KCRW pledge drive begins; deadline for London prize is midnight tonight

Fans of local radio station KCRW (89.9 FM in Los Angeles and Orange counties): It’s that time again. The noncommercial National Public Radio affiliate, which airs an eclectic range of music, news and other programming from its headquarters at Santa Monica College, has today begun its biannual pledge-drive fundraiser, which runs until Aug. 18, 2008.

If you’re going to support the station, which relies on its voluntary subscribers’ donations for its operations, you can maximize your chances of scoring a sweepstakes prize if you pledge by midnight tonight, which is the deadline to enter to win a trip to London (valued at $5,150). You’ll also be automatically reentered in the drawing for a Kyoto, Japan trip (valued at $3,200), with an entry deadline of Aug. 18, and one for a BMW Mini Cooper convertible ($23,200 value), which has an entry deadline of Sept. 2.

What are the odds of winning? Of course, your chances will depend on the number of entries received. But in 2007, according to Sarah Spitz, publicity director and producer of “Left, Right and Center” and “The Politics of Culture,” the odds for a Rome sweepstakes ended up being approximately 1 in 18,000, which included renewals, mail, on-air and online pledges.

“Still better than the lottery!” said Spitz.

Note that you are not required to pledge money to be entered into the sweepstakes (so, yes, you could just send in a postcard), but if you pledge at least $25, you’re automatically enrolled in the  sweepstakes. You’ll find that info in the online rules.

But if you pledge instead of just hopping over the fence, so to speak, you get to feel good about supporting this community resource, and you can grab all kinds of other cool goods. Just listen in to hear incentives being offered. Common premiums for pledges include magazine subscriptions, hotel weekenders, spa treatments, restaurant vouchers and CDs. Good luck!

— Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times

[Photo: Andy Rain / EPA]

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This entry was posted on Friday, August 8, 2008 at 8:48 am by Susan Derby and is filed under Asia, Contest & Sweepstakes, Europe, Los Angeles, News, Tips & Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.