KRTU Spring Membership Drive a Success

J.J. Lopez, KRTU general manager, in his office
Photo by Juan Pineda

By Juan Pineda

Trinity’s jazz station 91.7 KRTU raised approximate $78,000 by the end of their spring membership drive on-air campaign that ended on Friday, surpassing their $75,000 goal.

“We definitely exceeded our expectations," said J.J. Lopez, the general manager of KRTU. The station is poised to raise another $10,000 during the post-drive to reach the overall spring fundraising goal of $85,000. The week-long on air membership drive contributed about 45% toward that goal.

“All this money goes directly into operations which include staff salary, production and operation costs,” Lopez added.


The radio station is also looking forward to using a new tower, which will increase the signal strength from the current 8,900 watts to 32,000 watts, said Jeanette Reynolds, the station's director of development.

“With an increase in range we can expect an increase in listeners and therefore an increase in membership,” she added.

Membership is the backbone of a non-profit radio station like KRTU. Patrick Attwater, 29, has been a member of KRTU for almost two years. He believes that KRTU creates a great community full of people who appreciate good music, which is his favorite form of art.

“The direct benefits for me are the dozens of wonderful events hosted and sponsored by KRTU that members get to attend for free,” Attwater said. “There are very few stations that provide that quality of programming.” He also loves the station because “anytime I turn on the station, I can count on there to be great music and educational commentary, which is what helps me understand and appreciate jazz better."

KRTU is one of the only two jazz stations in Texas and one of 60 in the U.S. All of their programming is locally produced in San Antonio.