HEY EVERYONE IT'S FALL DRIVE SEASON

We're gearing up for the 20th Annual (!) CHIRP Record Fair and other cool things this year! I made $1K last time so let's do it again!

This past spring, your donations allowed us modernize and upgrade our two studios and double the workspace we have available for our 250+ volunteers! It’s because of generous listeners like you supporting the station that made these improvements possible, and we want to show them off! Become a CHIRP sustainer today, and we’ll invite you to a special donor event and open house next month (all current sustainers will also be invited)!

And just like we did in spring, we have a big announcement. In 2025, we’ll be rebuilding our website and app from the ground up! There will be features you’ve been asking for, including the fact that the site and the app will work in unison, so you’ll have a single account you can use for both! Your generosity will make this site and app rebuild possible!

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 excellent stowable CHIRP tote bag:

Nice, right? 

If you can manage to double that ($10/month or $120), you'll get a t-shirt designed by Chicago cartoonist and illustrator David Alvarado!

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

WOW PAJAMA PANTS SO COOL! 

If you can set aside $1/day ($365), you'll get all three gifts (tote+shirt+pajamas).

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.

CHIRP is your live, local, independent radio station. 

Here at CHIRP, we're all about human-driven radio: no algorithms, robots, or AI -- just local DJs who are passionate about the music they play and always excited to share their latest discoveries. We're happy to take requests, give you chances to win concert tickets, and hear your feedback. CHIRP is a station that was made for music lovers like you!

Your generous support makes everything we do possible. We are a truly independent, listener-supported station, 100% commercial-free.

If you believe in this work and have the capacity, please make a donation to CHIRP today. 

IMPORTANT: If you would like to become a sustaining member by making a recurring donation (monthly or quarterly), or if you want to select a thank you gift, please visit chirpradio.org/donatenow to make your contribution (and to give in support of the person making this post, be sure to type their full name in the "volunteer to credit" section so they can receive credit for your gift).

And if you're interested in joining CHIRP's major donor program, The Vinyl Circle, with a gift of $500 or above, please use this form.