fund drives

URGENT: KPFA’s spring fund drive needs your immediate support!

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KPFA-radio-dialProgrammers have been pouring their hearts into KPFA’s fund drive for over two weeks, so far raising over $436,000. The problem? That amount is quite short of the drive’s $750,000 goal.

“Let’s all step up to the plate and let KPFA’s staff know we value and support them,” said SaveKPFA‘s Margy Wilkinson, an elected member of the station’s local and national boards. “They have been working under very difficult circumstances for some time,” she said, “and if KPFA comes up short in its current fund drive, we fully expect some in Pacifica management to use the shortfall as a pretext to push for retaliatory cuts at KPFA.”

SaveKPFA encourages you to contribute what you can to KPFA by calling the phone room at 800-439-5732 or 510-848-5732, or by donating securely online at https://secure.kpfa.org/support. Phone room volunteers can describe the thank you gifts available, or you can peruse a list at the website.

Lend a hand, smooze with fellow listeners

Another way to support the station is come to KPFA’s phone room and help answer phones — every day of the fund drive starting at 6:30 am. Volunteers are really needed. There are usually tasty treats donated by bay area cafes and bakeries.

Remember, renewing or starting your KPFA membership gives you a vote and a voice in how Pacifica and KPFA are run. Another round of elections is coming up this fall for local and national representatives, and it is crucial that we elect smart, caring people to these posts. Giving at least $25 annually to KPFA makes you an eligible voter.

There have been some interesting developments at KPFA and in Pacifica, and we promise to cover them in our next SaveKPFA newsletter. For now, we have only one urgent message: please take a moment to give generously to KPFA!

Support KPFA: attend a benefit talk, or tune in for fund drive

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KPFA’s fund drive begins today, May 2, with a goal of $760,000 — please give generously! You can do so securely online anytime. A minimum donation of $25 keeps your membership in good standing for voting in upcoming local board elections.

In addition, KPFA’s benefits and co-sponsored events in the coming months are rocking!  Eduardo Galeano on the missing pages of history on May 21, or Eve Ensler on perceptions of self and body on May 20, or Jeremy Scahill on dirty wars and the national security state on May 10, and many more. Check out the details here and share with friends.

Financial results: KPFA beating budget, Pacifica lagging

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KPFA’s most recent fund drive turnaround seems to have had a big impact on the station’s bottom line. On February 23, Pacifica distributed first-quarter income statements for the network. Brian Edwards-Tiekert (now serving as KPFA’s staff rep on the Pacifica National Board) reported the statements “show KPFA outperforming its budget to the tune of $115,000 in just three months. The main driver is KPFA’s fund drives — the statements show that KPFA brought in $154,348 more listener support than budgeted” before the most recent drive even started.

“The bad news,” said Edwards-Tiekert, “is that KPFA appears to be the only part of Pacifica doing well. First, a caveat: there appear to be some accuracy problems with the numbers that the Pacifica National Office distributed. As things stand, however, every other station in the network appears to be racking up deficits right now. The worst losses are coming from the Pacifica National Office, which appears to be over-spending its budget by roughly $80,000 per month. Pacifica’s current management has not made clear what is driving the over-spending.”

Late last year, Pacifica’s board allowed the contracts of then-executive director Arlene Engelhardt and then-CFO LaVarn Williams to expire. The chair of that board, Summer Reese, is currently also acting as the network’s interim executive director.