Dear Minnesota Public Radio Member,

Minnesota Public Radio is an organization that has grown as a result of its commitment to excellence and by establishing trust and gaining the confidence of the people it serves.

We are concerned that the national discussions regarding donor list exchanges by public broadcasting stations may have elicited some confusion and require clarification regarding list exchange practices at Minnesota Public Radio.

24,000 nonprofit organizations in the United States participate in the commonly accepted activity of exchanging and renting donor lists to others through a broker. The purpose of a list broker is to arrange for a one-time use of donor names from our mailing list. The names are provided to a mail house which attaches them to the mail piece of the renting party. The renting party never sees the names; the mail house returns or destroys the magnetic tape containing the names as soon as the use is complete, and is forbidden by contract and by law from retaining a copy. The practice of exchange is accepted, utilized, and embraced by successful nonprofit organizations world-wide.

Organizations like MPR rely on membership development as the primary method of fund-raising. MPR's membership list exchange practices adhere to the highest ethical standards for nonprofit fund-raising.

On one occasion in 1995, MPR exchanged a list of 10,000 names (through a broker) with the Democratic National Committee. In early 1996, MPR implemented a policy that it would no longer provide its list through any exchange to any political organization. Since this policy was adopted, this circumstance has not been repeated.

Public radio members show a distinct commitment to civic and political affairs. Believing that these characteristics are also shared with donors to political parties, Minnesota Public Radio has in the past tested lists from political groups. Recently, MPR reported information regarding this accepted business practice. MPR is not politically partisan in any way. In an effort to maintain this status and to avoid even the appearance of political partisanship, the organization is adding to its already conservative list exchange policy. From this point forward, no lists will be rented from any political group.

I want to assure our listeners and members that we have established a quality news organization which operates independently and at the highest levels of journalistic integrity. MPR News operates independently of MPR Development. There is an editorial firewall between our fundraising division and our news operation. Our journalists and our fundraising staff wouldn't have it any other way. We believe that high standards and ethics are fundamental to the vision of MPR.

Minnesota Public Radio is proud of its membership department. Members have always been made aware of the organization's list exchange policy, and 5,000 of our 87,000 current members have indicated that they would prefer not to participate. MPR honors that decision. At the same time, MPR has been able, because of the excellent results it has achieved in mail-based fund-raising, to reduce the amount of time spent doing on-air fund-raising. We believe our listeners and our donors appreciate this progress.

It is the goal of Minnesota Public Radio to keep its ethical standards high. MPR continues to bring excellent programming to all of its members, the Minnesota region, and to audiences nationwide. To ensure that MPR maintains the respect and the trust it has earned through the years, all practices and policies are consistently and continually reviewed.

For further information, read our Membership List Policy or call our Member/Listener Services line at 800-228-7123.

Sincerely,

William H. Kling
President, Minnesota Public Radio