KCSB 91.9 FM’s annual Fundraising Membership Drive winds down this Wednesday after a week of seeking support and celebrating 45 years on the air.

Since Nov. 6, fund drive organizers have collected over $16,000. Non-students are asked to pledge at least $45 while students are asked to donate $20 – $5 less than the original amount, changed due to the passage of the Students’ Initiative, from which KCSB will receive an additional $1.20 on top of its current $1.20 lock-in fee. Donors receive a thank you gift, such as concert tickets, DVDs or CDS.

Donations can be made by calling the radio station at (805) 893-3757 or by clicking on the pledge form button on the station’s website, www.kcsb.org.

“It is not just a fundraiser, it is a vehicle for celebrating who we are,” KCSB Development Coordinator Ted Coe said.

In previous years the fund drive has brought in as much as $35,000. KCSB Internal Music Director Josh Redman said the money, which goes into the operating budget, keeps the station alive.

This year’s fund drive also celebrates the radio station’s 45th year. According to the website, KCSB began as “Radio Navajo,” transmitting to the UCSB residence halls several hours per day. Today, however, the station transmits in a 70-mile radius as far south as Ventura and as far north as Santa Maria.

Redman said KCSB is popular among many students and community members because of its diverse music, which includes jazz, blues, rock and reggae, and the fact that it does not restrict its staff to UCSB students. KCSB also has a news segment and plays the syndicated radio show “Democracy Now!”

“If it’s not being played on commercial radio we play it here,” Redman said. “We’re trying to provide people with an alternative to commercial radio. This is the only place people can get that.”

KCSB staff member Colter Frazier said he enjoys the freedom the station gives its deejays.

“[The station] doesn’t restrict us in any way,” Frazier said. “I play some out there, crazy music. It’s rare to get the liberty they give us here.”