Atlanta’s classical/talk station 90.1/WABE-FM passed $1 million in pledges for the fourth time, hitting a record $1,174,014. That’s up 9.8 percent from a year ago.

“We’re extremely gratified,” said General Manager John Weatherford, given how the economy has taken its toll on many WABE fans. He especially appreciates listeners who say they are unemployed but still willing to spare a few bucks.

The station’s ratings have been up over the past year and it’s now one of the top 10 most popular stations in Atlanta. In September, WABE attracted 422,800 listeners, according to Arbitron numbers.

Last fall, the station received $1,077,000 in pledges. The station last year decided to ditch announcing any fundraising goals on the air; rather, they are encouraging people to donate as much as they can, be it $5 or $500.

Plus, on-air announcers are de-emphasizing incentives such as reusable shopping bags and coffee mugs. Rather, WABE talked more about how donations pay for programming, specifying exactly how much each show costs the station each year. This “transparency” approach is less annoying, Weatherford said, than standard begging.

“Public broadcasting is one of the most confusing systems in the world,” Weatherford said. There is a misconception, he noted, that the federal government feeds the station much of its monies. In reality, federal money represents just 12 percent of Public Broadcasting Atlanta’s annual $11.3 million budget.

The number of people who donated is about the same as a year ago, in the 10,5000 range.

Nowadays with almost all people donating using credit cards, virtually all that money will land immediately in WABE’s coffers. (In the old days when people would have to mail in checks, fulfillment was far lower.) Interestingly, more than 40 percent of donors decline the gifts, higher than in the past.

Every penny of the pledge dollars goes to programming, be it mid-day classical host John Lemley’s salary or National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.”

Corporate sponsorship has been down as much as 17 to 18 percent this year but year-over-year dropoffs are now down to 10 to 12 percent, Weatherford said.

Radio is doing better than PBA, the TV station, which lost some primary dial positions when cable switched to digital and Georgia Public Broadcasting got first dibs on spots.