Frequently Asked Underwriting or Sponsorship Questions

1. Could we barter our goods or services in exchange for underwriting or sponsorship? A: In some cases, yes! If your business provides a service the station needs as part of our existing budget, such as printing or design work, we are open to bartering.

2. Does underwriting or sponsorship really work to bring in customers or supporters? Yup! 70% of public (or community) radio listeners say that underwriting has a positive impact on their purchase decisions or actions. 80% of listeners say they have positive impressions of a company or organization that supports a station. Our live stream for online listeners gets hundreds of unique listeners a day and thousands a month. We have a large listening base who is ready to support those who support the station.

3. Do I have to produce my message? No! We will help write the script and record it for you. Most underwriting announcements heard on WGDR/WGDH are read live by a programmer or recorded by members of the station.

4. What can be included in a message and how long are they? Run time is between about 20 seconds, which is about two sentences of content. We run this message twice during a show. They can contain general information about your business or organization. They can’t include calls to action, costs, or qualitivie comparisons (“we’re the best!”). Here is an example script: "The following program is underwritten by Central Vermont Economic Development Corporation. CVEDC helps businesses and local organizations of all sizes work toward sustainability by offering loans, help with business plans, workforce training, and job fairs. Learn more at CVEDC.org."

5. Why do businesses or organizations underwrite or sponsor the station? What is the value?

   This is a great way to get in front of a very loyal audience of thousands of Vermonters in the central and northern listening area. By supporting the station, listeners are more likely to patron you. And you get to write it off as a business or outreach expenses.

6. Are you really the most affordable place to get the word out? Yup, we checked! We share these for comparison, not competition. We fully support the range of independent and non-profit media outlets in our state.

   • Weekly free Central Vermont newspaper: $65-$245 per issue.

   • Online community email forum: $900/week to reach our listening area.

   • Monthly free Central Vermont newspaper: $200-$1,450 per issue.

   • Public radio, $67/per mention vs. WGDR/WGDH’s $10.50 per spot. *They are statewide (200,000 listeners compared to our 18,000, but we cover a huge portion of the same central and northern part of the state they do!).

Central Vermont Community radio is the largest and oldest community radio in the state. We reach over a combined 18,000 listeners every year. That’s 10,000 listeners on the radio and over 8,000 online via livestream and on-demand services. We reach statewide online and are the go-to local radio station for 30 cities in towns in our area, including Montpelier, Barre and north to Hardwick and into the Northeast Kingdom.

Community radio has never been more important to get alternative news, views, and real local content out to the community. Now with over 70 locally made shows, we’re seeing our listenership has grown by leaps and bounds since becoming community owned. Folks are eager to listen local and are extremely loyal. Our listeners support those who support the station. Being heard on our airwaves will make you stand out! As a non-commercial station, we are committed to keeping our rates as affordable as possible. Compare us to any other media outlet and you will see we mean it!

We offer the most affordable rates, by far, of any media outlet in central Vermont (we checked! Scroll down for examples). You can get started with us for as little as $273 for a 6 month run.

Underwriting Rates

Underwriting is a 20 second message about your business or organization. We air messages twice a show and offer two types of rates, drive time 7am-9am or 5pm-7pm or regular time, 9am-4pm and after 7pm. You could be heard by nearly 20,000 listeners across a year for as little as $5.25 per mention. There isn’t any other return on outreach rates you will find like that in Vermont!

SHOW & SPECIAL CONTENT UNDERWRITING RATES

·      Regular Show, 9am-4pm, 6 months for $273

·      Drive Time Show, 7am-9am or 5pm-7pm, 6 months for $546

·      Daily Weather, at 7am or 7pm daily, one month of daily, two times a day weather for $300

·      Community Calendar, read throughout each day, across most programs, one month of daily community events, multiple mentions for $500

 Our radio listeners tend to be folks who work for a living (need to buy certain things) or are retired (want to buy certain things). This tends to be the best general reach to our listenership.

 Sponsorship Rates

We have many ways to sponsor the mission and programming of the station. This includes:

·       Livestream of our programming at WGDR.org. Your 20 second message plays all day long, before the stream connects for an online listener (via our website or a smart device). This option is good for businesses that do business online or for the cannabis sector. We have 3,000 unique streamers a month, with hundreds streaming every day. Rates start at 3 months, at $625 and increase to 6 months for $1,250, or a year at $2,500. You are assigned a day a week, per month, and then rotate.  

·       Event and on air matching sponsorship. Our community loves to gather and they love to support the station by matching matches set by our sponsors. Each year we host a birthday bash weekend for the station, giving our sponsors massive exposure on the air and on all our digital platforms leading up to and through the weekend. During our on air major fundrives (spring and fall) and micro fundrives (Giving Tuesday), listeners are eager to match sponsor support to “double their donation.” Matching sponsors get dozens mentions a day all throughout a fundrive.  All event and matching sponsorship is $520 per happening.

·       Digital Sponsorship. Get your logo and link in front of our 7K online users on our website, from our monthly e-newsletter, and social media following. This is available at a 6-month rate of $250 or annual at $500.

Our online listeners tend to be folks who trend younger (under 65) and are digitally savvy. They are used to buying online and are quick to do so (since they are already online listening to us). These are the kind of folks are great to reach if you have a time sensitive opportunity (ex. music festival) or are online retail.

 Custom Packages

Often our supporters find that mixing some underwriting and sponsorship reaches our internship in the most effective way. We are happy to create custom packages for shorter-term deals that meet a minimum of a $500 total buy and can help you figure out what is the best fit for who you want to reach.

PSAs & Event Listings Free to Non-Profits

As part of our mission to center the community, we offer free 30 or 60 second public service announcements (PSAs) for any nonprofit to explain their work and how listeners can get more information. We will even help you record it. We also offer free listings for any nonprofit event in our community events calendar. More info at WGDR.org.

Fine print: Please note, that due to FCC federal regulation, underwriting is not available to cannabis businesses, though all other options are. The FCC also limits how we can talk about your work in the message. Don’t worry, we are pros at this and will help your message rock. Also, there is a limited number of underwriting and sponsorship opportunities across our schedule and stream time. It is a first buy, first placement policy. As with all types of outreach, the more folks year your message, the more they will remember you. 

For any questions about underwriting, sponsorships, or bartering options, please contact CVCR Station Manager, Llu Mulvaney-Stanak, Llu@WGDR.org or call 802-276-0365.  More info about the station, as well as our schedule, can be found at WGDR.org.