[OutVoice] Celebrating THIS WAY OUT's 20th! [Outvoice]

[TWORadio at aol.com]

               CELEBRATING “THIS WAY OUT's” 20th!

   Springtime greetings, and welcome to our latest “Update”!

   “This Way Out” marks 20 years on the air this month!   Our first program 
was distributed on April 1, 1988 (no foolin').

   New grants from the Gay Chemists Support Fund of the Horizons Foundation 
and the Kicking Assets Fund of the Tides Foundation have given us additional 
reasons to celebrate - especially the Kicking Assets Fund, which has supported “
This Way Out” with increasing 4-figure annual grants since 1995!   We'd also 
like to thank the following station affiliates who've made recent program 
acquisition payments, even though we don't charge for their online downloads of the 
show: WRIR-FM/Richmond, Virginia; KUMD-FM/Duluth, Minnesota; 
WPKN-FM/Bridgeport, Connecticut; KUR-AM&FM/Kutztown, Pennsylvania; KPFT-FM/Houston, Texas; 
KMUD-FM and KMUE-FM/Garberville-Eureka, California; and KALW-FM/San Francisco, 
California.   Heartfelt thanks also to “This Way Out” programming contributor 
Susan Gage in Tallahassee, Florida, who asked guests at her recent birthday 
party to make donations to “This Way Out” in lieu of gifts.   We love you, 
Susan!

   The foundation funding and continuing donations are especially critical 
because Outinamerica.com, the Web site that owns the exclusive LGBT online 
carriage rights to our program, is still several thousand dollars past due on their 
monthly licensing fee payments.   While they've sent a couple of   “on/account
” checks since July, we don't know when or if they'll be able to get current 
or eventually pay down their debt.   They've also formally terminated their 
carriage agreement with us, effective at the end of the current contract year, 
June 30, 2008.   We'll continue to honor *our* end of the agreement by 
providing the audio and text descriptions of our weekly program to them - and we 
encourage you to take advantage of this service by clicking on the “Listen Here” 
link on our Web site, www.thiswayout.org.   However, “This Way Out” will have 
no online outlet when the Outinamerica.com contract expires, so if you know of 
any sites that would be financially able and interested in hosting the audio 
of our programs please let us know.   Those licensing fee payments - 
Outinamerica.com is supposed to have been paying $750/month - represent our only steady 
source of income, and are a significant chunk of our annual budget, which is 
well under $50,000.

   An impressive number of new broadcast stations, especially on college 
campuses and among the increasing field of “low power” outlets, continue to add 
our program to their schedules, so there's no doubt that, even after 20 years, “
This Way Out” remains a vital audio source of LGBT news and culture that's 
available nowhere else on radio or online.   Our globally distributed program, 
with its incredibly diverse content, is also heard by non-gays who would not 
otherwise be exposed to the issues and concerns of our communities... and for 
too many closeted people - young and older - “This Way Out” is the only 
supportive voice they hear.   But we're sure you know that by now!

   Even though those recent foundation grants have given us a little “
breathing room,” we still need *your* help to keep “This Way Out” on the air.   We 
hope you'll consider making a donation in honor of our twenty years of service. 
  Please use the PayPal button on www.thiswayout.org to help keep “This Way 
Out” going, or postal mail your contribution - big or small - to P.O. Box 
38327, Los Angeles, CA 90038 USA.   We genuinely appreciate every donation.

   A minimum donation of $25.00(US) entitles you to select from several 
special programming “thank you gift” CDs, including the most recent versions of 
the annual “Audiofile Year in Review” and “Pride On Screen.”   Specify your 
preference in the PayPal “message” section or in a note accompanying your 
postal-mailed check or money order.   U.S. donors enjoy the additional satisfaction 
of being able to deduct contributions to our 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit 
from their annual tax obligations - money that would otherwise help fund the 
horrifically homophobic administration of George W. Bush, and a federal 
government that refuses to recognize our civil rights, or even our humanity.

   A portion of the income from CD or cassette subscriptions also helps 
underwrite our general operating costs, and you'll never miss a “This Way Out” 
program that way.   Click the “Subscriptions” tab on our Web site for easy “how 
to” information.

   We'd also be very grateful if you'd forward this message to others with a 
personal note encouraging *their* support, too.

   You're also invited to check out new additions to the “Facing the Voices” 
section on www.thiswayout.org.   We've added some new photos of “This Way Out”
 programming contributors so that you can put a face on those familiar 
voices.

   On behalf of our hundreds of thousands of listeners around the world, the 
many volunteers who provide the programming you hear, and the entire “This Way 
Out” family, thank you for your support.   We literally can't go on without 
you!

Greg Gordon, Coordinating Producer
Lucia Chappelle, Associate Producer
"This Way Out"
P.O. Box 38327
Los Angeles, CA 90038
USA
www.thiswayout.org
TWOradio at aol.com


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