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Blood or money, it seems to work out pretty much the same.
WDUQ just had a record fundraising drive, taking in nearly $526,000 in just 10 days, which is more than double what the public station took in last February -- more than last year's February and October drives combined.
Listeners anted up at unprecedented levels because Duquesne University, which owns the station's license, is trying to sell it. So the pledge drive was seen as a referendum to keep jazz, National Public Radio and the rest of the DUQ fare right where it is at 90.5 FM.
I couldn't help but notice that the half-million bucks came from just 5,196 listeners. That means the average donation was more than $100, and it also means about 97 percent of the station's listeners didn't kick in diddly.
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That made me think of blood. We all need it, but estimates suggest only 5 to 10 percent of the eligible population donate annually. The result is that many are kept alive by the few.
It could work out the same way with DUQ.
This isn't a harangue. I'm not asking anyone, "Where were you when it counted?" Plenty of people aren't able to give blood and, these days, almost everyone's budget is tighter than disco pants.
My wife and I were able to make a donation to DUQ this time around, but as always when we succumb to a pledge plea, it's largely in hopes that it will get the announcer to shut up and go back to music or the news.
We could have skipped easily and felt no guilt. I know I haven't given blood in at least a couple of years, and I've never had any trouble coming up with rationalizations, the top two generally being "it's a pain" and "no time to do it."
Given that many are driving to work while listening (DUQ is No. 5 in the market in morning drive time), it's not the easiest time to make a pledge. An untold number probably make a mental note to pledge when they get home and then forget.
Still, the result is a fascinating equation: 10 days of begging + 3 percent response rate = historic success.
While I would expect that even the best advertising campaign is no more successful, this is not advertising in any customary sense. This is a case where people already using the product are being asked to chip in -- and hardly anyone does, even in the best year.
It could be that's OK. It is my long-held belief that Pittsburgh has pretty much everything it needs already. Our only task is to keep all that is worth keeping, to hang on to this incredible institutional, cultural and architectural legacy that we've inherited.
Sometimes we fail. More often, lately, we seem to rally. Late last year, ordinary citizens and the more nimble of our government officials banded together and stopped the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh from closing any branches.
More has to be done to ensure that this isn't merely a temporary stay of execution, but there are people checking out books and using computers in Beechview, Hazelwood and the West End today because Pittsburghers stepped up to stop what would have been the first branch closings in the library's history.
WDUQ was founded in 1949, and it has been carrying National Public Radio since that programming launched 40 years ago. It offers an oasis of jazz in a desert of pop, rap, classic rock and jabber. Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers offering their wry automotive advice, can still make me laugh on Saturday mornings with the worst jokes in the history of broadcasting. And at least 5,000 people think that's worth opening their wallets.
Neither DUQ nor Duquesne University is saying exactly what this historic fund drive means; the money still goes to day-to-day operations, not buying the station. Representatives for the organizations use non-answers such as "it remains to be seen" and "it is what it is" when asked to describe the impact of this half-million-dollar haul.
But if we learn again that a relative few are capable of doing big things that last forever, Pittsburgh will be the better for it.
