MORE POWER! – Wool FM

Wouldn’t it be great if WOOL had commercial-strength broadcast power that reached way farther?

We could collaborate more meaningfully with area schools, social service organizations, emergency services, municipal governments, arts groups, local businesses, individuals… and they’d have more incentive to be involved because there’d be tons more listeners. WOOL’s mission to entertain, educate, and uplift the community could be carried out even better.

For over three decades – more than 30 years! – no community group in the northeast was awarded one of those big Class A broadcast licenses from the government. WOOL worked the system anyway, and worked it some more… it was years in the making, but we actually got the upgrade! A HUGE victory.

Then, hard-won license in hand, we set out to find the funds to follow through… which turned out to be just as elusive. But WE GOT THAT TOO. Little ol’ low-power WOOL.fm is now a bona fide full-power radio station. This is fantastic! Tune us in at 91.5!

There’s a catch though. The money is a loan. It needs to be paid back.

So WOOL has kicked off a crowdsourced Upgrade Fund – because together, we’re mighty.

We’ve set up an easy system where you can automatically put $5 a month on your credit card that goes directly toward WOOL’s upgrade expenses. Choose your level of support – or if you want to do some other number, you can click the “Custom Amount” link. (For recurring payments, a free Paypal account is required.)

Unlike some stations, the government has never given us any free money. And we’ve never received any fat checks from foundations or corporations, or big bucks from wealthy philanthropists. It would be great if we did… but the fact is that it’s always been just all of us regular people, together, who make WOOL happen – you and me and our neighbors. Nearly every radio station in America is owned by three or four companies, but not us. We’re something very special: volunteer powered, commercial-free, community supported, and community driven. Black Sheep Radio is proud to be different. Not just the music and information we provide, but the way we go about it, and the reasons we do it. We come from the community we serve, we serve the community we come from, and we’re not trying to sell anyone to marketers.

Think about the things you buy every day – a newspaper, coffee, a sandwich. Is it more than 16 cents? That’s what five dollars a month is: 16 cents a day. What’s the value of the music, news, and views that you hear on commercial-free, nonprofit Black Sheep Radio and nowhere else?

You can play an active role in helping local independent media thrive.

You can help build the community we all want to live in. Your support makes Black Sheep Radio possible – your community radio station with one foot in Vermont and one foot in New Hampshire. Imagine a place that we all own with our friends… where we can hear ourselves think… where we go because we want to… and where profit isn’t the point.

Some companies have a matching program that will double or triple donations. Check with your employer to see if your support can go even farther!

(Memberships are separate from the Upgrade Fund and will continue to support our ongoing expenses, as they always have. Even though Black Sheep Radio is volunteer-run and nonprofit, there are bills to pay – music royalties, transmitter rent, insurance, and other behind-the-scenes expenses… including maintaining the equipment, a lot of which is actually older than the station. Lots of people listen to Black Sheep Radio, and as much as we’d like to think that all of them will become supporting members, we know that most of them won’t. But the ones who do feel different after they join: Better, involved, not like a bystander anymore. Like an owner. You can join online.)

We’re grateful for you!