Thank you to everyone who supported our end-of-fiscal year fundraising drive.

3,000 of you made a gift this September, and whether you gave $5 or $500, each and every one of you helped us close the gap on our budget deficit. Thank you for believing in the value of public television and for committing to be a supporter of KLRU.

With your phenomenal support, we can move forward into 2012-2013 with new programming and engaging events like:

• Civic Summit: Why Bother? | Studio 6A tonight | The Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life, KLRU and KUT News 90.5 are hosting an interactive dialogue among young Texans — those who are engaged and those who aren’t — about the causes of low civic participation in Central Texas and how to boost it. RSVP here to attend or watch when it airs, Thursday at 8pm.
• Hardly Sound | 1st Monday of the month | 11pm on KLRU Q | Did you  miss Hardly Sound’s October episode yesterday? Watch it online here and support KLRU’s newest documentary series highlighting the lives and stories of local musicians and bands.
• Community Cinema | A new of Community Cinema continues with As Goes Janesville, a documentary following the lives of laid-off workers, business leaders, and elected officials trying to reinvent their lives and their Midwestern town amid the closure of their GM plant and America’s worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Screenings are free, open to the public, and take place October 2 at Austin’s Windsor Park Branch Library (5833 Westminster Dr.) and October 25 at Round Rock Public Library (216 E. Main Street).

Thank you to everyone who has supported KLRU during this final push toward our end-of-fiscal-year goal. This is the LAST time we’ll be asking for your support for the Countdown Campaign, so now is the time to show that you value everything that KLRU does for Central Texas.

Think about what you value about public television - is it the quality of the productions? Is it the way each program draws you in with engaging and thoughtful content? Is it the absence of advertising and interruptions? Is it all of those things and more?

Donate today for the reason you turn your television to KLRU or visit klru.org on your computer or watch KLRU programs on the PBS app or come to KLRU for a screening or event. Give for that reason, right now.

Your support goes a long way – even the smallest gift can help us accomplish so much. In 2011-2012, the support from individuals like you helped us:

• Acquire 16 iPads, loaded with PBS Kids and other PBS multimedia apps to take to schools, community centers, and other public events.
• Air Growing Hope Against Hunger the Emmy-winning Sesame Street episode on family hunger in August. Tagged onto the broadcast was a bilingual message to call 2-1-1 if access to food is a concern. Call centers during this period recorded an increase of nearly 100 calls coinciding with the broadcasts.
• Collaborate on local productions showcasing the best Texas has to offer with The Daytripper, On Story from Austin Film Festival and the brand new local music series, Hardly Sound.
• Purchase new episodes for the fall season like Call the Midwife, Doctor Who Series 6, Upstairs, Downstairs Season 2, Dust Bowl by Ken Burns and new independent films from POV and Independent Lens.

Thank you for your commitment to KLRU and let’s end 2011-2012 with a bang!

Thank you to everyone who has joined our Countdown Campaign so far!

After a huge outpouring of support yesterday, we went from having $115,000 left to raise this September to $93,000. So many folks have mailed in checks, called in with their gifts, or given online and we’re so appreciative of your effort and your generosity – thank you!

The Countdown Campaign ends on September 30, the end of KLRU’s fiscal year, and we need your help to end the year with a balanced budget. We sincerely appreciate everyone who supports us throughout the year – this is your public television station and couldn’t exist without you. If you’re able to make an additional gift this week (or join for the very first time), it would make a huge difference to KLRU right now.

Keep the Countdown Campaign going and donate today!

September 30 is the end of our fiscal year and we need your help to reach that date with a balanced budget. Please take a minute and join our Countdown Campaign to raise $115,000 in the next 7 days. As we celebrate 50 years of public television in Central Texas, we know that there are so many of you that value KLRU, but now we’re asking you to support us with a gift - any amount you can give will make a huge difference to KLRU right now.

KLRU is Austin’s only locally owned and operated television station. With over half of our support coming from individuals like you, we take very seriously our commitment to inspire – and be inspired by –  everyone in Central Texas. We are public television so KLRU is your station.

I hope you’ll take this opportunity to reflect on how much you value KLRU’s commitment to keeping Austin entertained, informed and educated and join our Countdown Campaign right now by:

• Making your first gift ever to KLRU right now because your children love Sesame Street, Word Girl, and Dinosaur Train.
• Renewing your support of KLRU this year because you can’t live without new episodes of Masterpiece, Antiques Roadshow, and Doctor Who.
• Casting your vote for your favorite local programs like Central Texas Gardener, Overheard with Evan Smith, The Daytripper, and Arts in Context.
• Giving an additional gift to KLRU because your trust PBS Newshour, Frontline, and Washington Week.
• Telling your friends to support the Countdown Campaign because this is their station, too.

We are diligent stewards of our limited resources, consistently trimming expenses while at the same time preserving the strength of our content and community. Despite our best efforts, we’re approaching the end of our fiscal year with a deficit. We need your help, right now to reach our Countdown Campaign goal by September 30th.

Please join us and thank you!

We’re approaching the end of our fiscal year with a budget deficit and we need your help to reach our goal by September 30. As of this morning, we’re $185,900 short. More than ever we need the help of our loyal viewers – YOU – to join us. Each and every gift, no matter the amount, from every person who is able to will help tremendously right now.

We hope you’ll consider joining our Countdown Campaign this month. Maybe you’ll decide to renew your support today – make an additional gift for the year – or tell a friend to become a brand new member!

Whatever you do, we appreciate your generosity and support of KLRU-TV, Austin PBS – YOUR public television station.

Look at what you’ve done!
Thanks to support from our community, KLRU has been able to do so much in 2011-2012:

• Threw a downtown block party for our whole city to celebrate 50 years of public television in Austin (Cookie Monster was there, too!)
• Brought Community Cinema back to Windsor Public Library for another great season of independent film – Free every month for anyone to attend.
• Showcased phenomenal women in our community who are changing lives through the national online project Women and Girls Lead (we’ll highlight more women in 2012-2013 so stay tuned!)
• Challenged hundreds of school-aged kids to read this summer with the KLRU Summer Learning Challenge
  
• Brought you new episodes of Downton Abbey, Frontline, Moyers & Company, NOVA, Nature, Antiques Roadshow, Market Warriors, Arts in Context, Central Texas Gardener, Overheard with Evan Smith, Austin City Limits, and many more!