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High School Radio Stations

SomeRadioGuy

SomeRadioGuy

..... anyone know any high school radio stations who have tshirts they sell to the general public? I can always use more tshirts and i'd like to support a worthwhile station or two
 
SomeRadioGuy said:
..... anyone know any high school radio stations who have tshirts they sell to the general public? I can always use more tshirts and i'd like to support a worthwhile station or two
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That's easy: Cost. It's hard to justify promotional items like T-shirts to a school Principal or district budget office. Also, when it comes to schools selling any products that need to collect and pay sales taxes or ship items, most schools rightfully don't think the juice is worth the squeeze.
 
It's also hard for many schools to justify the cost of running a radio station. It's not 1975 anymore. Kids still listen to FM when in the car with grandpa though.

Classic Rock is number one in many markets. What does that tell you? 70 year old's.
 
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Kelly A said:
That's easy: Cost. It's hard to justify promotional items like T-shirts to a school Principal or district budget office. Also, when it comes to schools selling any products that need to collect and pay sales taxes or ship items, most schools rightfully don't think the juice is worth the squeeze.
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Understand.. but some have had them over the years and I've even had a few..so i thought I'd ask.
 
Radio-Locator has a feature that allows you to search for "grade school (K-12)" stations under the format search box.

Not really a school station, but they do sell t-shirts: WOVV on Ocracoke Island, NC. It's a non-com community station that can be a fun listen. Shirts are available at the island's grocery store: Ocracoke Variety Store | Outer Banks
Not sure if they would ship one out to you, but no doubt they would be pleased to have somebody walking around in Alaska wearing one.
 
You can scan through the state listings at https://lpfm.us. While I do not have a filter for certain types of stations (such as student stations).. although this may be a good feature to add, you can usually tell by the listings which stations are the high school stations.
 
There is one in Boxford or Boxborough MA that is on a Freq Share agreement...

The problem is a High School station is held to the same standards as a full blown FM (or AM) WRT EAS and other mandates, and many of the HS stations (and colleges too) could not keep up or meet the regulatory demands and went "internet only" to avoid substantial NAL's that are not part of the municipal budget.
 
awsherrill said:
Radio-Locator has a feature that allows you to search for "grade school (K-12)" stations under the format search box.

Not really a school station, but they do sell t-shirts: WOVV on Ocracoke Island, NC. It's a non-com community station that can be a fun listen. Shirts are available at the island's grocery store: Ocracoke Variety Store | Outer Banks
Not sure if they would ship one out to you, but no doubt they would be pleased to have somebody walking around in Alaska wearing one.
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The variety store has an empty FB page, no contact/message button there, no email opn their website.. the stations page is just a streaming player.. the facebook page hasnt been update4d in months, but i just messaged the station
 
SomeRadioGuy said:
The variety store has an empty FB page, no contact/message button there, no email opn their website.. the stations page is just a streaming player.. the facebook page hasnt been update4d in months, but i just messaged the station
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WOVV already responded to my FB message and told me to email the station, done.. ill let everyone know what they say
 
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Kelly A said:
That's easy: Cost. It's hard to justify promotional items like T-shirts to a school Principal or district budget office.
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The OP isn't asking about free give-away promo t-shirts. He's asking about fundraising t-shirts. The ones these stations sell to raise money. It's not unusual for high school stations to sell various products to raise money to help cover operations. Not unlike girl scout cookies or bake sales. That's what this is about.

BTW almost all non-commercial stations sell such swag. Even NPR has an online store that sells shirts and caps. They also sell those ever-popular tote bags!
 
TheBigA said:
The OP isn't asking about free give-away promo t-shirts. He's asking about fundraising t-shirts. The ones these stations sell to raise money. It's not unusual for high school stations to sell various products to raise money to help cover operations. Not unlike girl scout cookies or bake sales. That's what this is about.
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Having dealt with one of the largest high school radio station's and district administration for several years, purchasing pre-printed T-shirts isn't generally seen as an approved fundraising activity. Too much upfront cost, and potential for shipping and tax costs, with low margin/benefit. Generally the way it works; is a group of parents or a local printing business will donate the goods and services. The students will sell the shirts, shipped or provided by the printer/clothing supplier. The school will receive either the difference after cost, or the entire amount of sales will be donated to the school/district. Unfortunately, many school districts have a policy where all donations hit the general fund. There are no requirements that such proceeds go directly to the individual program, unless there's an internal agreement already in place.
Back when I was dealing with KNHC, we started hosting large dance parties. These events had great margins, even after venue rental, PA/lighting, and security costs. Usually these dances would fill the building to capacity, close to 8,000 attendees. The first one of these dances, I believe we netted close to $40,000. The district took that money into their fundraising kitty, refusing to credit that amount solely for the use of the radio program. Before we did any more dances, we had a meeting with the superintendent and agreed to split the proceeds 50/50, with 50% going directly to the radio program. Considering the kind of money these events made, even 50% was worth the effort.
TheBigA said:
BTW almost all non-commercial stations sell such swag. Even NPR has an online store that sells shirts and caps. They also sell those ever-popular tote bags!
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They aren't run by public schools or their districts.
 
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A lot of stations nowadays (LPFM and commercial) sell swag through print-to-order companies (like Cafepress) that don't hold any stock of said swag - if someone makes an order for a station T-shirt or coffee mug, they'll print one up to order and mail it out, the station never sees the item but does take a "cut" of the profits.
 
AnyHuman said:
KBPS AM 1450 in Portland Oregon can be heard all over town and runs oldies. From a high school there.

KBPS / Home

www.pps.net www.pps.net

I believe they're also in AM stereo. Someone posted a feed of their AM stereo a while back on a different radio board. http://perseus.shoutca.st:8115/live
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Nice, but I don't see where they sell t-shirts or merch, which is what the OP was looking for specifically. Do you have a link to station logo items they sell?
 
Nah. Sorry.


Just figured I'd mention it. Something different.
 
We did when I was with KEOM-FM. In fact IIRC we gave them away.

R
 
My one regret in operating WRSG was to not either sell or give away station T-shirts and polos. That level of publicity surely helps. Perhaps the new team there may consider doing so. We did have hundreds of key chains to give away at various events.
 
I have seen a couple of 88.9 The Bridge t shirts in the wild. KMIH Mercer Island High School's station in the Seattle market. Might email the station manager, Joe Bryant, at [email protected] Check out their website 88.9 The Bridge- huge amount of kids involved for a station in 2022. Then again, Mercer Island is super affluent and if anybody can support a high school station it's the folks on The Rock.:ROFLMAO:

EDIT- just found their Instagram which showed shirts being sold at a booth for a recent community evert. Good chance they may still have one or two hanging around. Doesn't hurt to ask!
 
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