Lawmakers: Turn support into dollars

Sen. Bert Brackett, R-Rogerson, told IPTV general manager Peter Morrill, “This committee got a lot of emails in support of Public TV last year. My question is, if each one of those emails came with a financial contribution you would be in much different financial shape this year. … Can you visualize a plan where that support can be turned into greater financial support?

Morrill responded that IPTV is working hard on fundraising, and has had strong support. But the economy is a factor, he noted. “These are challenging times. Private fundraising is not a robust area right now. … We have had good individual contributor success. Foundation support right now is kind of like that,” and he waved his hand in a wave-like motion. “We went though a dip.” More challenging, he said, and key to support for local programs, is corporate fundraising. “Corporate contributions are very challenging right now,” Morrill said. “It’s not an easy field to plow now.”