Hawaii Public Radio meets goal despite recession

Although the state is grappling with a down economy, Hawaii Public Radio successfully finished its fall pledge drive on Saturday Oct. 24, raising a record $772,507. HPR’s drive finished early in the evening on Friday, the tenth and final day of the on-air drive.

“We are very happy if somewhat astonished at this amazing outpouring of support for our public radio service,” said HPR President and General Manager Michael Titterton, in a statement. “We have always described our service as community-building, and this is enthusiastic proof that our listeners want to keep this service on track and on the air. We could not be more grateful.”

The fundraiser finished just before 5:30 p.m. HPR’s goal was $763,000, but a record-breaking 2,825 listener pledges helped exceed that amount by $9,507. The funds support station-programming costs for the next six months. The nonprofit broadcasts statewide on KHPR 88.1 FM, KANO 91.1 and KKUA 90.7 FM and on sister station, KIPO 89.3 FM, a news and information, public affairs, and music station.