Centennial, Colo., August 18, 2023 - Colorado Public Radio has launched a new internal structure combining its fundraising, audience and digital platforms teams to eliminate silos and create a consistent experience for members and potential members, from initial contact to long-term engagement.
“Our new audience journey-based structure aims to continue to raise CPR’s profile, providing a seamless experience for members and better integrating our fundraising, marketing and digital teams,” said Stewart Vanderwilt, president and CEO. “By shifting the focus from internal departments to the audience experience, this approach promotes collaboration, agility and a deep understanding of member needs, leading to increased effectiveness and impact for Colorado Public Radio.”
In the new structure, CPR’s Audience & Platforms division, which included marketing, events and digital platforms, has been combined with membership, leadership giving and development services. Jodi Gersh is now the senior vice president of the new division, Audience & Development. The corporate support team, formerly part of Development, now reports directly to the CEO.
CPR is now searching for a vice president of donor development, a new role reporting to Gersh, who will lead the fundraising and development services groups of the new division. The search is focusing on those with expertise and experience in digital donor or customer acquisition.
“Traditionally, our organization was structured around functional departments that have operated mostly independently,” said Gersh. “This created silos and made us slow to respond to opportunities and challenges. With this new approach, we are organizing staff around the audience-to-donor journey, aligning our staff with the needs and experiences of those CPR exists to serve.”
This new division utilizes all the talents, activities and tools across events, creative, marketing, audience and membership services, and all forms of fundraising in an integrated approach that aims to enhance collaboration, efficiency and overall impact. Staff members will be aligned around a shared understanding of the audience journey and provided training and support for cross-functional collaboration.
In the past five years, CPR’s audience has more than doubled, driven by expanded news content during a time of intense interest, with the largest gains seen on its digital platforms. This growth in audience represents an untapped opportunity to engage new digital audiences with strategies and tactics that have not yet been tried at CPR. The new structure will allow those who specialize in fundraising to work directly with those who are marketing CPR, developing opportunities for engaging with new audiences and building the platforms to engage with digital audiences.
Gersh joined CPR in 2020 with over two decades of experience as a media executive and digital innovator for major media organizations around the country. Her experience in creating audience-first cultures, promoting digital strategy and innovation, and building new pathways for audience engagement make her the right person to lead this effort.
Media inquiries: Clara Shelton, [email protected]
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About Colorado Public Radio
Colorado Public Radio is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization delivering meaningful news, music, and cultural experiences to everyone in Colorado using the power of the human voice in all its forms. Roughly 95 percent of CPR’s funds come from the private support of listeners, businesses and foundations. For more information, visit www.cpr.org.
- CPR News delivers in-depth, insightful and impartial news and information from around the world, across the nation and throughout Colorado, examining its relevance to our state and connecting it to our community.
- CPR Classical takes listeners on an in-depth exploration of thoughtfully curated music – with an emphasis on Colorado’s classical community – providing context to a broad range of meaningful and compelling works from past to present.
- Indie 102.3 takes listeners inside the world of new and independent music – exposing them to up-and-coming artists and highlighting Colorado’s local music scene.
- Denverite is an online news source dedicated to Denver's curious and concerned.
- KRCC is a public radio station in Colorado Springs, Colorado, serving Southern Colorado. KRCC is operated by Colorado Public Radio in partnership with Colorado College.
