Kelowna non-profit secures $60k in media giveaway

A Kelowna based non-profit is set to tell a lot more people about what they do in the community.

Kelowna Women’s Shelter (KWS) has been granted the Community Airtime Award from Pattison Media’s 103.1 Beach Radio and 104.7 The Lizard, along with their community minded sponsors Kelowna Dental Centre and Kelowna Toyota.

The award is granted semi-annually to a non-profit group or charitable organization and offers $60,000 in advertising to be used over a six-month period.

“The Kelowna Women’s Shelter is vitally important because we provide a shelter, safe accommodation programs and services to women and children,” KWS Development Manager Graham Kerr told Kelowna10.

“With these funds that we’ve been given we plan to spread the word. We’re going to increase our community engagement and external advocacy.”

Kerr said they look forward to raising awareness and dispelling common myths about domestic abuse.

“Non-profit groups are some of the hardest working people in the world and unfortunately most groups don’t have the funding to get the word out," Bryan Ford, general sales manager at Pattison Media’s Okanagan Division, said.

For most non-profits there's little money for fundraising campaigns as most of the budget goes to operating costs.

“They are just like most other businesses… they have goals and aspirations for their organization, and our hope is that the Community Airtime Award will help these organizations take things to the next level," Ford said.

103.1 Beach Radio and 104.7 The Lizard encourages non-profit groups and charitable organizations throughout the Okanagan to apply for the Community Airtime Award online.