TORONTO – Counting donated air time, private Canadian radio stations contributed more than $238 million in the 2005 broadcast year to charitable initiatives.
Efforts ranged from a single station’s campaign in North Bay, Ont., to help raise money for a boy’s life-saving heart transplant, to international disasters such as Southeast Asian tsunami relief, says the press release from Canadian Broadcast Sales (CBS), a national sales firm owned by Rogers Communications and Corus Entertainment, representing approximately 60% of all national Canadian radio revenue.
In response to a request from CBS, 103 of its client stations responded with details of charitable activities during the past year. Stations reported participating in fundraising that generated $28,171,665 in cash. In addition, in-kind contributions totaled $12,691,398, mostly through donated air time for PSAs. On average, each station raised $273,511 in cash and $123,217 in-kind.
Applying these averages to all of Canada’s 602 private broadcasters produces totals of $164,653,622 in cash and $74,176,634 in-kind, for a total of $238,830,256.
This news follows an original report published last week by www.cartt.ca which received data from 135 Canadian radio stations on what funds, toys, food and clothing the stations raised leading up to Christmas, not including air time.
“It’s incredible to see what local radio stations are doing through charitable and community activity,” said Patrick Grierson, president of Canadian Broadcast Sales. “Whether it’s raising $500 for the fire department burn fund in Estevan, Sask., or over a million dollars for the children’s hospital in Edmonton, each of these commitments speaks to local radio’s direct commitment, connection and participation in the community.
“People have always responded to local radio stations and their direct participation in so many worthy campaigns makes all the difference in communicating the important message that each cause has and getting people to act.”
An example of a community-based effort making a real difference comes from a group of stations in Prince Albert, Sask. A powerful campaign called Battleground Crystal Meth targeted parents by providing information about children using the drug. It was so successful that the provincial government adopted a mirror strategy throughout Saskatchewan and created a special cabinet post to champion the issue.
In Calgary, Country 105’s (CKRY) annual radiothon for the Alberta Children’s Hospital raised $1.2 million. The station broadcast live from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the hospital for three days and the phones rang non-stop.
Local Canadian radio also responded to people affected by natural disasters around the world such as the tsunami in Southeast Asia, earthquake in Iran, and hurricanes in Mexico and the United States. Other contributions not easily captured in dollar figures include donations to food banks and Christmas toy drives.
“If anything, I believe these numbers are conservative estimates,” said Grierson in the release. “Not every station had a complete inventory of what they did during the year, but they were all able to emphasize what it meant for them to contribute. This interaction with Canada’s communities is a profound point of difference between us and satellite radio.”
