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How we put your support to work

Thanks to the incredible response from listeners during the Fall Membership Campaign, KALW now has nearly 12,500 active members.   As 77% of Local Public Radio’s budget comes directly from listeners, a growing base of individual supporters is critical to the station’s future.  

The commitment and generosity of KALW listeners has significantly improved the station's financial standing over the past two years.  At the end of  FY2012 on June 30th, KALW's cash reserves stood at $343,272, up more than $200,000 from a year earlier. 

The pie chart above breaks down KALW's expenditures in FY2012.  Descriptions of each of the categories follow, and we welcome any questions you may have about the station's finances.  Just drop us a line at kalw@kalw.org.

Management & Administration:  General Manager and Operations Director, office supplies, telephone, audience research.

Events & Marketing:  Smiley & West at The Paramount, 70th Anniversary celebration at the Freight & Salvage, KALW Day at the City College of San Francisco, program guide design and printing.

Fundraising: Fundraising staff, thank you gifts, credit card fees, printing and postage for mailings to members.

Local program production: Announcing staff, KALW News, Your Call, and other local productions.

National and international program acquisition: Fees paid to NPR (Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Car Talk, Fresh Air, Snap Judgment etc.), Public Radio International (This American Life, As It Happens, Smiley & West, Bullseye, etc.), PRX (Sound Opinions, The Moth, Public Radio Remix), American Public Media (BBC World Service, Writer's Almanac) and other program distributors.

IT & engineering:   Engineering staff, web hosting, computers, software, and broadcast equipment.

Matt Martin was KALW’s general manager from 2006 through 2018. Under his leadership, KALW grew into one of the most productive and innovative stations in public radio. Programs launched at KALW during Matt’s tenure as GM include the award-winning local newsmagazine Crosscurrents, the design podcast 99% Invisible, and the Spanish-language narrative journalism program Radio Ambulante. He helped create the station’s Audio Academy, a year-long program aimed at developing new talents in public radio, and led the first broad-based strategic planning process in the station’s history.