HomeMy WebLinkAboutGrant Request - Womens Civic Improv LeagueEconomic Development Fund Discretionary Grant Program Organization: Women's Civic Improvement League (KPOV) Organization Description: Founded in 2003, KPOV is an independent, non-commercial community radio station serving Central Oregon. The content for the station focuses on local issues through 40 locally produced radio programs such as Breakfast in Bend, Open Air, Medical Makeover and Youth Radio Hour. KPOV also broadcast some syndicated programming. The station relies on more than 100 volunteers donating more than 20,000 hours annually. Project Name: Expanding KPOV's reach and signal strength Project Description: KPOV has received a construction permit from the FCC to increase the station's broadcast power. Currently operating under a low power license, the station plans to expand to a full power, regional non-commercial radio station. The FCC permit requires that the construction be completed by June 2011. Project Period: June 2009 — June 2011 Amount of Request: $2,500 (Total projected expenses = $88,289) Previous Grants (KPOV): • October 2004: $2,000 Capital Expenses ($2,000 Luke) • September 2006: $1,500 Upgrade Equipment ($1,000 Luke; $500 Clarno) • December 2007: $1,000 Citizen Journalist Program ($500 Luke; $500 Baney) Deschutes County Board of Commissioners 1300 NW Wall St., Bend, OR 97701-1960 (541) 388-6570 - Fax (541) 385-3202 - www.descliutes.org DESCHUTES COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND DISCRETIONARY GRANT PROGRAM APPLICATION Direct Application to: Commissioner Tammy Baney Commissioner Anthony DeBone Date: 3/08/11 Project Name: Project Beginning Date: Commissioner Alan Unger All Three Commissioners x Expanding KPOV's reach and signal strength June 2009 Amount of Request: Applicant/Organization: Address: $2500 Project End Date: Date Funds Needed: Tax ID #: Women's Civic Improvement League DBA KPOV 501 NW Bond St Contact Name(s): Pearl Stark, Station Manager Fax: Alternate Phone: City & Zip: Telephone: Email: June 2011 June 2011 20-0733873 Bend, OR 97701 541 322-0863 pearl@kpov.org On a separate sheet, please briefly answer the following questions: 1. Describe the applicant organization, including its purpose, leadership structure, and activities. 2. Describe the proposed project or activity. 3. Provide a timeline for completing the proposed project or activity. 4. Explain how the proposed project or activity will impact the community's economic health. 5. Identify the specific communities or groups that will benefit. 6. Itemize anticipated expenditures*. Describe how grant funds will be used and include the source and amounts of matching funds or in-kind contributions, if any. If the grant will support an ongoing activity, explain how it will be funded in the future. Attach: Proof of the applicant organization's non-profit status. * Applicant may be contacted during the review process and asked to provide a complete line item budget. Tammy Baney: Amount: Signature: Anthony DeBone: Amount: Signature: Alan Unger: Amount: Signature: Bend Community Radio Tune in Today! Board of Director Rick Miller President Carolyn Esky Vice President Lisa Goodman Secretary Natalie Reidtinann Treasurer Victoria Berry Bob Newhart Ted Schoenborr, Staff Pearl Stark Station Manager Jill Mahler Office Manager Jae Mazzarella Maya Padilla Stacy Totland llr,dei rarit;ing Representatives 501 NW Bond Street Bend, OR 97701 541.322-0863 info@kpov.org www.kpov.org March 10, 2011 Dear Commissioners, Please accept this application for a grant from the Women's Civic Improvement League dba KPOV, Bend Community Radio. KPOV is requesting $2500 towards expanding our signal strength and reach within Deschutes County. We have received several grants from this fund since even before we went on the air in 2005 and they were critical to our success over the last five years. In particular KPOV received a grant from this fund in 2004, prior to going on the air. This campaign towards "full power" is our next big hurdle towards serving all of Deschutes County. The County is included as a member of KPOV's Broadcast Society on our permanent "Founding Members" wall at the station and we would love to include the County on our "Tower of Power" wall recognizing those who help us reach our full potential as a regional non-commercial full power station. We hope you will be able to support the station in this final push. Our FCC license gives us until mid June of this year to be up and running at our new signal location and frequency. We look forward to hearing from you. Please don't hesitate to call if you have any questions. The application and supporting materials are attached. Sincerely Pearl Stark KPOV Station Manager pearl@kpov.org 541 322-0863 Deschutes County Economic Development Fund Discretionary Grant Program Application 1. Describe the applicant organization, including its purpose, leadership structure and activities. KPOV, Bend Community Radio is a dba for the Women's Civic Improvement League, a 501(c) 3 tax-exempt corporation founded in February 2003. KPOV is governed by a board of directors from a broad cross-section of the community. KPOV is supported by two part-time staff people and three underwriting representatives. Mission statement: KPOV is radio by the people and for the people of Central Oregon. We strengthen community and democracy through grassroots participation in independent, non-commercial radio. Programming focuses on issues important to a strong, healthy community, including economic and environmental sustainability, human rights, arts and culture, health and spirituality, and other programming often ignored by the mainstream media. The station offers a forum for diverse views, both regionally and around the world. KPOV features more than 40 locally produced shows, such as Breakfast in Bend (civic affairs), Open Air (interviews), Medical Makeover (medicine in Central Oregon), Youth Radio Hour (hosted by local kids ages 12-17) and syndicated programming including Democracy Now, Bioneers, and a 3 -hour block of Spanish language programming on Monday mornings. All of the local voices on KPOV's airwaves are volunteers from the community. As a listener -supported, volunteer powered station, KPOV has more than 100 volunteers who donate more than 20,000 hours annually. We currently train more than 50 adults and 25 youth per year on basic radio skills and FCC regulations. This training prepares volunteers to host music and talk shows. KPOV's primary funding is from listeners. Other sources of revenue are business underwriting, grants, and special events. KPOV is providing real opportunities for local residents to learn radio, computer, and communication skills that are available nowhere else in Central Oregon. These skills are providing citizens (both youth and adults) with unique opportunities. For example, several of KPOV's trained volunteers have been hired as DJs on local commercial stations. We also work with several local organizations and schools to bring in office volunteers with disabilities and train them in various job skills. KPOV's Grant Application March 8, 2011 541 322-0863 2. Describe the proposed project or activity. KPOV has applied for and received a construction permit from the FCC to increase our broadcast power. We are currently operating under what is designated as a "low power" license. We believe Central Oregon needs a regional, non-commercial full power radio station for several reasons. • Central Oregon today is an increasingly interconnected set of communities linked by jobs, health care, higher education, transportation systems and cultural and recreational opportunities. A regional, noncommercial radio station can help build regional identity and community by connecting citizens through a low-cost, accessible and ubiquitous technology. • Citizens in our region listen to and value public broadcasting but do not get the coverage of local issues they deserve. Both OPB and KLCC have strong local listenership and they connect locals to statewide and national events. But those stations will never devote significant air time to Central Oregon stories because the vast majority of their listeners live outside our region and simply do not care about the details of our community. Occasional new stories of state-wide significance on OPB and announcements of some music events in Bend on KLCC do not do justice to the size, diversity and civic challenges and successes of our region. Central Oregonians deserve more in-depth coverage of their community and KPOV provides it. • Local news and civic affairs coverage by our local commercial media is in decline, due to media consolidation and the loss of advertising revenue that has traditionally subsidized news and civic affairs programming. Like the rest of the nation, local newspapers and commercial radio stations are shrinking their local staffs and relying more on wire stories and their national affiliates. Public broadcasting can step in to fill the void left by commercial media in many markets. KPOV is poised to meet these needs. We have a five-year track record of providing quality programs 24/7/365. We have consistently grown our listenership and our financial support from the community each year. And we have a fledgling community journalism program that is already beginning to fill the gap in local news and civic affairs programming. But we cannot meet these needs as a low-power fm station. Our current low- power status means that listenership is limited to Bend and even within Bend our signal reception is often poor. The low power signal does not penetrate many buildings and is easily distorted or interrupted by local geographic and landscape features, such buttes and dense trees. A full power station will give us a much KPOV's Grant Application March 8, 2011 541 322-0863 2 stronger and more reliable signal that reaches a much larger and more regional audience in Bend, Redmond and beyond. 3. Provide a timeline for completing the proposed project or activity. Our construction permit from the FCC requires that we be up and running at our new signal location and frequency by mid-June of 2011. We have already gotten donations for several key pieces of equipment and have begun purchasing other equipment for the project. We would like to finish purchasing equipment by early May so that we have sufficient time to install and test by mid-June. 4. Explain how the proposed project or activity will impact the community's economic health. Increasing our signal strength and reach will greatly impact our community. Citizens who were previously unable to receive KPOV's signal, or had bad reception, will be able to listen from their homes. This will mean that all our programming created specifically to inform Central Oregonians will reach a much broader audience. All the guests on KPOV such as small business owners and non-profit organizations will reach more of our citizens to tell their stories on the air. KPOV also employs two part-time employees at a "livable" wage and three underwriting representatives paid on commission. We employ 1-3 adults who teach at our KPOV Kid's Camps. Reaching more citizens means educating more people about local products and services. 5. Identify the specific communities or groups that will benefit. Citizens of Bend and Redmond will directly benefit by having access to local programming discussing the issues that are important to us in Central Oregon. People who are interested in local politics, music, issues and events will all benefit. Every year, KPOV has had more than 250 community members as guests on the air sharing their viewpoints. Guests have included county commissioners, senators, poets, artists, moms, musicians, city councilors, law enforcement, political candidates and advocates from numerous non -profits and neighborhood associations. All have benefited from having the opportunity to share their perspective — in depth — with the community. KPOV's Grant Application March 8, 2011 541 322-0863 3 KPOV also broadcasts from events around town including several political debates and voter forums. Through the airwaves, KPOV can bring local programming into the homes of many of our community members including low- income residents or those with impaired mobility who cannot attend cultural events due to location or cost. 6. Itemize anticipated expenditures. Describe how grant funds will be used and include the source and amounts of matching funds or in-kind contributions, if any. If the grant will support an ongoing activity, explain how it will be funded in the future. Full Power Budget for 2011 Antennas $18950 Exciter, Filter, and Adapter $10,245 Surge suppressor $2,200 Demodulator and Generator $3,372 Dummy Load $9,000 STL line and license $2,200 Transmission Line, Rack, and Hangars $8,332 Control/Monitor $6,990 Engineering/Installation $25,500 Legal $1,500 Total: $88,289 KPOV is requesting $2500 from the Deschutes County Economic Development Fund. We have already secured a matching grant from the Federal government that will cover $35,672 and pledges from local donors totaling over $8000. To raise the remaining $42,000, we are soliciting major donors, businesses, and family funds, and we have plans for a full power event. A number of pieces of equipment that were donated or purchased in 2010 are not included in this budget. They include a $65,000 transmitter donated from KOIN TV, and an STL given at discount from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. KPOV's Grant Application March 8, 2011 541 322-0863 4 INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE P. 0. BOX 2508 CINCINNATI, OH 45201 Date: NOV 0 1 2004 WOMEN'S CIVIC IMPROVEMENT LEAGUE D/B/A BEND COMMUNITY RADIO C/0 DARCY MCNAMARA 16 NW KANSAS BEND, OR 97701 Dear Applicant: DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Employer Identification Number: 20-0733873 DLN: 17053125027044 Contact Person: SIRIJUN MAYI Contact Telephone Number: (877) 829-5500 Accounting Period Ending: December 31 Public Charity Status: 170 (b) (1) (A) (vi) Form 990 Required: Yes Effective Date of Exemption: February 12, 2003 Contribution Deductibility: Yes ID# 31449 We are pleased to inform you that upon review of your application for tax exempt status we have determined that you are exempt from Federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions to you are deductible under section 170 of the Code. You are also qualified to receive tax deductible bequests, devises, transfers or gifts under section 2055, 2106 or 2522 of the Code. Because this letter could help resolve any questions regarding your exempt status, you should keep it in your permanent records. Organizations exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Code are further classified as either public charities or private foundations. We determined that you are a public charity under the Code section(s) listed in the heading of this letter. Please see enclosed Information for Exempt Organizations Under Section 501(c)(3) for some helpful information about your responsibilities as an exempt organization. Enclosures: Information for Sincerely, Lois G. rner Director, Exempt Organizations Rulings and Agreements Organizations Exempt Under Section 501(c)(3) Letter 947 (DO/CG)