In its yearly Radiothon pledge drive, WJCU 88.7 raised an all-time high of over $108,000, crushing the station’s goal of $75,000. The 2026 Radiothon marks the sixth year in a row that WJCU has set a record for donations, but the dramatic increase over the previous high (around $83,000) is something the whole staff is excited about.
The donations made during Radiothon are critical for the operation of WJCU. General Manager Jasen Sokol describes the pledge drive as “the ten days that make the other 355 happen,” as the money raised funds the equipment hosts use every day. Since the university only provides WJCU with about 20% of the budget it needs to operate, Sokol calls Radiothon donations “the money that keeps this place running.”
During the ten days of Radiothon, listeners of WJCU can call in to make donations to the station, which is “really where support for the station becomes visible,” Sokol said. He recalled a certain point in the most recent drive where donors would try to donate more money than the previous ones, to the point where “it almost felt like an auction.”
As for why this year’s Radiothon was particularly successful, Sokol pointed to the shutdown of Cleveland State University’s station back in October. He said this incident raised awareness among the general public that college radio is something that is valuable and should not be taken away. Although he doesn’t worry about the state of WJCU, Sokol did note that people realized they need to support the organizations they want to see succeed. He called this year’s success “a strong statement to university administration of just how valued this program is… not just on campus.”
Apart from external events that raise public awareness, Sokol gave great credit to the team at WJCU. “They are creating content that is valuable,” he said. “I think our listeners see the value in that.” He highlighted the representation of ethnic groups that don’t get much recognition in mainstream radio and how WJCU has become “vital to their communities.” Whether on-campus or off, WJCU provides representation to the groups that need it.
Sokol said the team “absolutely crushed it” this year and called this Radiothon the smoothest in terms of planning thanks to the great cooperation on display. In the wake of this recent success, the WJCU team wants to continue providing high-quality radio to the communities that need it.
[This article has been updated to amend a factual error. The donations made to WJCU during Radiothon 2025 were originally reported to be around $73,000, but has been changed to the correct amount of around $83,000.]
