WTIP radio was one of 10 rural public radio stations selected to participate in the National Federation of Community Broadcasters (NFCB) “Community Counts” initiative.
The “Community Counts” program is designed to help community-based stations enhance original content creation, increase audience engagement, grow revenue and expand services.
Funding for the program came from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which awarded a grant of $314,106 to the National Federation of Community Broadcasters (NFCB) to work with the selected stations.
With CPB’s support, NFCB will provide training, mentorship and technical assistance to help strengthen these 10 stations’ organizational capacities as well as diversify their revenue streams. NFCB will also create tool kits and share best practices to help other small community broadcasters achieve long-term sustainability.
Training has already begun at WTIP and will finish in December 2019.
“The initiative includes a visit from the NFCB team of advisors,” said WTIP Development Director Staci Drouillard. “We attend [training] sessions online, and in person.”
“Growing up in rural western Colorado, my local public media station was my window to the world while also connecting me to local stories that celebrate home,” said NFCB CEO Sally Kane. “As a former manager of KVNF Community Radio, I understand the challenges small, often remote, stations experience. CPB’s support will make it possible for NFCB to work with these stations to accelerate their capacity to serve their communities for generations to come.”
“CPB recognizes the unique circumstances of public media stations in small and rural communities — the economic challenges they face and the vital content and services they provide,” said Kathy Merritt, CPB senior vice president of journalism and radio. “As steward of the federal appropriation, we are committed to providing universal access to public media, and the goal of the NFCB Community Counts initiative is to help these rural stations build the capacity they need to thrive.”
The other nine stations chosen through an open application process include WERU (East Orland, Maine), WMMT (Whitesburg, Kentucky), WNCU (Durham, North Carolina), WXPR (Rhinelander, Wisconsin), KBFT (Nett Lake, Minnesota), KWSO (Warm Springs, Oregon), KTNA (Talkeetna, Alaska), KZUM (Lincoln, Nebraska), and KRTS (Marfa, Texas).
When asked about inclusion in the selection, WTIP Executive Director Matthew Brown said, ““WTIP is very proud to be selected to participate in this community radio initiative. We look forward to working with the other cohort stations from all across the country, and we will bring these new initiatives home to implement for our listener members.”
About NFCB
The National Federation of Community Broadcasters serves locally based media organizations by providing services that advance impact and optimize their capacity. Sixty-five percent of NFCB’s memberships are rural stations. Founded in 1975 to represent community radio in the United States, NFCB provides customized services for stations. More information is available at nfcb.org.
About CPB
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967, is the steward of the federal government’s investment in public broadcasting. It helps support the operations of more than 1,500 locally owned and operated public television and radio stations nationwide. CPB is also the largest single source of funding for research, technology and program development for public radio, television and related online services. For more information, visit cpb.org, follow us on Twitter @CPBmedia, Facebook and LinkedIn and subscribe for other updates.
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