Each philanthropic cause has its own special challenges. Here we talk to fundraising pros for a behind-the-scenes look at a variety of missions and organizations.

By Margaret Battistelli Gardner

Now the chief development officer of KSPS, Starkey still is responsible for bringing educational television to viewers in eastern Washington, but in vastly different political and media landscapes.

On a seemingly regular cycle from the late ’60s on, public television has run afoul of most GOP administrations that have accused PBS and its stations of left-leaning editorial content. Richard Nixon drew first blood when he threatened to pull all federal funding when PBS aired the Watergate Hearings. In his first State of the Union speech, Ronald Reagan said that citizens, rather than government, should fund the arts, including public television. In the ’90s Senate Majority Leader Newt Gingrich suggested that public television was unnecessary with the proliferation of new cable channels.