Leadership Gifts Are a Catalyst for More Support for KMFA

When KMFA Public Radio in Austin, Texas was awarded a $75,000 grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in September 2007, it only covered 40% of the total estimated funds needed to pay for its conversion to high definition.  After learning of the station’s critical need for matching funds, community leaders Jeff and Gail Kodosky and Bettye and Bill Nowlin each committed over $50,000 towards the project.

These gifts came about because of the focused efforts of General Manager Jack Allen, and Development Director Joan Kobayashi who, along with a KMFA board member, set out to identify probable donors for the opportunity and to build a case and talking points to convey the scope and importance of the project.  While meeting with these donors, Jack and his board representative didn’t ask for the gift, but spent their time explaining the project and learning more about the individuals.

In addition to the gift, Jeff Kodosky praised the station, “We are proud of KMFA and excited to be part of this momentous project.”  The HD conversion enables KMFA to provide a higher quality broadcast signal, replace 27-year old equipment, and run a second channel for programming exploration.

But this was just the beginning for KMFA!  When they publicized the news of this significant contribution to the local press, it prompted a call from another KMFA listener who also wanted to make a transformative gift to the station.  Thinking on her feet, Joan outlined several funding opportunities for the probable donor resulting in a pledge of $200,000 to endow the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts.

Through their hard work, quick thinking and commitment to cultivating and stewarding major individual donors, Jack and Joan have furthered the mission of KMFA to provide the best in classical music and cultural programming.

We’re proud of KMFA, which has been a client of MajorGiving.com since February 2007.  Congratulations to the station, Jack and Joan on their outstanding success!