For more than 50 years, CET has provided value to you, your family and to the lives of other individuals in our community:

• for children with exceptional, appropriate and engaging programs
• for teachers and students with curriculum that informs and inspires
• for adults with programs that speak to their thirst for quality and knowledge
• for older adults with music and entertainment not found on cable

CET has always been a frugal organization and today there is little excess to reduce. However, CET has:

• reduced our paid staff by 4 people
• reduced pay by 5-10% for all remaining staff
• imposed a 1-week unpaid fulough for each employee
• reduced benefits for all staff

Despite efforts to reduce costs while maintaining a high level of service to you, CET faces a fundraising shortfall of nearly $300,000. To help close the gap, we are conducting our end-of-fiscal year campaign with a marathon effort -- TODAY!

We at CET are committed to being the most trusted, valued and most utilized nonprofit in the region. We can do that with your contribution -- please donate today.

If you watch CET, you need to support your favorite programs. It's a smart investment. As our membership grows and revenues increase, more great programs come back to you.

Your dollars are not spent covering the dalliances of rock stars, the latest weekend box office receipts or Hollywood crime coverage. Instead your gift gives children programs such as SESAME STREET and ARTHUR, where they learn respect, trust and the love of learning. Your gift supports talented professionals like those on NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, THE NEWSHOUR and WASHINGTON WEEK who go far beyond 'sound-bite' journalism to develop stories that respect your need for information and perspective in our complex world.

Uninterrupted programs, purchased and produced for you - not advertisers - cost a great deal of money. In fact, the costs to purchase PBS and other national programming continue to skyrocket. Yet CET remains committed to broadcasting your PBS favorites and programs of local interest not available anywhere else on the dial... programs such as THE BEST OF AL SCHOTTELKOTTE, SACRED SPACES, which received the Public Education and Awareness Award presented by The Ohio Historic Preservation Office and QUIET COURAGE: PERSISTENT VISION, which aired in March.

Too many viewers think that their gift (at any level) can not make a difference and that we don't need their help. They don't see the connection between their gift and having their favorite programs on the air every day. But that connection is real!

While you're considering making a gift, also think about the tasteful standards that CET-PBS always sets for the entertainment we offer. You'll never see phony ''reality shows,'' prurient drama or vulgar performances. Instead your evenings and weekends are filled with real programs such as the five-part miniseries, WE SHALL REMAIN, MASTERPIECE: DAVID COPPERFIELD, and, from AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, the series on THE PRESIDENTS.

Unique and distinctive programming like this is made possible by contributions to CET, which provide the crucial seed money needed to turn ideas into new programs - programs that explore our history, examine major public issues, celebrate the arts, and provide a safe haven for our children.

Your support also helps CET continue to be Greater Cincinnati's leading provider of education and enrichment in both living rooms and classrooms, serving more than 2 million residents, 470,000 students and 37,000 teachers. Through PBS and local programming, CETconnect.org, innovative multimedia curriculum projects, parent workshops and professional development for teachers, CET positively impacts our community with rich and diverse resources.

You can become a member right away and show your support of CET.

When you join CET at the $40 level or higher you can receive ''Public Media Connect,'' CET's bi-monthly magazine and our weekly eNewsletters.

Have small children in your family? Consider joining CET's Kids Club at the $75 level and show your support for kids and family programming. Click here to learn more about the benefits of CET's Kids Club.

Your tax-deductible gift will help CET be everything but ordinary!