Iowa Public Radio is a community-based public radio network that provides a free, local source of news and music for Iowa. 

Their history of serving Iowans started more than 100 years ago when Iowa State University and the University of Iowa received some of the first radio broadcast licenses ever granted. The University of Northern Iowa launched its first station in 1960. Iowa Public Radio was created in 2004 by the Iowa Board of Regents to manage the radio groups of Iowa State University, University of Iowa and University of Northern Iowa.

In 2022, IPR became a community-based public radio network, separate from the universities. Their statewide network broadcasts from 26 stations that reach the state of Iowa and beyond. IPR’s three streams — News, News & Studio One, and Classical — serve more than 206,000 weekly listeners with the civic and cultural programming core to our mission.

They are an independent non-profit advised by a volunteer board representing — and committed to — serving all of Iowa’s communities. 

According to Amy O'Shaughnessy, Development Coordinator at Iowa Public Radio, “more than 80% of our funding comes from the listeners, businesses and organizations in local communities across the state.” Therefore, keeping giving levels high is crucial to keep the station going.

“We are a non-profit and we like to keep things fresh when we fundraise throughout the year,” says O'Shaughnessy. “We use our custom socks as thank you gifts for our listeners who donate. People love them and collect them!”

The Iowa Public Radio team has been a great client of Sock Club, and we are excited to be a part of their fundraising efforts at least once a year.

“We set out to make a pair of socks that would motivate people to give and they did! We usually have to reorder! And we see them out in the wild all the time on our donors' feet,” said O'Shaughnessy.

We love our partnership with Iowa Public Radio, and are so excited to see what cool designs they pick each time they order! To get started on your own collect-them-all fundraiser swag, click the link below or email us at custom@sockclub.com.