WDET kickstarted its 2024 Holiday Fundraiser on Giving Tuesday, and for those who already made a gift to the station, your support is greatly appreciated!

As WDET’s 75th anniversary year comes to a close,

Throughout the five-day fundraiser, listeners who make a donation during their favorite WDET programs will have an opportunity to win exciting incentives.

Gregory Porter tickets

Make a donation of any amount during The Metro from 10 a.m.-noon on Wednesday and Friday; In The Groove with Ryan Patrick Hooper from 12-4 p.m. Thursday; or during Alternate Take with Liz Warner from 8-10 p.m. Thursday, and you will be entered into a drawing for two tickets to see Grammy-winning Jazz vocalist Gregory Porter at the Detroit Opera House on Dec. 12.

There will also be an opportunity to win a pair of tickets on Saturday — the last day of WDET’s Holiday Fundraiser — during Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music from 2-4 p.m.

Samara Joy tickets

Tune in and make a gift to WDET during The Metro from 10 a.m.-noon on Thursday; In The Groove from 12-4 p.m. Wednesday and Friday; The Boulevard with Waajeed from 8-10 p.m. Wednesday; or during Ann Delisi’s Essential Music from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, and you could win a pair of tickets to see Grammy-award winning jazz vocalist Samara Joy on her A Joyful Holiday tour, coming to Detroit’s Fisher Theatre on Thursday, Dec. 19.

NY Times Digital subscription

Make a donation of any amount during Morning Edition from 5-10 a.m. on Wednesday or Friday, during All Things Considered with host Russ McNamara from 4-6 p.m. Thursday, or during Weekend Edition from 8-10 a.m. Saturday, and you’ll be entered to win a year-long New York Times digital subscription.

HollyDazzle tickets

Make a donation during Morning Edition from 5-10 a.m on Thursday; during All Things Considered from 4-6 p.m. Wednesday and Friday; or during Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! from 10-11 a.m. on Saturday to win tickets to HollyDazzle, a holiday light display and winter wonderland featuring more than a dozen Christmas scenes and millions of lights, nestled within the grounds of the Michigan Renaissance Festival in Holly.

Bowlero bowling passes

Lastly, listeners who make a gift of any amount during Modern Music with Jon Moshier from 4-6 p.m. on Saturday could win two free passes to Bowlero Lanes & Lounge in Royal Oak.

Tune in to WDET at 101.9 FM to hear the latest incentives being offered before the 2024 Holiday Fundraiser ends on Dec. 7.

For several years, WDET has participated in Giving Tuesday as a one-day fundraiser.

This year, Giving Tuesday will mark the first day of WDET’s Holiday Fundraiser – a five-day fundraising event that will come to a close on Saturday, Dec. 7, with Midtown Detroit’s 50th annual Noel Night celebration, of which WDET will be participating!

WDET is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, and we couldn’t have gotten to where we are today without support from members and listeners like you. In this eventful year, WDET made significant program changes and as a result, our audience has grown. At 75, WDET is not slowing down, and we continue to strive every day to bring Detroiters the high-quality news, music and conversation they have come to rely upon over the years.

If you would like to be part of WDET’s future, consider making a gift today. Those who make a donation during fundraiser can select from a variety of thank you gifts at wdet.org/thanks and choose the amount that’s right for you.

Three new gifts will be available during WDET’s Holiday Fundraiser, including:

• An Evening with David Sedaris: When you donate $100/month, you’ll receive four tickets to “An Evening with David Sedaris” on April 8 at Detroit’s Fisher Theatre, as well as a copy of Sedaris’ hilarious books “Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim” and “Happy Go Lucky.”
• Essential Music Tour with Ann Delisi + Rob Reinhart: For a gift of $75/month, you and a guest will be treated to brunch, an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of WDET Studios with Ann Delisi and Rob Reinhart, and a live studio performance by Syrian American guitarist, pianist and composer Kareem Kanouh on Jan. 18, 2024. You and your guest will also receive an Ann Delisi T-Shirt!
• NEW MEMBERS ONLY – WDET Stadium Scarf: New members who make a gift of any amount during the Holiday Fundraiser will get a limited edition WDET stadium scarf.

Help keep WDET sustainable for the next 75 years, and make your gift today!

We are more than halfway into our 2024 Fall Fundraiser, and a new day means new incentives to encourage WDET listeners to make an investment in Detroit Public Radio’s future.

Listeners who make a donation during In The Groove with Ryan Patrick Hooper from 12-4 p.m. on Wednesday will be automatically entered into a drawing for two VIP tickets to all events or performances at Spot Lite Detroit for a full year.

Missed Hooper’s show? Tune in to The Boulevard with Waajeed from 8-10 p.m. Wednesday and make a donation of any amount and you will be entered in the Spot Lite drawing.

Those who donate during The Boulevard on Wednesday could also win an unreleased Waajeed vinyl titled Get in the Zone LP — set for release this November — and an Underground Music Academy snapback hat.

Listeners will have one last opportunity to win the Spot Lite passes this Saturday, Sept. 21, by making a gift to WDET during The Progressive Underground with Chris Campbell from 6-8 p.m. or during The New Music Show with Shigeto from 8-10 p.m.

Tune in to WDET at 101.9 FM to hear the latest incentives being offered before our Fall Fundraiser ends Sept. 22.

Comedian and actor Marc Evan Jackson joined The Metro in studio on Tuesday to talk about how his nonprofit is using improv to help metro Detroit youth, as well as to encourage listeners to support WDET during our 2024 Fall Fundraiser.

Read more: Freshen up your WDET swag, become a sustaining member today

The former Michigander — known by many for his comedic roles on NBC’s The Good Place and Brooklyn Nine-Nine — founded The Detroit Creativity Project in 2011, along with several other Los Angeles-based performers whose careers started out in Detroit, to help bring free improv lessons to Detroit students.

But the goal of the program isn’t simply to teach students improv comedy, he says. Rather, improv can help young people build confidence and step outside their comfort zone.

“The overarching point of what we’re trying to do [with The Detroit Creativity Project] is not create the next generation of comedians and actors and directors and musicians necessarily, but to create the next generation of problem solvers and good humans,” said Jackson.

Jackson also reflected on his past career in public radio — formerly working at WGVU-FM in Grand Rapids in various roles — and why he believes it is vital to support public media.

“It’s programming and music by people, for people,” said Jackson. “It’s different than corporate media…you’re going to hear music on WDET that you would never come into contact with anywhere else in the world. You’re going to find stories like that of The Detroit Creativity Project.”

If you would like to support 75 years of quality, culturally-rich local programming at WDET, make a gift today at wdet.org/give. And don’t forget to check out the many awesome incentives being offered for those who donate during our Fall Fundraiser, running through Tuesday, Sept. 24.

Use the video player below to watch the full interview with actor Marc Evan Jackson.

As if there weren’t already plenty of reasons to support WDET, we are offering up a host of new gifts to entice listeners to become sustaining members during our 2024 Fall Fundraiser.

This year, we expanded our local music and news programming by 40%. With half of our operating budget funded by donors like you, it is imperative that each and every listener who values the important work we do step up, and make a gift to help sustain what has been a cultural staple in Detroit for the past 75 years.

Check out some of our premium gifts for sustaining members below to showcase your Detroit Public Radio fandom while helping to support this vital resource for Detroiters!

This has been a pivotal year for WDET.

Not only have we heeded the calls from our members and listeners for more local music programming, we have doubled down on our investment in robust, local journalism — expanding our local music and news shows by a whopping 40%.

Read more: WDET announces new programming in 2024 with more local shows 

This investment in more local programming has come with a financial cost. But what has cost us financially, we have gained in the many connections we continue to build by reflecting the stories, music, art, and culture that makes Detroit and the people who live here so special.

There are plenty of great reasons to support WDET, from helping to fund fair and accurate political coverage during a critically important election year, to helping us bolster the rich music history of our city and region — allowing us to lift new artists and reflect the evolution of Detroit music.

WDET has been a legacy cultural asset of Detroit for 75 years, and now, we need your support to help us keep that momentum going.

The fall on-air fundraiser is the perfect time to become a WDET sustaining member or a first-time giver — not only because 50% of our operating budget is funded by donors, but also because our team has come up with some awesome incentives for listeners who choose to donate during fundraiser.

Win a trip for two to Morocco

Now through Sept. 22, listeners who donate will automatically be entered into a drawing for two tickets to WDET’s 15-day Colors of Morocco trip, taking place Sept. 4-18, 2025.

A more than $13,000 value, this once in a lifetime trip will feature a visit to the ancient markets and medinas in Fes — one of the holiest cities in the world — as well as an unforgettable visit to a luxury desert camp in the Sahara Desert and a taste of Moroccan culture with a cooking class in Marrakech.

The winner will be selected on Sept. 24. Visit wdet.org/event/wdet-travel-morocco-2025 for more trip details.

Have lunch with the WDET News team

Listeners who make a gift during Morning Edition from 5-9 a.m. weekdays or Weekend Edition from 8-10 a.m. on weekends throughout the Fall Fundraiser will be entered into a drawing for a catered lunch and conversation about current affairs with WDET’s news team at the studio.

Five winners will be selected.

Win a year of shows, events at Spot Lite

Listeners who donates to WDET during In The Groove with Ryan Patrick Hooper from 12-4 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday this week will be entered into a drawing for two tickets to all events or performances at Spot Lite Detroit for a full year. 

Enjoy charcuterie and conversation with WDET reporters

Listen to All Things Considered with host Russ McNamara this week from 4-6 p.m. for your chance to have dinner with Russ and WDET news reporter Quinn Klinefelter on Oct. 1 at The Rind in Berkley! All you need to do is donate to the 2024 WDET Fall Fundraiser during the show.

Earn a tour of Detroit history, books from Source Booksellers

Listeners who make a gift during Created Equal with Stephen Henderson from 9-10 a.m. weekdays before Sept. 20 will be entered into a drawing for a special historical tour of the city with Jamon Jordan, a long-time friend of the show and Detroit’s first official historian.

The winner will also receive six books from Source Booksellers, curated by Stephen Henderson himself.

Earn tickets to Dearborn’s Yalla Eat! food tour

Listeners who donate to WDET during The Metro can win two tickets to the Arab American National Museum, as well as two tickets to the museum’s Yalla Eat! Culinary Walking Tour, which takes guests along a curated food tour in East Dearborn. They will also take a home a book of poetry signed by Michigan Poet Laureate Nandi Comer.

Win a family membership to MOCAD

Listeners who donate to WDET during The Metro from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. can win a family membership to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Detroit for two adults and up to four minors, providing free admission to galleries, most programming at the museum and members-only events.

Earn a Dearborn Music Stones package

Tune in to The Detroit Move with Mike Latulippe Tuesday from 8-9 p.m. and make a gift of any amount for a chance to win a limited edition Rolling Stones “More Hot Rocks” 2LP Glow in the Dark Vinyl ($70 value); a $40 gift certificate to Dearborn Music and a WDET tote bag zip up.

Win a gift certificate to Ripe Records

Listeners who donate to WDET during MI Local with Jeff Milo from 9-10 p.m. on Tuesday can win a $50 gift card to Ripe Records in Grosse Pointe Park. 

Check back for updates on incentives planned for WDET’s fall on-air fundraiser. Or, tune in to WDET at 101.9 FM to hear the latest incentives being offered before our Fall Fundraiser ends Sept. 24.