Gratitude and Appreciation for Community

Hi Friends,

As shelter-in-place restrictions ease and we slowly transition into being physically together again, I’ve been thinking a lot about community. We’re learning that the best safeguard in a crisis is each other. Uniting behind a common purpose to support and protect one another reinforces our interdependence and reminds us what community really means.

Just as you’ve relied on us to provide you with trusted news and quality programming, we’re depending on you as well. Our May radio pledge drive typically covers two weeks, but we know we need to spend more air time giving you important news and information, and less time fundraising. We dramatically reduced the radio drive to just two days, but our dollar goal remained the same. We trusted that you would come through for us, and you did. I’m so grateful for your generosity.

Your ongoing support helps ensure that we can commit to serving the Bay Area not just during this time of crisis, but for months and years to come. The economic uncertainty of the COVID-19 crisis hit us, too: We anticipate a sharp drop of at least 20% in corporate sponsorship and an overall revenue shortfall by the end of this year. To address that gap, we cut discretionary spending, delayed new hires and reduced compensation for the executive team. Additionally, we were fortunate to secure emergency funds from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), part of the CARES Act. This loan enables KQED to cover eight weeks of payroll, utilities and rent. Without it, we would face imminent layoffs and reductions in programming and services.

While these cost-saving measures and emergency funding temporarily stabilize our finances, your individual contributions remain the lifeblood of KQED. Your investments in KQED enable us to take care of our staff and maintain operations. The bottom line is that you believe in KQED. We’re accountable to you. We know that we’re part of something bigger than ourselves, so we take our responsibility to provide fact-based and potentially lifesaving information and resources very seriously. There is great financial uncertainty right now, but we see what’s essential: to protect and preserve our commitment to each other. I’m grateful for our community and I value the KQED staff.