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Summer 2019 Fundraising Letter

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Thank you for making CHRI one of the most powerful outreach ministries in Canada!

Three Questions

Did you know the radio industry classifies listeners as: P1: listens to CHRI a lot; P2: listens from time to time; P3: has heard of us but probably doesn’t listen; and P4: never listens to CHRI.

Question A: How then can CHRI serve P1s) and still reach out to a P5)? And does it matter?

Matthew 18:12 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?”

When choosing radio station content the most successful practice is to focus on the core audience you wish to reach. But CHRI is the primary broadcaster of Christian music and Bible teaching in your area and this creates pressure to cater to the broader interests of as many people as possible. The radio industry term for this is ‘block programming’. The problem arises when you try to please everyone and end up only touching the lives of a very few because block programming in general is such a huge tune out factor; a new listener would never know what was coming on the radio next!

Music tastes are so varied, CHRI follows the format of the most successful stations to maintain the broadest appeal; the category is ‘hot adult contemporary’. Don’t be too concerned about the title, remember it wasn’t coined by Gospel recording artists, but describes what we compete against for listeners in the marketplace. By selecting the most popular Christian artists in this “Hot AC” category and only those who profess their faith, CHRI can reach a much larger, albeit youthful audience in the 24 to 54 age range, whereas teaching programs trend toward a more mature audience.

Question B: So, what age group is CHRI programming designed to reach?

Some of our team have been at the station for 22 years (ok, that’s Brock!). Dan and Dianne have been here for 16 and 14 years respectively, I’ve been here 12 and Care is up to 11, Trudy 10, Ashlyn and Dan Cole 4 years, Becky 3, and Lydia 2. Our ages range from 23 to 72 (ok, that’s me!)

On the street, CHRI is often referred to as fun and entertaining. We admit we work at being informative and encouraging too, so much so that we use these words to promote CHRI on the air, on billboards or bus ads and on social media. But the reality is that everything we say, do or play is based entirely on the Gospel. So, imagine thousands of family members, regardless of their age, receiving the Gospel message in an approachable, non confrontational, digestible but unstoppable way all day and night each and every day!

“I want to say that I love listening to 99.1FM. It’s a radio station that I can rely on to be clean and family friendly. Thank you for being such a great radio station.”  - Bethany

Question C: What then is the guiding principle behind the CHRI programming strategy?

Proverbs 11:6: (NIV) “Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.” (In effect ‘when children are proud of their parents those parents will in turn be proud of their grandchildren'.)

We have only one answer to questions A), B) and C) and that is: regardless of how we are perceived, we are persistent and consistent in our focus on the Gospel message, whether it’s through music or by the Bible teaching of renowned pastors.

We ask young people to stay faithful to God’s word by keeping it front and centre and by presenting it in the most relatable way...contemporary music.

We ask mature listeners to enjoy our Praise and Worship hours as well as our teaching programs, remembering that we are at the same time helping them secure a relationship between them, their children or grandchildren and God almighty.

To maintain this balance we ask you to please continue giving generously so that we can continue to serve you and so many others from our favourite P1 listeners to the important, unreached P5s).

So thank you for your prayers and contributions. Please consider donating to CHRI today so we can continue to reach more and more people of all generations. We are a registered charity and you will receive a receipt for use in your next income tax filing. You can donate online here or by calling 613-247-1440.

Blessings,

Bill Stevens GM, volunteers and staff.

PS With help and encouragement from one of our donors, we now have the ability to receive ‘gifts in kind’ such as corporate shares. Please consult with your financial professional.

Download this letter here.

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