I am Kate McKenzie, director of development for NPR Illinois/91.9 UIS in Springfield, Illinois, which is a news format. The University of Illinois Springfield holds our license. I started in this role in June after 2.5 years working in the university’s advancement division, where I did communications and marketing. Prior to that, I spent 16 years in print journalism, working as a reporter and editor for various publications in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Minnesota.
There are several pain points right now. The university is in the process of reducing its funding for the station over the course of the next five years (it will still hold the license and provide us our space), so there is an immediate need to increase funding from other sources. The staff is small and hiring is often stymied by the slow HR process we must follow, which allows good candidates to find other jobs before we can make an offer. For the fall drive, I also have some remaining duties from my former job until that post is filled, so I’m doing double duty through September.
I’m hoping this course will provide practical ideas I can implement for our upcoming drives, as well as find a network of people I can turn to for support and ideas.