, or donate via chirpradio.org/donatenow and select "Jenny West's Radio Quest" where it says "CREDIT THIS DONATION TO THIS SOCIAL FUNDRAISER". Otherwise it won't count toward my goal. And I like meeting goals.

So like... are you putting anything on offer here? Like, personally?

Not sure how to take that, but... if you donate $50, I will make you an hourlong custom playlist on your preferred platform. Add an hour for every $50. So like, if you did a $10/month thing + $30, that's the t-shirt AND a free 3-hour playlist. Pretty sweet deal, right? 

Dang, cool. So this is pretty important to you, huh?

YES. This is the organization I honestly spend something like 75% of my free time on. Sometimes even my not-free-time. I've made amazing friends and awesome music scene connections through this group, and I'm allowed to DJ and share music I love with people once a week for two hours (my show's called Music For Chameleons, it's 8-10pm Tuesdays, check it out!). None of that would happen if this organization didn't exist.

Sounds like it's pretty important for the local Chicago music scene too.

Now you're getting it. We focus on local artists and labels pretty heavily - for some bands, we're the only chance they'll have to be on the air. We also promote local concerts and fellow non-profits, so we'd like to think there's a net benefit to the community.

Well, I'm sold. How do I contribute?

Through this page, or through chirpradio.org/donatenow. 

Great, that's taken care of. Good luck with your drive!

Thanks so much! And don't forget to tune in for your on-air shoutout. You're the best!

No, you are!

Oh, stop. We'll be here all day.