FBi’s quest for extra cash has yielded $350,000 from sponsorship efforts and fund raising gigs, which is enough to keep the station afloat for another two years.

Sydney bands have been playing a series of gigs over the past month in support of the community radio youth station, which has also been actively signing up supports through an on air campaign to repay its startup debt and continue to fund ongoing operations.

Richard Branson was also enlisted into the publicity drive during an on air interview and the ‘Ask Richard for $1 million’ campaign (see our earlier story).

FBi Station Director Meagan Loader has told radioinfo:

“The Save FBi gigs highlighted the vibrancy and solidarity of this city’s live music scene and it’s our responsibility to help keep this talent alive. The overwhelming response from our listeners and the music community reinforces the importance of FBi to Sydney’s cultural fabric. We can’t thank enough all the passionate and committed people who have been involved so far.”

Only 2% of FBi listeners are financial supporters. Loader hopes that doubling that to a modest 4% “will make a major contribution to securing our long term viability and go a long way to achieving our goal of raising $1,000,000. We urge those who listen but don’t support to call 1300 FBI 945 and sign up before July 10 to go into the draw to win one of two return trips to either LA or London, with thanks to V Australia and Virgin Atlantic.”

FBi’s General Manager Evan Kaldor says:

“We want to thank all those who have dug deep to support us. We were in a financially precarious state, and our board had real concerns about how long we could go on. When we launched the campaign, we said our goal was to not only meet the immediate threat but also to secure our long term viability. To achieve this, we need to raise $1,000,000 to pay down our start up debt and provide a buffer to fund our ongoing operational costs, so we are not constantly living hand to mouth.

“The response to the campaigns has been overwhelming and we can say with much relief that, thanks to the generosity and hard work of so many people, we have now addressed the immediate threat to the station. About half of the money so far raised will be put towards repaying some of our loans. This will provide ongoing savings to the station in the form of lower monthly interest payments. The rest will be used to pay our broadcast and transmission expenses, which, as the largest community radio licence in Australia, are significant, and are a substantial drain on our cash flow. We think we will have enough to cover these costs for at least the next two years.”