It's official guys! The Chicago Independent Radio Project, better known as CHIRP is FINALLY getting a home on the FM dial! CHIRP was formed over 10 years ago and has been streaming at www.chirpradio.org for 7 years know. After 3 long years of waiting and loads of bureaucracy, we have finally gained FCC approval to broadcast on the 107.1 FM frequency. We will begin broadcasting on October 21st, 2017, at noon!
For those of you who are unfamiliar with CHIRP, it is a nonprofit, noncommerical, community-run radio station dedicated to providing an outlet for local and independent music. We play both local and independent music from all genres including punk, folk, blues, jazz, hip hop, metal, and everything in between. Our volunteer DJs have a large amount of autonomy when determining what to play on their air and no 2 DJ slots are alike! This makes CHIRP fun and exciting to listen to and music fans, regardless of genre preferences, are bound to find something they enjoy. CHIRP is an important outlet for helping great up and coming local artists get the exposure and success they deserve! In addition to our robust music programming, we are the proud sponsor of a monthly local music showcase, CHIRP Night at the Whistler, a bi-monthly storytelling event, The First Time, and coordinate an annual record fair.
I have personally been a volunteer for CHIRP for about a year. I'm a lifelong music junkie who is especially passionate about the independent scene. Even as a "responsible adult," discovering new music and going to shows is still a top priority for me so volunteering with CHIRP is a great outlet for me to channel my passion. Most of the work I do for CHIRP is writing album reviews for the music department to help DJs decide what to play on the air. I write about 1 album review a week to provide background information on the artist, describe the overall sound of the album, recommend tracks to play on the air, and making sure any tracks containing profanity do not make it to the airwaves. In addition to album reviews, I attend numerous concerts and festivals throughout the city to help promote CHIRP. Finally, I am currently training to be a DJ and I am super excited about the prospect of broadcasting on an actual FM signal!
Next month marks an important milestone for CHIRP and we cannot wait to start broadcasting on 107.1! However, this will be expensive. In addition to rent, ultilities, and streaming costs, our new broadcast will add an additional $10,000 to $15,000 of expenses per year. Since we are a nonprofit organization, CHIRP relies heavily on donations from listeners and supporters like you. Without your contributions, this would not be possible. For those of you who have never heard the station before, please check out our stream at www.chirpradio.org and give us a listen. If you like what you hear, please consider contributing a $10, or even $5 donation. No donation is too small and we are grateful for all of the support we can get. I am setting my initial fundraising goal at $107.10 in honor of our new frequency. Thank you so much for all of your support!
Peace, love, and community radio,
Eric
MAKE A GIFT TO CHIRP TODAY!
CHIRP is a listener-supported, community-powered radio station—your gift makes everything we do possible!
Please make a gift supporting our fall fund drive so we can continue to bring you great music and events! Your gift will also help us launch our broadcast at 107.1FM in October 2017!
If you would like to become a sustaining member by making a recurring donation (monthy or quarterly), or select a fall campaign thank you gift, please visit CHIRP’s main donation page to make your contribution (and don’t forget to enter the name of the CHIRP Volunteer or DJ in the “How did you hear about CHIRP” section so they can receive credit for your gift!)
| Supporters | |||
| Name | Date | Amount | Comments |
| Mark Vanderhulst | 09/22/2017 | $15.00 | This playlist better be lit | Anonymous Friend | 09/22/2017 | $20.00 | Sabrina Barnett | 09/22/2017 | $15.00 | Eric Wiersema | 09/22/2017 | $50.00 | Terrence Norris | 09/22/2017 | $11.89 | Damn OCD | J,D,M&M Lui | 09/21/2017 | $20.00 | Julie Hoffmann | 09/21/2017 | $15.00 | Go, Eric, go! | Katrina Zaret | 09/21/2017 | $25.00 | Bring on all the amazing local Chicago music. | Matthew Holsapple | 09/21/2017 | $25.00 | Let's karaoke together soon! | Sheila Spencer | 09/21/2017 | $50.00 | Anonymous Friend | 09/20/2017 | $107.10 | Elise Pope-Obeda | 09/19/2017 | $20.00 | Yassssssssss | Tirzah Blomberg | 09/19/2017 | $5.00 | Eduardo Europa | 09/15/2017 | $20.00 | Denice Kelley | 09/15/2017 | $15.00 | So glad to support!! | Brooke Littva | 09/15/2017 | $30.00 | Good luck!!! | Anonymous Friend | 09/15/2017 | $10.00 | Anonymous Friend | 09/15/2017 | $40.00 | Success to you and Chirp! All I just ask in return is that you help me out with my dry month experiment ;) | Terrence Norris | 09/15/2017 | $50.01 | Put on a dress and sing "Turtle Blues." | Stephanie Nyman | 09/15/2017 | $150.00 | Caroline Heller | 09/13/2017 | $10.00 | Stephanie Nyman | 09/13/2017 | $100.00 | Hannah Helbert | 09/12/2017 | $13.00 | Play, or don't play pig destroyer, it's up to you. | Keith Wiersema | 09/12/2017 | $12.00 | Play Pig Destroyer | Amy Wiersema | 09/12/2017 | $11.00 | Don't play any Pig Destroyer | Colin Griffith | 09/12/2017 | $10.00 | Play some Pig Destroyer | Barry Nickerson | 09/12/2017 | $35.00 | Where we going bud? | Alexander Chidester | 09/12/2017 | $25.00 | What up Eric! Here's 25 bones! | Anonymous Friend | 09/11/2017 | $10.00 |
| Total | $920.00 | ||