KPFK’s Fall Fund Drive

A letter from KPFK’s General Manager Anyel Z. Fields:

KPFK’s vital community services we provide will not survive without decisive leadership, clear-eyed approach to sound financial management, revenue generation, and operational improvements. Most importantly, we can’t do it without the support of YOU, our listeners, and donors. KPFK’s Fall Fund Drive Campaign starts tomorrow October 1st, to raise support to fund its operations. Some listeners have asked, “Why do you have so frequent fund drives“? Please read below how your donations have us nearing a position of financial security.

Over the past two years, we have made tremendous strides in:

• In the recent past, we did not have proper financial management and support. We do now as a result of the help we received from the National Education Telecom Association (NETA), including assistance with financial management, budget process, financial reports, payroll, audits, board presentations, CPB reports, and annual filings.
• Some recent improvements to get our financial house in order: We’ve completed our 2017 audits, and we are in the final throes of completing our 2018 audits. This will open us up to applying for more grants and foundational funding, as part of our long-term financial plan.
• The financial dispute between the Pacifica Foundation and the Empire State Realty Trust for unpaid leasing costs, which our sister station WBAI incurred, has been settled.
• This past summer, KPFK finished paying off numerous other old debts going back several years.
• KPFK has made improvements with our employee relations and with SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents most KPFK employees.

We’ve made numerous improvements to our operations which include:

• Providing support and development for our volunteer producers and programmers.
• This past year we expanded our Speaker Series and Special Events, including presentations from Tom Hartman, Dr. Gerald Horne, Chris Hedges, Stephanie Miller, and White Sun; and, we hosted a Walk-a-Thon to promote a healthy and active lifestyle.
• We hosted a memorable 60th Anniversary Gala, attended by hundreds of supporters, netting $41k and raising the profile of KPFK in Los Angeles.
• The light fixtures in our building have been retrofitted with more energy-efficient ones, reducing the energy demands, and monthly expenses for the lights, by approximately 40%. We’ve also replaced the HVAC system at the transmitter site reducing energy demands at the site and improving our temperature controls that will help increase the life of the transmitter.
• We’ve produced more content for our digital platforms. Check out our showcase of videos we’ve produced that are made available on our Vimeo Channel and our Videos On Demand
• We continue to foster and nurture partnerships with community organizations such as the Skirball Cultural Center, Poor Peoples Campaign, Plastic Pollution Coalition, the Sunrise Movement, Collective Remake, Pasadena Playhouse, the LA Progressive, and many more.
• This fall we will be re-introducing our news headlines during weekday afternoons 1 through 3 pm. We look forward to expanding our local news coverage as we secure special funding and resources for our news department.

In addition to the above, we are now about to undertake a major technological overhaul that will significantly improve our donor’s experience. We know that we cannot provide an independent public media platform without you and our relationship with you is essential for us to carry out our mission. For the past several years, KPFK has been working with a donor/ member system that lacks the features and tools we need to perform at modern efficiency and effectiveness.

With your support, we can ensure that KPFK can operate into the next year improving our cash flow as we look towards a brighter future for KPFK in 2020

In Spring of 2020, we will have completed the installation of new tools which will help us reduce tedious day-to-day administrative tasks, thereby significantly improving our Membership Department’s efficiency. We will then be able to provide a “member portal” so that you can access your donor history and stay informed about station happenings as a member of KPFK and Pacifica. Most importantly, we will be able to free up our administrative staff so that we can devote more time to advancing our mission and our relationships with donors like you.

KPFK now exists in a world in severe crisis. We are determined to maximize our resources so we can better help people survive and become more empowered to forge the changes necessary for a saner and more progressive world. I hope you will stay with us and support us as we continue making improvements and continue bringing you the unique programming you’ve come to expect from us. If you will continue to support us, together we will not only keep KPFK on the air and more useful than ever, we will also help bring about a better world for all.

, call (818) 985-5737

, or go online at https://www.kpfk.org/support-kpfk/.

Sincerely,

PS: We’ve recently added additional ways you can support KPFK with the following giving programs. Now you can support KPFK with Stocks or other Finacial Securities, Charitable IRA’s, and through the Lewis Hill Legacy Circle,all of which offer tax-advantaged ways to support your public radio station.