Local Media: Learn, Create, Watch... Support!
Call (919) 371-8788 or 371-URTV to make a pledge.
You can also donate online by clicking the link below.
I know of no such unquestionable badge and ensign of a
sovereign mind as that of tenacity of purpose…
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
From Executive Director Chad Johnston
What an amazing year it’s been for The Peoples Channel and Durham Community Media! The organization has continued to grow despite the economic uncertainty and that success is largely credited by your support.
As Executive Director, I am so humbled to know that we mean so much to you. I sincerely hope that as we forge into a new year, I can count on your financial support for The Peoples Channel and Durham Community Media. Any amount of support will help with the organization’s long-term goal of becoming a truly sustainable cornerstone of our communities.
In July 2004, I packed up my pick-up truck and drove from Ohio to North Carolina not knowing the amount of challenges ahead of me at The Peoples Channel. As I look back over that time, last year was one of the most fulfilling. The first several years were filled constant battles while simultaneously trying to build the organization up. As a leader, those days were both incredibly challenging and exciting.
We fought federal and state legislation that would have eliminated our channels and funding. We faced a budget crisis and survived a period with only two employees. We thought outside of the box, won local and state political battles and re-gained a financial foothold. We grew our staff and built a new station, serving a brand new community, on a new channel.
I feel so blessed to have been a part of all those exhilarating and challenging moments, but something about the last year was different… it’s something to be celebrated.
Over the last year we have laid new roots and grown more mature as a staff, board and as a community. There were no great struggles or massive political battles; just a steady persistence to make the organization sustainable. The staff and board participated in multiple retreats to plan and learn about who we wanted to be. The staff have gone to conferences, attended trainings and focused their energy on streamlining internal functions. For the first time since I have been with the organization, we have been able to focus on the future and set a pace for the organization that will last well into the future. What an exciting time…
In order to keep up this pace and focus, we truly need your financial support. This year, we’re offering very special gifts for those who will follow us on our path to sustainability. Whatever amount you can give, $25, $50, or $250, know that we sincerely appreciate your commitment to keeping The Peoples Channel and Durham Community Media thriving.
“Sustainable” is a word often thrown around these days. The definition that applies to what I’m asking of you today is this: capable of being supported or upheld, as by having its weight borne from below. We need our community to be the weight below and the support mechanism that will let us know we will not fall. In return for that support, we will continue to be tenacious in our focus, assuring the organization continues to plan for the long haul.
Call (919) 371-8788 or 371-URTV to make a pledge.
You can also donate online by clicking the link below.
What do we have to show for the last year?
Let me tell you…
In the last year, we brought Monica Hughes to Durham Community Media. Ms. Hughes came to us with a 12-year history of working in Public Access and Community Media. Her dedication and skill set has amplified DCM18’s services in ways we could never have imagined. The facility is twice as active as it was this time last year; the computer lab is used daily, video cameras are consistently checked out to the public and courses are almost always filled. Monica has brought a true sense of sustainability to DCM18, building a sense of community and stability all of us should feel proud of.
Membership and activity over the last year has also grown continually throughout the organization. There are more people walking in through the doors, more community members taking our courses, and more locally produced programs than ever have been streaming across our channels. We have grown our nonprofit media production services greatly, which has helped diversify our funding and has supported the nonprofit community with media services they normally could not afford.
The board and staff have updated policies to reflect the current needs of the community and the organization, which help us serve the community more efficiently and effectively. Finally, we have built an open-source database to help us manage and better communicate with supporters, members, and the community at large which is tied into a brand new website which will be launched before the start of the New Year.
These activities are some examples of our commitment to strengthening your Community Media Center over the last year and with your tax-deductible donation this year, we will be able to continue on this sustainable path. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for supporting us and we’re offering very special gifts that we feel represent the sustainability you will be providing us with in the coming year.
2012 Club
For the New Year, consider a gift of $20.12 per month (only $0.66 a day!) and be a part of the 2012 Club. In appreciation you will receive an invitation for you and a guest to a members only 2012 Club Sustainable Southern dinner, prepared by our very own Vimala Rajendran. You will also receive 2 free tickets to the Spring Home Grown, Home Made celebration, which honors local food and community media. Plus on-air thanks and a T-Shirt or tote bag! Please consider joining the 2012 Club!
15 Year Club
This year, we’ve also created the 15 Year Club, which celebrates the coming 15-year anniversary of The Peoples Channel. Join the Club by donating $15 a month (only $0.49 a day!) and receive 2 free tickets to the Spring Home Grown, Home Made celebration, on-air thanks and a T-shirt or tote bag.
My Democracy Now!
If Democracy Now! is a part of your daily routine, consider donating $10 a month to be a be a part of My Democracy Now. Each supporter will receive an individualized message at the beginning and end of Democracy Now! for an entire week’s broadcast. Celebrate a loved one’s birthday, anniversary or graduation or publicize a local event or church service, as long as it’s noncommercial, for one week it will be your Democracy Now!
These gifts are only available until January 1st, so donate online by clicking HERE or download and print THIS FORM, fill it out and mail it in! Of course, any amount you can afford is greatly appreciated and our standard gifts still apply throughout the year!
Thank you so much for making my time at The Peoples Channel and Durham Community Media so inspiring.
Sincerely,
Chad A. Johnston
Executive Director
Durham Community Media and The Peoples Channel
Donating is easy online or by phone, and your
donation can be broken up into monthly
installments so that your gift
will be a size that you'll barely miss each month.
To us, however, the value
of your gift is immeasurable.
Call (919) 371-8788 or 371-URTV to make a pledge.
You can also donate online by clicking the link below.
